Raising an empathetic, open-minded child is high up on the agenda for most parents. But how can you guarantee these values are reinforced during the school day? At Futuraskolan International School Bergtorp teachers take up the reins, organising global citizenship projects that foster tolerance and intercultural awareness.
13-year-old Ebba recently discovered that families in Germany don't share a communal butter knife. The revelation came during a meal with a German exchange student her family hosted for several days during the autumn term.
It might not seem like a life-changing realisation, but for Ebba it was an eye-opening moment. Discovering that people around the world have different norms is the first step to becoming aware and respectful of other cultures and customs.
The student exchange project is just one of many projects that realise the school's goal of shaping future global citizens. Part of the Futuraskolan network, which operates nine preschools and seven schools in Stockholm, Futuraskolan International Bergtorp offers grades 6-9 and teaches a combination of the Swedish curriculum and the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC).
There are several global citizenship projects running per class at any given time, such as the Världen Barn project in which sixth graders collect money for charity and investigate how it's used, the Rubbish project run in collaboration with a school in Sri Lanka and, of course, the German exchange project mentioned by Ebba. All projects are carried out in English so students simultaneously improve language skills and become more culturally aware.
A major win for the school came in the form of Erasmus +, a two-year project funded by the EU and run in partnership with schools in the Netherlands, Poland and Germany. Johan explains that, where possible, teachers at Futuraskolan International Bergtorp try to connect the projects with the IMYC -- in the case of Erasmus +, it naturally combined with the seventh grade's Curiosity unit.
"We want our students to learn about their family history, so we started researching their family backgrounds and connected it to writing an article and the unit of curiosity, since you have to be curious to find out about your background," says Johan.
He adds that the students have also created a travel agency to find similarities and differences between Sweden and the other countries involved with the project. They have designed packages for "trips in time" to see how the countries are connected but also where they differ.
Students have already travelled to Poland as part of the Erasmus + project and are looking forward to trips to Germany and the Netherlands over the coming year.
This year is the first time 12-year-old Ivar has taken part in a global citizenship project.
So far, Ivar and his classmates have recorded messages in English to share with a partner school in Scotland. The students swapped stories about Christmas traditions which he was pleased to find are similar in some ways but very different in others.
Seventh grader Stella has also particularly enjoyed the opportunity to bolster her language learning skills. Not just in English but also in German, which she was able to practice with her German exchange student.
Johan notices a real change in the children that take part in the global citizenship projects. They start out shy, he says, but quickly develop different communications skills and learn plenty about themselves and others in the process.
There are obvious perks for parents too, he adds.
This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by Futuraskolan International.