Image retrieved from https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/programs-and-projects/walk-to-school
Travelling to and from school is a concept that has increasingly changed over the past thirty years, this may be due to ideas and opinions surrounding sustainability and global warming becoming more prevalent. Therefore many have been supporting the idea of sustainable active transport, to not only help the environment, but also in some cases to help our general wellbeing. However not everyone in Australia is choosing to follow this trend with many people still choosing to use their own car to drive to and from school and work. According to Dr Jan Garrard from the Victorian health council (2009) Australia, along with the USA, and the UK have the lowest levels of active transport. In 2008 Baslington reported that during the last three decades more than double the amount of families are choosing to drive to school, rather than walk, ride a bike or scooter, or catch public transport (Baslington, 2008).
Image retrieved from http://www.gvftma.com/news/?id=1107
For students to have strong links to their local communities they need to have opportunities to act as global citizens. Opportunities such as recycling, walking to and from school, and making changes in the home can allow this to happen (Bradbury, 2013).
The activity highlighted on this blog is based on the concept of the former Australian wide walking school bus project (Travelsmart, 2007; Vichealth, 2015). There are many reasons why families are choosing not to include active forms of transport as part of their routine. Some of these may include: parental fear/caution, lack of opportunity, time constraints, or heavy reliance on car travel (Cook, Whitzman and Tranter, 2015). However parents should not let these obstacles stop them from allowing their children to get much needed exercise, and freedom. The idea of the walking school bus may put some parents worries to rest, the walking school bus allows students to meet at one of three designated meeting spots and make the commute to school as a group with supervising adults present.
The lesson is based on the curriculum outcomes ACHCS033 and ACHCS034 (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authoirity, 2015).
Students will be shown the following to introduce the idea of the walking school bus:
After this students will, in alignment with the civics and citizenship curriculum devise a plan to implement a walking school bus in their own community. Students will need to identify roles, create routes, and finally create a persuasive presentation explaining to staff and families what a walking school bus is, and why it is beneficial. Emphasis should also be placed on the cross curriculum priority of sustainability, as students will need to consider social, cultural and environmental sustainability (ACARA, 2015b).
To promote this ideas as a whole school initiative students can invite family members, local government bodies and local press to the school to launch their initiative with a presentation highlighting the positives of the walking school bus. This build links between not only the students and their school community, but also the school and the local community.
The lesson is based on the curriculum outcomes ACHCS033 and ACHCS034 (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authoirity, 2015).
Students will be shown the following to introduce the idea of the walking school bus:
After this students will, in alignment with the civics and citizenship curriculum devise a plan to implement a walking school bus in their own community. Students will need to identify roles, create routes, and finally create a persuasive presentation explaining to staff and families what a walking school bus is, and why it is beneficial. Emphasis should also be placed on the cross curriculum priority of sustainability, as students will need to consider social, cultural and environmental sustainability (ACARA, 2015b).
To promote this ideas as a whole school initiative students can invite family members, local government bodies and local press to the school to launch their initiative with a presentation highlighting the positives of the walking school bus. This build links between not only the students and their school community, but also the school and the local community.
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015, May 15). Humanities and Social Sciences: Civics and Citizenship curriculum, v. 7.5. Retrieved from http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-sciences/civics-and-citizenship/curriculum/f-10?layout=1
Baslington, H. (2008). School travel plans. Transport Reviews, 28(2), 239-258. doi: 10.1080/01441640701630863
Bradbery, D. (2013). Bridges to global citizenship: Ecologically sustainable futures utilising children’s literature in teacher education. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 29(2), 221-237. doi: 10.1017/aee.2014.7
Cook, A., Whitzman, C., & Tranter, P. (2015). Is ‘Citizen Kid’ an independent kid? The relationship between children’s independent mobility and active citizenship. Journal of Urban Design, 20(4), 526-544. DOI: 10.1080/13574809.2015.1044505
Garrard, J. (2009). Active transport: Children and young people. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aWpKDkAI5LwJ:https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/~/media/resourcecentre/publicationsandresources/active%2520travel/active_transport_children_and_young_people_final.ashx+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au
Garrard, J. (2009). Active transport: Children and young people. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aWpKDkAI5LwJ:https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/~/media/resourcecentre/publicationsandresources/active%2520travel/active_transport_children_and_young_people_final.ashx+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au
TravelSmart (2007, September 4). Walking school bus – a guide for parents and teachers. Retrieved from http://www.travelsmart.gov.au/schools/schools2.html
