Education and learning have the most positive influence on an individual’s life. It raises awareness and imparts the necessary knowledge to help shape the world into a better place. When we talk about education, academics are only one part of it. Learning, on the whole, is an elaborate concept, and environmental education is a crucial aspect of it. Almost every renowned Dubai international school has started including environmental education in its curriculum. The idea is that when a child reaches secondary school in Dubai, he is truly aware of how his choices can affect his surroundings.
Understand that learned children turn out to be aware adults who wouldn’t make decisions that would reflect poorly on the environment. Whatever domain they choose to work in, they would make conscious decisions that make the surroundings liveable for future generations. Schooling is the best time to start imparting this learning to children as during this time, they learn quickly. Moreover, the skills they develop during this time stay with them for longer.
Tips for promoting environmental education in Schools
Explain the Concept
The first step to environmental education is to make children aware of the concept. They should know the role of their surroundings in their life and vice versa. Educate them on how the environment around them can impact their lives and what they can do to ensure the effects are all positive. Once they know how crucial it is to start paying attention to the environmental impact of their decisions, they will engage well with whatever you teach them.
Plan Outdoor Sessions
Talk about nature by being close to it! When you take your students out in the open, they will instantly relate to what you are saying and might take more interest in the session. Moreover, outdoor sessions also help break the monotony and improve student engagement significantly.
Government Grants
Schools can talk to the local authorities and ask them for special grants to promote environmental education. A few initiatives are already being taken to introduce this aspect of learning into every Dubai primary school. You can expect the government to announce more policies in the coming years. It will help draw the attention of every parent and teacher toward making their children environmentally-aware!
Practical tasks
No matter how many classroom sessions you take and how many case studies you discuss with them, results come from practical tasks. So, one of the effective strategies is to show children how small changes can make a big difference. Ask them to stop using single-use plastic bags and motivate people around them to do the same. You can also assign a task to them that they encourage people in their neighborhood to plant trees and generate a report of how many trees they planted. In the sense of competitiveness, only they will learn about environmental safety and spread the word to everyone around them.
Read also: Strategies for preventing and addressing student absenteeism
Eco-Awareness Camps
Another tip is to take students out on the eco-awareness camps every once in a while. It will increase their proximity to nature and deepen their concerns about environmental safety. It will be a great way to build stronger peer connections, which help students throughout their life. Moreover, if you plan things well in an eco-friendly way, you wouldn’t have to make the extra effort to promote environmental education.
Schools can impart environmental education to their students using these simple yet effective tips. Once they understand the concept deeply, they can ensure living a healthy life and leaving the surrounding healthy and nurturing for others. So, schools should emphasize environmental education, and parents should motivate their children to engage in this learning and contribute towards a better world.
