Global Citizenship

May 30th, 2012

World Environment Day - 5th June 2012

imenzies

Comments: 1 Comment Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, events, resources
 : Categories sustainable development

World Environment Day (WED) is an annual event that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. WED activities take place all year round but climax on 5 June every year, involving everyone from everywhere.

WED celebration began in 1972 and has grown to become the one of the main vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action. This year there will be a special focus on the Green Economy to tie in with discussions taking place at the Rio+20 conference betwen 20-22nd June 2012.

Everyone counts in this initiative and WED relies on you to make this happen – why not organise a neighbourhood clean-up, stop using plastic bags and get your community to do the same, plant a tree or better yet organise a collective tree planting effort, walk to work, start a recycling drive . . . the possibilities are endless.

Visit the World Environment Day website for resources, ideas and information >>

May 30th, 2012

‘Polarlands’ climate change case study - Rhu Primary School

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, CPD
 : Categories CPD, ICT, curriculum areas, early years, expressive arts, primary schools, renewables and climate change, sciences, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

This comprehensive case study developed in partnership with Rhu Primary School in Argyll and Bute shows the climate change can provide an excellent context for learning even with the youngest learners.

The case study is a description of an extended, collaborative early and first level interdisciplinary study on climate change undertaken by the Primary 1, 2 and 3 classes at the school.

The study was called Polar Lands and was based on the book ‘Who will save us?’ by Rebecca Morch. It incorporated the themes of enterprise and sustainability. The project also involved parents and community partners from the planning stage right through to the evaluation of the success of the learning.

This study exemplifies the following characteristics of interdisciplinary learning:

• Choosing a theme or problem which requires knowledge and skills from different curriculum areas, aspects of a curriculum area or subjects
• Capitalising on themes for development across learning, including developing global citizenship

Click here to see the full case study and accompanying videos.

May 30th, 2012

Get Ready for Rio+20 – UN Conference on Sustainability

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, democracy, events, human rights, natural disasters, nature, poverty, resources
 : Categories biodiversity, community, international, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, sustainable development

Latest: Join our Glow meet live from Rio+20 from 11am to 12pm on Tuesday 19th June. Put your questions to Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, who will be attending as part of the official UK delegation. Share your green dreams and vision for a better future for all the world’s people.

Between 20-22 June 2012 world leaders will gather in Rio De Janeiro for crucial talks at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The conference, referred to as Rio+20, will mark 20 years since the historic Earth Summit in the same city in 1992 which put issues such as climate change and the protection of biodiversity on the map and gave birth to Agenda 21 – an action plan for a sustainable future which was adopted by national governments, cities and local authorities across the world. The establishment of the international Eco-Schools movement was another practical outcome of this process.

The 1992 Earth Summit achieved much but clearly there are still many challenges to be addressed if we are to build a safer, more equitable, cleaner, greener and more prosperous world for all.

The hopes and expectations for Rio+20 are high and the preparations have highlighted seven priority areas including: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness. Rio+20 is a chance to move away from business-as-usual and to take bold steps to end poverty and address environmental destruction.

Sustainability in Scotland

The document, A Flourishing Scotland, produced for Rio+20 outlines the many achievements we should celebrate with regards to Scotland’s success in promoting sustainable development education. IN the context of the Rio Summit it may be of interest to note that Chapter 36 of the Agenda 21 document, which focussed on education, was written by a Scot – Professor John Smyth.

However, other key achievements nationally include: the embedding of sustainable development education, global citizenship and outdoor learning within Curriculum for Excellence; we also have one of the most successful Eco-Schools programme in the world with over 98% of local authority school registered; and Scotland has shown leadership on a world stage by introducing ambitious targets on climate change and in planning for our transition to a low-carbon economy. By 2020 it is estimated that 130,000 people will be employed in low carbon and green industries in Scotland and that renewable energy will provide 100% of our energy needs. Scotland is also the only county in the world to have debated the issue of climate justice in its parliament.

Whilst much has been achieved, there is still work to be done. Nevertheless, there is a real opportunity for Scotland to show leadership on a world stage with regards to its commitment to sustainable development and to set an example for other nations to follow.

What you can do

Our ambition is that every learner in Scotland recognises themselves as a global citizen; has a strong commitment to living sustainably and has an enthusiasm for the outdoors and nature.

You can help by ensuring that global citizenship, sustainable development education and outdoor learning are on your school improvement plan and embedded in your curriculum. Make these areas the responsibility of everyone in your school, not just the eco-warrior or group, so your school can adopt a successful whole school approach and make an impact on every learner.

Professional learning – read Learning for Change: Scotland’s Action Plan for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and make use of our resources on sustainable development education, global citizenship and outdoor learning.

Join our online community to share practice and ideas with other practitioners around Scotland and engage in professional dialogue.

Activity ideas

Raise the profile of the conference in your own school or community – organise your own version of the Rio+20 conference.

