Today is World Earth Day
Our earth is fragile. Not only wars destroy the world but also carelessness towards the planet in every way. The Berlin Cosmopolitan School joins the Earth Day movement and would like to draw attention to the uniqueness and fragility of our planet today. That’s why Chris Carter, a teacher at the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, co-launched a book with the school called ‘Forest Days’, detailing his regular experiences of teaching in the forest and in nature.
Especially through education we can manifest better awareness and mindful behavior towards the earth. It is therefore important when working with children and young people that the teachers and educators, as mediators of the planet, convey their uniqueness and the effects of changes on earth to them in a practice-oriented manner.
The Berlin Cosmopolitan School feels responsible for teaching the children and young people all the knowledge and skills they need to live a holistically healthy and successful life for themselves and their environment. For this reason, the Berlin Cosmopolitan School has been following the methods of the nature school since 2004 and has been implementing this with the children in kindergarten since the first year of life.
For several years now, the school has been taking the sixth graders to the forest for a whole day and teaching the students outdoors, whatever the weather. “The children learn in nature through primary experiences in the group and through individual exercises. We notice that especially with the 12-year-olds who are at the beginning of puberty, this time releases an incredible strength and energy in them. They learn to deal with nature and their environment with care and are very focused,” says Yvonne Wende, founder and director of the Berlin Cosmopolitan School.
The Berlin Cosmopolitan School published a book based on these experiences together with the responsible teacher Chris Carter. The book “Forest Days” clearly describes relevant methods for teaching in the forest and in nature. It is aimed at educators and interested parties who want to help protect the environment and planet earth with children.
About the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, Preschool and Kindergarten
The Berlin Cosmopolitan School is changing the traditional way schools and kindergartens work with different approaches to learning in the areas of nature and environmental protection, sports, new work, culture, dance, music and art and much more. The aim of the independent school, preschool and kindergarten is to bring all students along according to their abilities.
“When school motivates, everyone learns more” is the conviction of the Berlin Cosmopolitan School. Regular outdoor learning, sports activities and competitions, digital projects such as robotics, internships from grade 6, music-making from kindergarten age, dance clubs, bilingual education and much more help the children to discover and develop their own preferences and abilities.
Important concerns of the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, Kindergarten and Preschool are social justice, equal opportunities in education and a balanced community. The school regularly awards scholarships to students and accepts refugees. Through its established network and internationally trained staff, the educational institution has the opportunity to explore new educational paths for every age group.
The Berlin Cosmopolitan School was founded in 2003 as a non-profit organisation by Yvonne Wende. In 2004, the first bilingual (English-German) kindergarten and preschool opened for Berlin-Mitte with 18 children. Shortly after, the primary school started and most recently, in 2009, the accredited bilingual Gymnasium of Berlin Cosmopolitan School 01P22. Since then, the number of students has steadily increased. Approximately 1,000 students from all over the world are now being taught on the Rückerstraße and Invalidenstraße campuses. The kindergarten has grown to a number of more than 300 children between the ages of 1 and 6.
In 2013, Berlin Cosmopolitan School was accredited as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, first for primary school and also for the Gymnasium. The IB Learner Profile is about developing children and young people into lifelong learners. The school and kindergarten use primary experiences to design lessons.