Enjoy Yourselves, Use Educational Opportunities

“Schools across the island are into their last week of the Fall Term, as the Calendar Year rumbles to a close. It is evident that schools play a vital part in the development of young people; however it provides only a portion of their ‘growth’,” Imagine Bermuda said.

“It is arguable that as vacation offers a period for renewing mind, body and spirit, and it is filled with educational opportunities – chances for growth and development. So that even when young people are out of school, education continues.

“Let’s distinguish between ‘Schooling’ and ‘Education’. The former ‘tends’ to be limited by walls of various kinds, while for the latter, the ‘sky’s the limit’.

“Old School is the ‘place’ which is either Teacher-driven or Testing-driven. However, a fresher approach regards education as being Learning-driven; focused on empowering students.

“Carika Weldon PhD, lecturer and researcher at DeMontfort University in the U.K., in early November 2017, offered her beloved Bermuda an example of moving outside of ‘walls’, when she brought 18 students with her to the Island, along with a fellow lecturer, from that school’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.

“The components that this tour had that reinforced that it was truly educational included:

• 1. ”The students were focused on some cutting-edge areas of scientific research.

• 2. ”Using the principle that true learning occurs when one attempt to teach what has been learnt, Carika deployed her students for presentations at all our Public & Private, Middle and Senior schools.

• 3. “In her role as an educational leader, Carika framed their visits to local schools as a form of service to their hosts – teaching social responsibility.

• 4. ”In spite of the hours of work put in by the students, the travel tour was organized to ensure that the students had fun.

“The video they produced is testimony to that last point:

“On this theme of ‘empowering students’, please remember that this can be a ‘family goal’. So over the Christmas Holidays we invite families to enjoy themselves in a way that makes use of educational opportunities:

• “Join in simple family-oriented games that can reinforce family bonds, building a ‘sense of self’ for the younger generation.

• “Make use of some of the Island’s amenities that offer reasonably priced educational entertainment. Include the Aquarium – which has developed into a small, but World-Class facility.

“Make plans to attend free of charge, the ‘Parent Expo’ on Saturday, January 20th  4 – 8 pm at Cedarbridge – [includes a Youth Maker-Faire.]”

#Education

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