‘TrashWatch’ and learning across disciplines in schools

By MARS GUIBONE
Contributor

CARE for the Earth is an urgent global call that needs urgent action. It may sound passé but that is the reality. Everyone is called to respond and there is no better field to sow the good seed of ecological awareness and change than the school. This can be done through integration in the curriculum. One effective way is through the creation of a special program in the school wherein the different subjects or disciplines can complementarily articulate the objectives of the said program based on learning competencies inherent to them. I am speaking from experience. 

In my stint as science department coordinator at Corpus Christi School, I conceptualized and initiated the “TrashWatch Program” in response to the implementation of RA 9003 in Cagayan de Oro City. TrashWatch, short for Trash Segregation Watch, is a school-wide program that specifically aims to: 1) intensify awareness of the importance of waste segregation vis a vis the city-wide implementation of RA 9003; 2) to equip the students with knowledge and skills on waste segregation; 3) to make the students active and consistent partners of the city in the implementation of waste segregation both in school and at home; and 4) to stir appreciation and sense of joy and pride from doing good or being responsible. These are attained through classroom discussions and activities assigned to each subject area.

Lessons on ecology, issues related to waste disposal, the 5Rs and Waste Segregation are tackled during Science classes. Araling Panlipunan takes care of discussing RA 9003, Prohibited Acts, Fines and Penalties, and of interviewing some Barangay personnel. The English, Filipino, and MTB subjects focus on writing the script for the “Info Drive in the Neighborhood” activity. The Yes-O club collects the scratch papers in the “classroom scratch box” every Friday during clubbing time and weighs them by grade level. The results are tabulated. The grade level with the lightest “scratch weight” is recognized during the Monday assembly and is given an award. Math takes care of letting the students tabulate, graph, and announce the results. In the Art class, the students design a brochure for the promotion of waste segregation and proper waste disposal. While the teachers prepare the children, the school maintenance prepares the garbage bins and signages. They monitor the collection based on the schedule of the barangay and the city. Over-all monitoring is done by the TrashWash Program coordinator for the entire school year while classroom monitoring is done by the class advisers.

For consistency and meaningful school-home partnership, the students are also tasked to do waste segregation at home and help disseminate information in their neighborhood. As proof of their involvement, they take pictures of their trash bins at home and the campaign that they conduct in their neighborhood. To cap the entire program, self-reflection and sharing of experiences and insights are done in Homeroom and Values Education/GMRC classes.

That is learning across disciplines, where a local or a national program can be translated into a school program that grade school children can understand, value, and help implement. That is authentic learning.