Now more than ever, projects such as SCILT’s Sustainable Designs for Living and Learning are vital. At a time when schools and multilingual children face political attacks and damaging narratives about “smashing culture,” this work powerfully reaffirms that languages do not erase culture – they enrich it. Our classrooms are home to multilingual seedlings: children whose languages, identities and lived experiences are full of potential. With care, encouragement and thoughtful design, these seedlings can flourish.
Sustainable Designs for Living and Learning gives children and their teachers a creative lens through which to explore the natural world around them, finding vocabulary to describe their environment, their experiences, and their place within it. We know that the ability to communicate in more than one language brings profound benefits for individuals and society, developing empathy, curiosity, and global awareness. By adopting multilingual approaches that enable all children to thrive, our hope is that is they grow into responsible, sustainable global citizens, confident in their voices and empowered to reach their full potential.
Photo by Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash