How can our children adapt, succeed and live happily in a world where not everything is harmonious and balanced?
After two tumultuous years of the pandemic, many of us have begun to re-evaluate what is more important to us in life. Happiness index – is perhaps something many countries are gradually moving towards besides economic indicators. As parents, are we still so occupied by financial problems that we don’t care enough about the physical and mental health of our children, family, and ourselves. Naturally, when life has too many uncertainties, people increasingly aim to cultivate core values to build a sustainable foundation for life and the future. Important issues may be mentioned such as environmental protection, building a sustainable economy that is not exploitative of the environment, respecting cultural differences, etc. Among those, we cannot fail to mention the future generation – our children and how they are educated. How can our children adapt, succeed, and live happily in a world where not everything is harmonious and balanced?
Stemming from such concerns, many schools have begun to center their philosophy on the issue of Sustainable Development. In Vietnam, Genesis is one of the pioneering schools, stating that “Education is the solution, is the path to change toward sustainable development”. Genesis finds many similarities between the School’s Green educational philosophy and the 17 sustainable development goals set forth by the United Nations.
Genesis cultivates holistic qualities in a sustainable way
From Genesis’ point of view, the integration of the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals will not only stop at the educational program but will be realized in the entire school’s activities. From the construction of the facilities (saving energy, making use of clean energy with solar energy system, maximizing green space with 10,400 individual plants, low density of students…) to the respect for individuals in overall harmony with the surrounding environment (respect for individual identity, respect for nature, organize community activities to protect the environment, …) and set 17 sustainable development goals firmly as a core theme of many subjects and interdisciplinary teaching activities at Genesis. Learning and developing in such a harmonious environment, students themselves will likely internalize the necessary qualities and skills for a future life.
The curriculum is closely linked to the sustainable development goals
The 17 sustainable development goals are selected, combined to cleverly put into units at all grade levels. The sustainable development goals are especially relevant to the themes of the IPC Program. For other subjects like Green Project, English, Literature, etc., the goals are broken down and used to enrich the lesson content, so that students can learn about them in a more intuitive and practical way. Abstract issues such as Inequality, Poverty, etc. are conveyed in an age-appropriate manner so that students in grades 4 and 5 can also offer impressive personal opinions. By integrating sustainable development goals into the curriculum, children will be equipped with awareness of the environment, their impact in the world, and thereby gradually understand the role, responsibility for themselves, their families and the environment.
Experiential and creative teaching methods – practice from small things to build a quality foundation for children in a sustainable way
At Genesis, experiential learning and creativity are very important. On the one hand, teachers themselves focus on building diverse and engaging experiential and hands-on teaching activities while encouraging students to ask questions and promote creativity in experiments and personal projects. On the other hand, the school also invests in building classrooms and spaces to help teachers and students optimize practical activities such as Maker Space room, school garden, .. as well as the necessary tools so teachers and students can have the best lessons whether they study offline or online. During the online learning period, the teachers personally prepared and sent hands-on items to each student for them to practice on projects to ensure the quality of education can be as similar to in-class learning as possible. Genesis’ educational goal is always focused on cultivating children’s qualities and skills from everyday activities to facilitate development of sustainable values in each student.
From the very first day of its establishment, Genesis’ educational orientation has been built and associated with 17 sustainable development goals to equip students with: The Right Attitude – The Right Understanding – The Right Thinking and The Right Action to live responsibly, respect nature and consciously contribute to creating a balanced and harmonious living environment.
| What you need to know about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations – The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, are universal goals designed to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that everyone enjoys peace and prosperity by 2030 in each United Nations (UN) member state. – This is the result of a 3-year process with a survey of 83 countries with the participation of more than 7 million people, becoming the largest consultation in the history of the United Nations. – 17 sustainable development goals including:
(Compiled from World Economic Forum and Ministry of Science and Technology Portal) |