W5: "The School that Runs on Kindness and Solar Power"

 The School that Runs on Kindness and Solar Power

My futuristic school will look like this; it is a combined primary and secondary school. So, the students can progress from primary to secondary without changing schools and can share the facilities in the school. This can reduce the cost of installing the solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system, which can save up a large amount. 

This school uses solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems. The solar panels can absorb the sunlight to generate electricity, making the school more environmentally friendly and reducing long-term energy costs. The rainwater harvesting system collects rainwater to make use of a resource that helps the school manage their water supply more sustainably. It also provides an independent source of water for non-drinking uses like gardening plants or cleaning in the schools, and also significantly reduces water bills (Department of Irrigation and Drainage, n.d.). It also can foster students learning about water recycling and encourages the development of good habits, such as regularly watering plants. This school has rooftop garden to let students planting plants and it provides insulation that can help to keep buildings cooler in summer and lowering energy costs. 

This school has provided AI tutors to students that offer personalized help based on their unique learning style. Smart assistants help with everything such as math problems and language practice; this can free up teachers to focus on more social-emotional learning like compassion and inclusion. AI tutors can let students make learning more engaging and effective to students and can frequently remind students about important tasks, like paying school fees and upcoming events. 

In this futuristic school, they provide some subjects including empathy training and mental health awareness. The empathy training teaches students how to understand and share the feelings of others, and this can help students develop better interpersonal skills and improve communication. The mental health awareness can let students to emphasize their mental health and promotes self-care. The school also promotes community services such as organizing neighborhood clean-up days and mentoring the younger students who need extra support since this is a combined of primary and secondary school. There are also inclusive classrooms, which include different abilities, helping students accept different cultures and learning other languages. 

The students will learn emotional and social skills, diversity and inclusion values and practical skills, and technology. Students will learn the empathy and compassion training, mental health awareness and communication skills. They will also respect and understand different cultures and abilities, which can help prevent bullying in schools. They will have AI tutors for personalized learning and some hands-on project with renewable energy. 

" Hi! I'm Bryan, a 15-year-old student here. The reason I really love this school is because they actually care about students and nature. Our classrooms are powered by solar energy, and we collect rainwater to water our rooftop garden. I have my own AI tutor that helps me with math when I get stuck and we can celebrate each other's cultures when the schools have events about food festivals and performances."

Why should current schools change? That's a standout reason; current schools focus more on exams, and they are ignoring empathy, emotional intelligence and cultural understanding. By using renewable energy and inclusive classroom, can let students realize the usefulness of renewable energy and the importance of preparing students to thrive in diverse societies. But now, there are some schools starting to use renewable energy on their schools, for example, Green School in Bali, Indonesia. The school is powered by renewable materials, such as bamboo, grass and mud. The school runs on renewable energy, using solar panels and hydropower. It’s also built around an organic permaculture system, blending nature and sustainability into every part of the campus (Saunders, 2023).

References

Department of Irrigation and Drainage. (n.d.). https://www.water.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/671 

Saunders, C. (2023, February 15). Top 10: Most sustainable schools in the world. Sustainability Magazine. https://sustainabilitymag.com/articles/top-10-most-sustainable-schools-in-the-world