This week I was lucky enough to be invited to give a workshop on the environment at the Tirana Training Centre.
TCC is an international school based in Tirana and it provides intensive language instruction, academic preparation, and cross-cultural training to both children and adults. They strive to promote enhanced learning and higher-order thinking skills to empower both young and mature students to succeed in academic, professional, and personal realms. With a multicultural and multilingual teaching body and multiple locations around Tirana, they offer courses in a wide range of subjects that are designed to stimulate and evolve the minds of their pupils.
So of course, I jumped at the chance of being invited to speak there. I prepared a few points, put on my most professional and teacherly outfit and trotted off to meet my audience.
The group of children I was lucky enough to talk to were aged between around 8-16 (I find it difficult to guess ages, the older I get) and they were an incredibly smart and attentive bunch. I was incredibly impressed with the scope of their existing knowledge- they knew what happens to waste, why landfills are bad and not sustainable, and the dangers of using plastic. They also had lots of ideas about how to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and I was over the moon to hear that some were even putting out dishes of water with sugar in to feed weary bees.
These kids knew how much damage we are causing to the world around us and they care about it as well. It was truly refreshing to see such an aware and positive attitude coming from such young minds, particularly when I struggle to get understanding of the basics such as “don’t throw your litter on the floor” when I speak to adults.
One boy asked me earnestly;
“I once took a reusable cup to a coffee shop and they refused to serve me because it was my own cup. What should I do?”
My response to him was- “Are there any other coffee shops nearby? If so, go there. Go where they support the positive things you are trying to do.”
We talked about the fact that cleaning up is our responsibilty- I asked them if they help their mum clean the house, if they tidy their rooms, and if they think it is ok to throw a plastic bottle on the kitchen floor and leave it- by comparing their homes to our world, which is also ALL of our homes, I got them to see that keeping it clean is our responsibililty. And by “our” I mean all of us, not just the state or the Bashkia. Don’t blame litter on a lack of bins or street cleaners, it is our fault it is there, and it is our duty to lend a hand in cleaning it up. Anything that the state does is a bonus.
We also discussed ditching straws, reusable veggie and shopping bags, not using plastic spoons or cups, reusable products, and the importance of recycling. It was a really great discussion and I felt I learng something from them as well.
In a week where I had felt a little disheartened at negative comments, it was nice to have such a positive bunch of young people brimming with ideas, opinions, perspectives, and suggestions. To these little pioneers of the future, thankyou!
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