Sustainability Education Provides Global Connections Through New Program
In the midst of COVID-19, the grave fact remains that our planet is still in dire need of urgent attention and universal change.
As global citizens, we all need to take ownership and address the challenges our planet is facing during this pivotal time in our lifetime.
As educators, we have to make sure we are teaching our students the importance of the environment and the impact our actions can have when we put our minds together to work toward a goal.
That is why the Maple Bear academic team has created a unique program that takes the 17 United Nations Sustainability Goals and brings them to life for our students through a comprehensive sustainability education curriculum.
Introducing the Global Connections for Sustainability Program
This year we will be rolling out the Global Connections for Sustainability program – an opportunity for our Maple Bear students around the world to engage and learn together across borders and build their knowledge around global sustainability issues.
In 2015, the United Nations agreed to implement 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the year 2030. The 17 goals are aimed at achieving peace and prosperity worldwide by addressing pressing issues such as climate change, quality education, and poverty.
Maple Bear saw this as a great opportunity to involve our students by accessing the information on these 17 topics and understanding their impacts.
The 17 goals identified by the UN are:
1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-Being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life On Land
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships
A GLOBAL PLATFORM LINKING OUR SCHOOLS SO STUDENTS CAN CONNECT AND LEARN COLLABORATIVELY
Young people from preschool to high school are often very passionate about global issues, and we want to give them the opportunity to become ecologically competent and active global citizens by having a solid foundation in sustainability education.
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Students at Maple Bear Vila Mascote in Brazil taking care of their mini-garden, developing an appreciation for nature.
And by utilizing the benefit of our global network of over 500 schools in more than 30 countries, we have developed a Global Connections platform, which will link teachers and schools from around the world for the purpose of studying these 17 sustainability goals together. Through this website, teachers will be able to link their class with a Maple Bear class or classes at the same or similar grade level in another country. Together the teachers will choose a sustainability unit that has been developed by the Maple Bear academic team for the students to work on.
EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS TO BECOME ECOLOGICALLY COMPETENT AND ACTIVE GLOBAL CITIZENS
The units Maple Bear Global Schools has designed contain information, activities, experiments and projects based on the UN sustainability goals. They also include some ideas for students to design their own projects that will address these global issues.
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Students at Maple Bear Pasir Ris Park in Singapore carried out a water rationing exercise, as part of the sustainability education curriculum.
This initiative will give students an engaging opportunity to learn from other students who have different perspectives and to see how their actions can impact other people – even people halfway across the world.
In an increasingly interconnected world where local and regional decisions can have global impacts, it is important for countries to find ways to collaborate on issues that affect us all.
COLLABORATION, UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENCES AND THE SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND
Our goals for the Global Connections for Sustainability Project are that students will collaborate to have a better understanding of the climate, culture, education and living conditions in other countries, as well as the habitats of plants and animals.
Through developing these understandings, students will form inter-cultural friendships and together dedicate themselves to building a better world with a passion that truly will make a difference.
Maple Bear is already well-known for its commitment to imbuing its students with a strong sense of social justice and global citizenship, and this new academic program gives students an opportunity to learn how they can implement age-appropriate social responsibility initiatives across different cultures.
For more information on the sustainability goals, follow this link: Take action for the UN Sustainability Goals
