News
Panasonic demonstrates contribution to Society
P
anasonic is taking steps to engage, raise awareness and educate those growing up in a world of challenges and threats to our global ecological system with a new education programme called ‘Kids School – Eco Learning’.
‘Kids School’ was first introduced in Europe in 2009 by Panasonic and the non-governmental organisation FEE and is designed to target primary school children between the ages of 7 and 11. The programme offers a child the opportunity to learn about climate change, biodiversity and protecting the planet in an easy-to-understand, fun and interactive way. The programme is also structured in such a way that it assists teachers with lesson planning for lessons linked with environmental awareness. The Panasonic pledge includes provision of free educational material for schools and teachers such as documents, videos and helpful lesson content which can be downloaded from the Panasonic website or distributed in printed form free of charge, giving everything needed to educate children about environmental issues in an appealing and motivating way. The materials also include content generated through another education and engagement programme Panasonic supports on a global scale, called Kid Witness News (KWN). Video content that KWN has generated that relates to environment and ecology topics and particularly those videos that participating KWN teams have received awards for can be used to form part of the content that is used in the ‘Kids School’ education programme. Other fun and engaging features are available from Panasonic to help drive the programme such as appearances from ‘Mr Green’, the official mascot of the Kids School project an iconic character that appears in supplied material such as the ‘Eco Picture Diary’.
The sleep council launches free learning resource for primary schools
T
he Sleep Council is launching its first-ever ‘sleep awareness’ education project in primary schools. The free learning resource is being provided to schools nationally, with the aim of teaching primary school children the importance of a good night’s sleep and factors – such as regular bedtimes and a good bed - that can affect it.
The initiative follows the results of a survey of 250 primary school teachers conducted on behalf of The Sleep Council. It reveals that lack of sleep among primary school children is having a devastating effect in schools with nine out of 10 teachers (92%) complaining that pupils are so tired they are unable to pay attention in class. More than a third (38%) said lack of sleep among youngsters is a daily problem for them.
“As part of our project we wanted to establish just how much of an issue lack of sleep has become among young schoolchildren,” said Jessica Alexander of The Sleep Council. “Even we have been taken aback by the sheer scale of the problem.”
The learning resource, entitled ‘Better Brains with More Sleep’, consists of four lesson plans with clearly identified learning outcomes suitable for 8-11 year olds. Each lesson plan includes teacher’s notes on how to structure the lesson and activity sheets for pupils. As part of the activity, pupils will be asked to produce a ‘sleep diary’ which is designed to get them thinking about, and interested in their own sleep patterns, as well as their parents’, and to help them understand that people have different routines.
The learning resource will also include an Olympic-themed ‘design a bean bag’ competition where pupils can win the opportunity to have their design printed onto a ‘Kids Baz Bag’ from Bean Bag Bazaar, the UK’s leading designer and retailer of bean bags and bean-filled furniture. The winner will also receive £250 worth of vouchers for their school.
According to the survey nearly nine out of 10 teachers (88%) felt that too many distractions in the bedroom (games machines, TVs etc) were at the root of sleep related problems along with the fact parents are simply not strict enough about enforcing bedtimes (82%). And more than half (55%) agreed that the brightest children in the classroom are the best slept and most wide awake.
Jessica said: “Lack of sleep would appear to be an issue across all primary school age groups which is a real concern. Our schools project will involve pupils monitoring the sleep habits of their parents which will hopefully also serve to remind them of the need to ensure their children get a decent night’s sleep if they are to do well at school.”
Students to debate the ethics of capitalism T
he heated debate about the future of capitalism is no longer confined to the halls of Westminster and the board rooms of Canary Wharf; a new, schools’ pack aims to take the discussion to the next generation. The new educational resource has been developed by Oasis in partnership with London Connection, and Christian Aid, to inspire the next generation to join the debate. The pack supports learning at key stage 4 and invites teachers and learners to explore capitalism critically, asking questions that will help them to determine what it is, how it works and how it influences and affects the world we live in. Pointing to recent real-world examples, such as the financial crash of 2008, the learning resource will help students examine the impact of our economic system on
6
wider society and ask the question, who should take responsibility for it, when it seems to go wrong?
Steve Chalke MBE, Founder of Oasis says, “Recent events, including the Occupy London movement have raised serious questions about the economic system we live in, but ultimately it will be for the next generation to determine the answers. The ‘Exploring Ethical Capitalism’ educational resource will help students take a critical look at the ethical issues surrounding the debate and help them draw conclusions of their own.”
Ken Costa, Chairman of London Connection says, “When it comes to the ethics of how we do business, dialogue and discussion are two of the best ways of finding solutions. By studying the importance of the ethical creation of wealth,
www.education-today.co.uk
the students will have the chance to form their own views on how the world of tomorrow should trade both ethically and effectively.” As well as facilitating discussion on issues that will have a profound impact on the rest of their lives, the ‘Exploring Ethical Capitalism’ resource also supports core learning across a wide range of the curriculum.
The pack, which is free of charge, has been developed by Oasis in partnership with London Connection, an organisation set up by The Diocese of London to liaise with the Occupy movement and Christian Aid, one of the world’s leading development agencies which has conducted considerable research on the effects of economic systems and development issues. It can be downloaded at
www.oasisuk.org/ethicalcapitalism
March 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36