ESD diplomas for 88 fourth-graders from Edertal
Shortly before the summer holidays, 88 children in year four at Edertal primary school were delighted to receive a special award. They received their ESD diplomas from the Waldeck-Frankenberg district school board after working on various topics in science lessons for over a year. Four modules, which were brilliantly mastered by the fourth-grade children, were part of the lessons on "Education for Sustainable Development".
In the "Forest, trees and wildlife" module, a project was organised by the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park. The children had the opportunity to experience the forest and its inhabitants up close and with all their senses. Feeling, smelling, hearing and tasting are key ways of understanding the interrelationships in the forest and the benefits of trees for our climate.
As part of the afternoon lessons, Edertal primary school offered the "Children's rights" module for fourth-graders. Among other things, the girls and boys learnt that children in other countries around the world often do not have the opportunity to attend school for many years. Instead, they have to contribute to the family income from a very young age, i.e. go out to work. The fact that child labour is a violation of children's rights is a key lesson in understanding global injustice.
As part of the "Sport, exercise, health and social issues" module, the fourth-grade classes took part in the STARK BEWEGT programme run by the district's sports and youth work department. The programme teaches the children that a community is stronger than the individual. Together, goals can also be achieved more quickly and solutions found more easily. These are important insights that not only play a role in later action skills in terms of sustainable development, but can also be applied in almost all areas of society.
The topic work for the ESD diploma was completed by the "Energy transition and electricity supply" module. Here, the children in year 4 at Edertal primary school learnt how and where electricity is used in our everyday lives and what role renewable energies play in a sustainable energy transition.
Background: ESD Diploma
The "ESD Diploma - Clever macht Zukunft" programme has been in place since the 2021/2022 school year. The district of Waldeck-Frankenberg is thus offering primary schools, year 5/6 secondary schools and the entire special school sector the opportunity to implement "Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)" at educational institutions.
"Clever macht Zukunft" creates new incentives and represents an elaborate concept for more intensive work on the complex topic of education for sustainable development. The diploma comprises various modules for a holistic view of ESD.
These modules were developed taking into account the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the "Agenda 2030", the principles of the Hessian Education and Training Plan and the Hessian core curricula of the school types. Learning content, which is partly carried out by the teachers themselves and partly by external providers, includes, for example, "Agriculture and animal husbandry", "Climate, climate change and climate protection", "Bee protection, bird and insect protection" and "Fair trade".
Caption: ESD diplomas were awarded to the children in the fourth grade at Edertal primary school by the Waldeck-Frankenberg district school authority shortly before the summer holidays. (Photo: District of Waldeck-Frankenberg)