The Green Education Model Curriculum

The Green Education Model is a reconfigured curriculum for the UK I started to put together (but never really finished) when I first started to figure out my education philosophy while exploring the complex problem of the UK’s national education system.

Basically if I was given free reign over how I wanted to study my compulsory state education the GEM is how I would have done it.

The GEM is a proposed reform for the United Kingdom’s primary and secondary (Key stages 1 to 4) compulsory education program.

The GEM employs curriculum designed around each student to empower them to identify and grow their own strengths and passions. It adopts a healthy, positive and flourishing attitude towards education and future-proofing the sustainability of our world.

Inspired by the increasingly urgent need for the nation to be environmentally sustainable and drawing heavily from the findings of Positive Psychology and the world-renowned education model of Finland, the reasoning for the creation of the GEM curriculum can best be summed up by its five key objectives…

1. 1. Transdisciplinary approach – An education curriculum that is focused on producing global citizens who are proactive problem solvers capable of employing systems thinking and creativity to tackle the increasingly complex and wide-ranging issues of the fast-changing twenty-first century. A transdisciplinary approach means a curriculum with disciplinary boundaries that are increasingly blurred between each subject area and in which the students will increasingly be presented with recurring themes and focuses – such as critical thinking, environmental sustainability, personal wellbeing, creativity and innovation – that will enable the students to form connections across subject areas and then independently produce their own conclusions and outputs.

    

   2. Sustainability for all – An education curriculum that is focused on nurturing sustainably minded citizens who possess the global-environmental attitude necessary for cultivating green and healthy lifestyles which in turn uphold and support a green and healthy country. Sustainability for all means a prosperous country that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Making the country environmentally sustainable is a fundamental shift which requires adjustments in every area of governance, industry, and attitude, but ultimately its long-term impact requires a fundamental focus on the environment embedded within the national curriculum. By Sense of awe, wonder appreciation future-proofing the UK

    

   3. Personal flourishing – An education curriculum that enables each student to have the opportunity and support to define their own passions and then to develop these strengths into personal and professional focuses beyond their primary and secondary education. Positive Psychology research has demonstrated that positively minded individuals, who possess a high level of wellbeing and a clear conception of purpose for their lives, not only prosper in their personal lives, but they also have hugely beneficial impacts in their relationships, workplaces, communities, and environments. A dominant focus of the GEM curriculum is the philosophy that personal flourishing relies upon environmental flourishing, and vice-versa. Therefore, bolstering the health and wellbeing of the individual is essential for bolstering the health and wellbeing of the environment.

    

   4. Growth not assessment – An education curriculum that removes unnecessary stress from young people lives by placing only a small focus on traditional formal testing. The majority of what would traditionally have been termed “student assessment” will be conducted by informal and self-directed means. Growth no assessment means that the student’s growth emotional and intellectually is Constructive feedback will be directed towards bolstering the growth of the student as they explore their passions and refine their skills throughout their schooling years.

    

   5. Teaching flexibility – An education curriculum that accepts that the best educators are individuals who themselves are still also learning. Therefore, the GEM curriculum allows teachers greater flexibility for their growth and further professional development.