“Greta Thunberg Is My Role Model”, Says Ritika Anand, Principal, Deira Private School | |
Staff Writer |
When parents, teachers, and students are introduced to sustainability education, one realizes that it is future-oriented, focused on preserving the environment and creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action. When we indulge in collective action that supports more sustainable patterns of living and require consideration of environmental, social, cultural, and economic systems and their interdependence, we prepare our society and children for a better life and future.
It is along these lines that we got in touch with Dr. Ritika Anand, Principal of the Deira Private School. Dr. Anand is a dynamic professional with over fourteen years of experience in various leadership roles in established British Curriculum schools in Dubai where she provided an inspiring learning experience through inclusive, innovative, and transformational leadership.
In this exclusive with Thirty to Net Zero, Dr. Anand delineates the continuing efforts of the school and students to create an environment that is eco-friendly while continuously improving educational standards in line with the Nation’s and school’s aspirations and its priorities aligned to International standards and best practices in all phases of the school.
Read on to learn more…
Q: How does your school influence other schools on the path of sustainable development? Do you believe in ‘catch ‘em young?
A: Our school has an active social media page (Instagram, Facebook) where all activities are shared to raise awareness. A couple of other schools and parents of young children also follow our official page. The school takes an active part in EEG campaigns, and students continue to raise awareness in nearby compounds by collecting empty cans and used papers and involving themselves in beach cleanups.
Q: What does sustainability mean in educational contexts and what different perspectives on it exist?
A: Sustainability Education is frequently referred to as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which was defined by UNESCO in 2014 as follows: "Education for Sustainable Development enables every individual to acquire the required information, skills, attitudes, and values to design a sustainable future. The three fundamental pillars of sustainability are economic, environmental, and social. Informally, these three pillars are known as people, planet, and profits. We at Deira Private School have taken into consideration these 3 Fundamental pillars and have developed sustainable premises through efficient use of resources like paper, electricity, and water.
The students have built a deeper understanding of UN sustainability goals. Healthy living is coherently and intrinsically built into and promoted in all aspects of school life through assemblies focusing on a healthy lifestyle, good home/study routines, good use of social media and device time, PE, cross-curricular links, and student-led Wellbeing club.
Meals and tiffin snacks provided by the parents are consistent with the school’s policy on the promotion of healthy choices. The school provides detailed advice to the parents about our students’ food choices
The school offers a broad and regular programme for physical education and sport to promote healthy living with morning exercise, a brain gym, extensive sports days, and sports competitions for students, parents, and even staff.
Q: How can we consider cultural issues together with sustainability for an inclusive perspective?
A: Our children inhabit a world that is interconnected, diverse, and rapidly changing. Globally, emerging economic, digital, cultural, demographic, and environmental forces are altering the lives of young people and increasing their daily international contacts. At DePS we connect our students to the world by embracing the UN global goals for a sustainable future across all phases to find the solution to the problem within the school, community, and country enhancing students' leadership, decision making, and entrepreneurship skills.
At DePS we pride ourselves on developing the child holistically and living up to our motto “ad vitam paramus”. Our introduction of attitudes and attributes has resulted in a very balanced programme. We promote tolerance through raising awareness of celebrations in different world cultures. (e.g. Christmas, Diwali, etc.).
Q: Do share some of the activities that your school is involved in that will help younger students to understand the value and importance of sustainability? A utilitarian concept of education is drawn based on future employability, which is accompanied by the rise of the competency model inspired by the enterprise. How can schools inspire young people to get involved in environmental issues?
A: Embedding the UN global goals for a sustainable future across all phases to find the solution to the problem within the school, community, and country enhancing students’ leadership, decision making, and entrepreneurship skills are at the core of our objectives. Our students have volunteered for various environmental campaigns like the beach clean-up, can-collection drive, newspaper collection drive (EEG), the planting of Ghaf trees (EEG), the DEWA Sustainability Workshop, Earth Hour session, Innovation session, and the National Environment Day webinar.
Deira Private School students are very active and care for their environment. Our students inaugurated ‘The Forest School’ and engaged in the ‘Grow Your Own Food’ programme at school. Our young students of EYFS participated in a Trashion show in which they wore dresses made from Trash. Forest garden – Grow your own food. They have also participated in the Paper Walk apart from various panel discussions.
All these activities have made children more aware of their natural surroundings, and students were able to understand how our actions affect the well-being of our local and global environments. Students have been introduced to 3 R’s during lessons, as they attended a number of workshops.
Q: How do we introduce critical thinking in environmental education when it comes to students?
A: Students are given time to conduct research so that they can find out for themselves the existing environmental issues locally and globally. Teachers allow them to use analogies to explain their understanding and participate in role plays to share their perspectives.
The lessons or discussions on any sustaining environmental issue start with BIG Questions which helps in promoting interaction among students as it is open-ended, allows reflection time, and students use real-life understanding and the evaluation of problems to answer. It allows critical thinking practice and reflection. Students make their own choices, evaluations, and judgments.
Students work on several projects in which they represent their thinking skills while reflecting on the ongoing environmental issues as they have in the Aquatic Project Wild, Project Wild, Project Learning Tree, Class, Science-Technology-Society: Preparing for Tomorrow's World, and SuperSaver Investigators.
Q: As an educator which environmentalist would you say is your role model?
A: Greta Thunberg is my role model. As a young girl, she took it upon herself to raise her own awareness and that of the world and question and challenge governments, lawmakers, and organizations for the betterment of the environment.