Community Project + Placement Task

 

Community Project

As part of the module we were required to participate in some form of community service that benefits society and the environment. A group of us decided we would take on the community garden at the university as it had become a bit overgrown and crowded with leaves and branches from the autumn and winter weather and winds.

What was surprising to me was the amount of time and energy it takes to make a difference to the community around us, this made me realise that it takes more than one person to make a difference in the world and if society really wants to make a change we need to be a lot more involved. During our time in the garden the challenge against us was the cold miserable weather conditions made it harder to work in. Although the conditions weren’t great the experience was actually very enjoyable because we felt like we were making a difference and worked together very well as a team and communicated what we were doing and split up the tasks to get the work done more effectively.

What I realised when doing the community service was that it was clear that to make a more significant impact it woulds take a big group of people but if we all take responsibility, do a little bit each and play a part in society the difference can be made even if it’s only a slight difference at least its a start.

This opportunity allowed us to put some of the knowledge we had learned about the environment and making a difference into practice and gave us experience and insight into what we had been taught in class. This is a valuable skill as as student teachers we can use this knowledge and pass it onto the children we teach and show them how easy it can be to make a difference to their community, society and the environment around them.

From the pictures below you can see that we cleaned out the dying plant boxes that were full of old root and weeds, as well tidy up the leaves that had almost completely covered the garden and put them into bin bag which would them be placed into the correct recycling bins. This instantly gave the garden a fresher appearance and made it look more inviting and tidy.

        

 

Placement Task

Student teachers must:

• Embrace locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognise the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations.
• Value as well as respect social, cultural and ecological diversity and promote the principles and practices of local and global citizenship fro all learners.
• Demonstrate a commitment to engaging learners in real world issues to enhance learning experiences and outcomes, and to encourage learning our way to be a better future.

(Standard for Provisional Registration with GTCS, benchmark 1.1)

Mapping of school grounds/area…

The school interior is open plan throughout and outside the school is just as open. The perimeter around the school is made up of fencing and gates to ensure the children know the boundaries they are not allowed to go pass during break time and lunch time. The nursery students have their own play area separate  from the primary students.

     

Evidence of existing engagement with sustainable education within the school such as garden area, recycling bins, litter picking ‘wardens’ bird boxes, etc…

When taking a walk around the school grounds it was clear that the children have ample amount of room to play, exercise and explore their environment. The play ground included a huge playing field which could be used for sports or games, tables for the children to eat their snack at but also had games printed on them as well as fun facts about different topics. There was also a community garden within the playground which included tables and benches, a bug hotel, a weather station and different types of plants and trees. After speaking with the class teacher she confirmed that they use this space to teach the children about the environment and also to help them build resources for different activities.

                  

Consideration of actual play space for children and its suitability…

From the pictures you can see that the children very clearly have a lot of space to play and interact with each other. As well as the playing field there is also a tarmac basketball court which gives the children another area to play, with also a gazebo which gives the children somewhere to play if its raining.

        

Discussion with children on these aspects of sustainable education…

When I discussed with the children their thoughts about their playground and the environment around them. They overall seemed to like it and all had their own places in the playground that they enjoyed playing in, “I like the games benches”, “I like looking for bugs in the bug city”. One of the children suggested they should put more flowers in the gardens for all the insects and another suggested that they should get more litter pickers and wardens to make sure people put things in the bins properly. After speaking with the children it was clear that they were quite aware of their surroundings and the environment around them and how they could make it better.