Welcoming ThoughtBox's Changing Climates into South African schools.
This is a guest blog from one of our ThoughtBox Changemakers Damien Hewitt, one of the bright minds behind Plant the Seed - our new partner organisation in South Africa. In this post, Damien talks about why climate education is so important in South African schools and why our Changing Climates curriculum is supporting teachers and students in embedding climate education into the classroom.
Illustration by - Matthew Laznieka
Climate Change has been a concept that has been around for quite some time. It is a concept that national curricular around the world should not be unfamiliar with as it is one of- if not the most - pressing issue that our modern day world is facing.
With that said, national curricular may do well in teaching Climate Change within certain subjects (often Geography based programmes), but where they often fall short is in providing the teachers with the correct and relevant content relating to climate change. This is where organisations like ThoughtBox assist greatly - by providing relevant, engaging and thought-provoking learning material that is relevant and up-to-date with global movements.
Learning material like the Changing Climates curriculum rids the teacher of existing climate content designed 15 years ago, which has run its course in classrooms.
The South African national curriculum, or CAPS as it is referred to, has been in use since 2013 following on from a few curricular changes that have defined South Africa's education since 1994. CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements) has been designed to cater for a diverse audience of learners and teachers in South Africa, a country with many different people, backgrounds and narratives. In short, the CAPS curriculum has been designed to be as easy to use for teachers nation-wide and thus, has been designed to be rather content-heavy. Each curriculum document is a whop of information, but it definitely assists the educator in planning and executing lessons as it equips the teacher with all the necessary steps.
So where does the Changing Climates curriculum stand in the South African curriculum? It aligns wonderfully with a variety of subjects and subject-topics which are spelt out below:
In short, the Changing Climates curriculum touches base with a variety of subjects, creating many opportunities for cross-curricular learning and engagement around climate change and the impacts that it will have on both human and non-human worlds.
To learn more about Damien’s work with South African schools and the inspiring educational support that Plant the Seed are offering to a wide range of educators and educational institutes, visit their website and start exploring:
https://access.planttheseed.co.za
To sign up to bring the Changing Climates curriculum into your school visit the Changing Climates page and download the free programme for 5-18 year olds today.