Invite learners to develop their green dreams – what is their vision of a more sustainable future? What would they like to see happen in the next 20 years? What would their message to world leaders be?

Web links

Official website of the Rio+20 Summit

Twitter – follow the conversation at #Rioplus20

My green dream – add your voice and dream to thousands of others

Education Scotland Online

Sustainable development education pages and videos

Global citizenship resources

Outdoor learning resources

Weather and Climate Change

Exploring Climate Change

Schools Global Footprint

Resources

Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Scottish Sustainable Development Forum have created a Rio+20 resource pack for schools and youth groups. This resource pack can be downloaded from the Eco-Schools Scotland website. Hard copies, plus the accompanying DVD, can be ordered via email: [email protected]

WWF has produced a free Rio+20 teaching resource and associated competition for young people aged 11-14 years. Download for free at: www.wwf.org.uk/futures

Download the special edition Living Planet Report - On the Road to Rio produced by WWF.

Stop Climate Chaos has produced Rio+20 resources for students and teachers. Download from: http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/rc-youth

May 30th, 2012

New online resource: ‘Ready for Emergencies?’ - available 13th June 2012

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, community, emergencies, events, resources, sectarianism
 : Categories citizenship, creativity, curriculum areas, health and wellbeing, sciences

Education Scotland is delighted to announce the launch of a fantastic new resource designed to support practitioners in the delivery of emergency resilience education. This exciting online resource has been designed around the principles and approaches of the Curriculum for Excellence.

The Ready for Emergencies? resource enables practitioners access to expertise and materials in each of the 6 key emergency themes outlined, by the Scottish Government’s Ready Scotland website as posing the most immediate threat to communities. The themes include severe weather, flooding, terrorism, pandemic flu, animal disease outbreak and utilities failure all of which provide real and relevant contexts for learning, encouraging an interdisciplinary approach. Each emergency theme is explained and links to the curriculum made explicit, allowing inclusion in planning at levels 1 through to 4. In addition to specific learning journeys linked to relevant to outcomes and experiences the website offers a wide range of challenges, factsheets and videos as well as related links and RSS news feeds on breaking news of emergencies.

The importance of partnership working and opportunities for recognising achievement are highlighted so that transferable skills can be developed within and across sectors.

The new website will be available nationally from June 13^th 2012 following a ministerial launch by Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages. It can be accessed under the following link www.educationscotland.gov.uk/readyforemergencies. Portobello High School in Edinburgh will play host to the launch event and the Scottish Government Resilience Division will provide the national context within which the resource will sit.

May 30th, 2012

Ready for Emergencies - Poster Competition

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, competition
 : Categories citizenship, creativity, curriculum areas, social studies

Design a poster, picture, graphic that relates to one of the main themes outlined in the Ready Scotland/ Ready for Emergencies resource (eg. severe weather, flooding etc). This could be a warning sign, campaign poster or image of a recent event.

14 winning entries will be selected for inclusion in this year’s ‘Ready for Winter’ campaign calendar with a number of other prizes on offer as part of the competition.
Also every contributor will receive a free copy of the calendar.
More information on this including terms and conditions, submission address and deadline as we as topics and entry categories are contained in the following attachments: 2012_Resilience Week_ Calendar competition - terms and conditions for entries 2012-13_ Resilience Week_ Calendar Competition_Topics

The official launch of the competition will be on Wednesday, 13 June 2012 .

If you wish to pre-register for the competition please email [email protected]

May 23rd, 2012

Scottish teachers in Africa

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: volunteering
 : Categories CPD, africa, international

Its the time of the year when many teachers are planning ahead, both for the summer school holidays and for the next school annual cycle. And every year a number of Scottish teachers decide to spend part of their time in Africa as volunteers who can make a contribution to development and improvement of school education in a developing country. Some will go for short periods, others will commit to a longer stay, and they will do this as individuals or as part of a group, through a link organised by a local church or a charity. And as a consequence each one will return to Scotland better able to demonstrate and champion global citizenship among the young people they teach here.

Two examples:

International development charity Voluntary Service Overseas VSO currently has an urgent need for education professionals to take up volunteering placements in Ethiopia, starting this September 2012. VSO volunteers are working at a number of different levels in Ethiopia to help improve teacher training and education management, increasing the quality and relevance of education that children receive. Senior teachers and education managers are working with national government institutions supporting the development and implementation of national policies like teacher training programmes and monitoring and evaluation systems. Experienced teachers are working within regional education and teacher education institutions to help deliver training programmes and develop the skills of their local colleagues. Many Scottish teachers have gained their experience through VSO. This short YouTube video clip features Edinburgh teacher Dhamayanthi talking about her volunteering experience in Ethiopia. Contact VSO about Ethiopia and other opportunities to use your skills to help children in developing nations to get a better start in life.

Another kind of opportunity is provided by the Global Teachers programme run by charity Link Community Development Scotland, now solely funded by the Wood Family Trust. This summer a group of teachers and headteachers from Aberdeenshire will spend five weeks in Ugandan schools, helping local teachers to employ better pedagogy, and improve school leadership and planning. An article in TESS describes the preparatory phase for the Scots and the kind of positive outcomes the individuals hope for.

