At the British Council School, we are conscious that it is essential for our students to have an education which is focussed on environmental awareness, so that they grow up to be responsible adults. The School is making a strong effort to be sustainable and look after its surroundings, providing an example and developing our students in a holistic way. Our Headmistress, Mercedes Hernández Estrada, spoke about the School´s sustainability strategies at the Managing Children forum, which we sponsored in November.
On the 16th of November, in front of a sell-out audience at the Lope de Vega Theatre in Madrid, Mercedes Hernández, spoke about the role of the School and Sustainability, as part of our curriculum, as well as our commitment to the 3R´s (recycle, reduce, re-use). She also talked about the theory of multiple intelligences which the School is putting into practice. The theory was developed by Howard Gartner, Professor at Harvard, and published in 1983. He maintains that in the same way that there are many different kinds of problems, there are also multiple types of intelligence, better suited to face these problems. These are not just logical, mathematical or linguistic based intelligence. In total, there are 8 different kinds of intelligences, which are recognised in students. These are able to mutually interact and reinforce each other.
At the British Council School, we develop each and everyone of these different intelligences: Linguistic and Logical-mathematical intelligence, of course, but also, Musical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalistic intelligences. We identify the main type of intelligence in each student and are able to design a curriculum based on activities which stimulate each of the 8 different kinds. In this way we develop our student´s minds by developing a whole range of mental skills based on each kind of intelligence. In the case of Naturalistic intelligence, we begin to raise awareness about the need to look after our Planet, from an early age. This methodology is being rolled-out from Infants through to Secondary.
The subject is so important, that environmental awareness and the fight against climate change are also part of our formal curriculum. There are different subjects and study programmes around the topic, as well as extra-curricular activities, like the gardening club and the “Green Champions”. In this way, we create opportunities for our students to share ideas about how we improve the environment.
And, of course, as well as having more and more intelligent and efficient buildings, we will also be looking out for small improvements such as water aerators in taps and new thermostats, etc. We shall also make future changes with more sustainable and renewable types of energy such as solar and geothermal energies.
All of this means that over the last year, the School has reduced its carbon footprint by 16%, something we are very proud of.
To round off the “Managing Children” event, our Primary School Choir took to the stage and sang a wonderful song about Hope. It was a really great day where.