Developing a Sustainable Disposition
Christine Haslett
Deputy Head of College and Head of Primary
Disposition is defined as a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character. It comes from within, and is more than something that people do. It is who they are.
Developing dispositions in young children is a complex process. Although children are innately wired to care about things, and to connect with the world around them, without careful opportunity to project these dispositions in meaningful ways they can be extinguished by every day business. Schools need to make sure that children’s every day business uncovers and ignites the things that they value, bringing them into learning opportunities so that their dispositions are amplified.
Sustainability is much more than something we learn about – it is a desirable disposition in the 21st century if the next generation are to going to solve some of the greatest problems that humanity have faced. At Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi, our curriculum aims to provide real life situations for children to face the challenges and tensions that exist when we consume resources. We investigate, research and enquire. We grapple with concepts, and engage with experts. Sometimes we reach conclusions or find solutions. But mostly, we open children up to active global citizenship, and exercising their agency to make changes in the world around them.
What impact do humans have on the environment? Should we intervene to save the Indian elephant? What makes the world angry? These are some of the questions that are posed to students which allow them to engage in sustainable and ethical issues in real life situations. Last week I visited a fashion show curated by Y2 students, featuring upcycled fashion designs. The show was a culmination of their learning around animals and habitats, where children explored the loss of habitats of many species threatened by the tonnes of waste that ends up in landfill every year. Throughout the unit, children acquired scientific knowledge of animals and habitats, and materials and their properties; developed a wide range of skills including design, technology, resourceful thinking, and enquiry; and they engaged with deeper transferable concepts such as interdependence, survival and adaptation. Most importantly, their disposition toward sustainable life practice was ignited.
Our students have a track record of evoking positive change in the Dulwich organisation. Past campaigns and appeals to the leadership of the College have resulted in a reduction of plastic waste by banning straws, yoghurt pots and throw away cups in the coffee shop, and more sustainable food choices by promoting recipes which use ingredients free of palm oil, and having more meat free choices in the restaurant.
This year, the children are finding ways to make school stationary more sustainable to further reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in land fill. This is all part of the Mustang Challenge – 5 ways that students can adopt sustainable practices:
1. Reduce the amount of plastics you use
2. Reduce the amount of meat you eat
3. Recyle by contributing to the (We) Project
4. Recyle by contributing to RE:FORM
5. Participate in a community service event
The challenge was launched in assembly by Mr Ingram, and is supported through our partnerships with Green Initiatives, Hearts and Hands, and United World Schools.
We hope that this layered approach of embedding sustainability into the curriculum, engaging head on with the current challenges that are facing the world, and uncovering our children’s innate desire to save the things they care about will give them the disposition required to make sustainable choices their business of the future.
培养可持续发展的性格
性格被定义为一个人内在的精神品质。它关乎内在，人们的所作所为其实是内在的体现。
幼儿的性格发展是一个复杂的过程。尽管孩子们天生就会关心事物，与周围的世界保持联系，但如果没有细心的以有意义的方式挖掘这些性格特质，它们就会被日常琐事所扼杀。学校需要确保孩子们的日常学习能够揭示并激发他们所拥有和珍视的东西，为他们提供学习机会的同时，拓展他们的性格特质。
可持续发展远比我们所学的更有意义 —— 在21世纪，如果下一代想要解决人类所面临的一些最严重的问题，可持续发展是一种可取的倾向。在上海浦西德威，我们的课程旨在为孩子们提供真实的生活情境，让他们学会面对在消耗资源时所面临的挑战和紧张。我们调查、研究和询问。我们与概念搏斗，与专家接触。有时我们会得出结论或找到解决办法。但最重要的是，我们让孩子们成为积极的全球公民，并发挥他们的作用，改变他们周围的世界。
人类对环境有什么影响?我们应该拯救印度大象吗?是什么让世界愤怒?这些问题都是值得学生讨论的，这可以让他们在现实生活中思考可持续发展和道德问题。上周，我观看了一场由二年级学生策划的时装秀，以可持续发展的改造服装设计为特色。这个节目是他们围绕动物和他们栖息地展开的，孩子们在这里探索了许多物种栖息地的消失，这些栖息地因为每年垃圾填埋场堆积成吨而受到威胁。在整个过程中，孩子们学习到了关于动物和栖息地、材料及其属性的科学知识;培养了广泛的技能，包括设计、技术、全方位的思维和探究;他们还涉及到更深层次的可转移概念，如相互依赖、生存和适应。最重要的是，他们对可持续的生活实践的性格倾向被点燃了。
我们的学生在为德威大集体带来积极改变方面有着良好的记录。过往的活动对于减少垃圾使用产生了深刻的影响，例如禁止使用吸管和酸奶罐子，咖啡店禁用一次性纸杯,以及更可持续的食物选择，比如改善食谱，使用不含棕榈油的原料,以及减少肉类选择等。
今年，孩子们正在寻找方法使学校的文具更加可持续，以进一步减少塑料垃圾的数量。这就是“野马“挑战赛的全部内容——以下是学生们可以采用的可持续实践的5种方式:
1. 减少塑料的使用量
2. 减少肉类的摄入量
3. 为“电子回收计划”做贡献
4. 为“旧衣新生”计划做贡献
5. 参加社区公益活动
这项挑战是由Mr Ingram在早会上发起的，并得到与我们合作的环保组织的支持，包括Green Initiatives, Hearts and Hands, 和 United World Schools。
我们希望这个分层的方法将可持续性嵌入课程,让孩子们迎接当前世界面临的挑战,并发现内在保护欲的性格特质，让他们在未来有充分的可能做出可持续发展的选择。