Education
The Passport to the Future
By Seda Sejud
The Sloth Institute Costa Rica
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”, Malcolm X once exclaimed in an impassioned speech about the importance of education. At The Sloth Institute Costa Rica (TSI), we truly believe that “education is the passport to the future” and as TSI embarks upon its third anniversary, we are excited to be expanding our work with Education and Conservation initiatives, both of which are core tenets of our mission.
TSI’s 3rd annual Elementary School Sloth Challenge (ESSC), will be held the entire month of October in celebration of International Sloth Day, Friday October 20. This year’s campaign—Your Voice is Their Future—offers elementary school teachers a four week differentiated curriculum packet with resources designed to engage and excite young minds about the rainforest and animals who call it home.
At TSI we believe it is critically important that kids, at a young age, learn the importance of respecting wildlife and that we need to help inspire them to enjoy nature responsibly. We also believe that the 1st step in bringing awareness to wildlife and habitat conservation issues depends on individuals being aware of their existence. Through the four-week curriculum, we hope to encourage young students to be mindful of the survival of this unique species. Even if a child has never had the opportunity to see a sloth in the rainforest, they can make an impact on the species future in the wild. And while sloths are our key focus, we feel that the sloth, is the perfect ambassador to deliver the important issues that concern all wildlife.
To help with this important project, we sought the assistance of The Life Project School (LPS)’s founder and director Alys Robinson. As a curriculum designer, education specialist, and someone who is a huge proponent of conservation, Alys, along with TSI’s Education Volunteer Robin Jenkins, have designed an outstanding interactive curriculum that meets the standards of elementary school educators. For Alys, conservation education and advocacy is a core philosophy and is embedded in nearly all the curriculum at Life Project Education. We are thrilled to be collaborating with LPS not only on this project but on an ongoing basis.
We hope to reach as many elementary school teachers in English speaking countries as possible to participate in this year’s four-week program. In 2018, we plan to offer a Spanish version to our local community schools as well as to schools in other provinces in Costa Rica.
If you know of a teacher who might be interested in participating, they can sign up HERE .
Each one of us can be a teacher, let’s all do our part in helping make this world a better place.
“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught”-Babe Dioum
About Life Project School (Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica)
The Life Project School’s mission is to foster conscious, global-minded citizens who will be equipped to creatively solve the problems facing the world, become self-reliant, & find harmony & peace within themselves & their communities. Alys Jasmine Robinson, founder of Life Project Education, is an education specialist, curriculum designer, and currently directs and teaches at her private holistic World Learning Center in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica (lifeprojected.com). With over ten years of teaching experience, a Master’s degree in Education Theory, and multiple teaching credentials from UCLA and San Diego State University, she brings dynamic theoretical perspectives to her unique programs. More importantly, she brings full heart and attention to each moment with her children and families. To learn more, go to lifeprojected.com or email [email protected].
About The Sloth Institute Costa Rica (Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica)
theslothinstitutecostarica.org
The mission of The Sloth Institute Costa Rica is to protect and enhance the welfare and conservation of sloths. It seeks to do this through wild and captive sloth research; education and outreach; and by collaborating with sloth rehabilitation programs to assist with the release of hand-raised orphaned sloths. TSI is located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. For further information or to donate to this project, email [email protected] or visit tsi.charity.org. You can also follow us on our FaceBook page theslothinstitute.