May 18th, 2012

Global Citizenship and Storylines - update

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: storylines
 : Categories africa, expressive arts, international, languages, social studies, sustainable development

Storytelling is part of human existence around the world in every culture, and encouraging children to develop and tell stories is a frequently-used form of education. The Storylines methodology is well-established in Scottish schools, and involves children creating their own fictional communities in which their stories will be set. In the hands of imaginative teachers, this approach lends itself to some very thoughtful learning about global citizenship.

WOSDEC has worked with Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde University to develop a Global Storylines project, which has been trialled in Glasgow primary schools. It used Storylines in conjunction with drama to enable learners to explore challenging global issues such as peace and conflict, interdependence, land ownership, farming and food security.

A delegation from Glasgow will participate in the international conference ‘Storyline in Iceland 2012′ this summer, sharing their experience of using this approach in Scotland and also learning from the experience of teachers in other nations. And a recent dissemination event at Strathclyde University helped spread the message among teachers from a number of Scottish local authorities.

For teachers who want to know more, there’s also an article about the Global Storylines project in the Summer 2012 edition of the excellent ‘Stride‘ magazine, available for free download from the IDEAS network website.

For teachers who might consider how to use Storyline to support Language teaching, the Creative Dialogues website might prove useful.

May 15th, 2012

Euroquiz success

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: euroquiz
 : Categories europe, international, languages, modern languages, primary schools, social studies

Yesterday the national finals of the Euroquiz 2012 competition were held in the Scottish Parliament Debating Chamber in Edinburgh. Congratulations to St Mary’s Primary School, Duntocher, West Dunbartonshire, whose team won this year’s event; and well done to all the teams of Primary 6 pupils from around Scotland who took part in the regional heats and in the finals. The knowledge displayed by the students, and their skills in information retrieval, were very impressive for all of us who saw them in action at the various stages of the competition.

The event was recorded by Scottish Parliament TV, and the archive video footage is now available for viewers on their website.

The Euroquiz competition has been organised annually by the Scottish European Educational Trust for some years, and continues to attract mass participation and enhance learning about aspects of the European Union.

May 14th, 2012

‘Youth Radiothon’ @ Pulse Radio 98.4, East Renfrewshire

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: debating, learner voice
 : Categories citizenship, creativity, learner voice

Did you ever want to be on air and run your own radio show? This is your chance: East Renfrewshire Council in conjunction with Pulse Radio 98.4 will celebrate young peoples’ engagement and voice by inviting pupils and youth clubs from the 12 to 14 June to participate in a Youth Radiothon.

Here is how you can join the event:

You will need a group of pupils or young people (maximum per group is 5) who would like to host a 45 minute radio show. Each group will be required to come up with content for their show. They could chat about things that are going on in your school, or talk about their interests and hobbies, or discuss issues that they feel strongly about. If you need any assistance compiling the content of the show Zoe Nisbet (Partnership Development Officer, East Renfrewshire council) will visit your school or organisation and talk to you before the event. We would also require the young people to come up with a short ‘play list’ of around 6 songs that would be played during their show on the Radiothon.

All schools and organisations taking part will receive a certificate for their participation in this event, as will the individual young people. There will be different categories of awards to be won for the radio shows. We will be approaching different sponsors regarding this event and are more likely to gain sponsorship if we have a diverse and wide array of participation.

If you are interested in this initiative please email Zoe Nisbet: [email protected]

May 14th, 2012

Be a part of a sustainable schools documentary

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: events, film, school improvement
 : Categories ICT, biodiversity, community, creativity, curriculum areas, expressive arts, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, sustainable development

With a month to go there is still time to take part in the inaugural documentary entitled “The UK’s Best Sustainable Schools”.

This film is being produced by Cycling4SEEd who will be visiting (by bicycle and other sustainable means of travel) schools from Lands End to John O’Groats and capturing on film the freshest ideas, the best practice, the most exciting plans and hopefully even the most exciting results of sustainability in schools.

Cycling4SEEd cannot visit every school in the country but there are still ways for you and your schools to be part of this very important film to encourage all schools to take up sustainability:

1. Develop a student-led 6-minute video about sustainability in your school which may be included in the final documentary and premiered in London on July 11th at SEEd’s Sustainable Schools Conference – details at www.se-ed.co.uk/cycling4seed.
2. Enter the student competition to make a 60 second commercial to promote the documentary and encourage other schools and students to become more sustainable. The awards ceremony for the commercial will also be held in London on July 11th and the winning commercial will be shown at the premier of the documentary.

For details of how to get involved in any of these activities, please visit the SEED website at www.se-ed.org-uk. You can also follow the story of Cycling4SEEd’s journey along the backbone of the UK as they visit schools, hear stories, see sustainable projects and share ideas.

For all your enquiries, please email [email protected].