I was rather uncharitable (quite uncharacteristically, so, I thought) about the Bristol TeachMeet last Thursday evening. I'm happy to report that some 9 teachers did turn up. I'm less happy to note that hardly any of them had heard of the sustainable development goals. Their interests seemed (mostly) environmental, but then such things are hardly disconnected with the SDGs. There was much angst around about how few green flags there are adorning Bristol schools. I sensed a bit of embarrassment as this was not a welcome legacy of Bristol's period as the Green Capital. It could be, of course, that Bristol's schools are just showing discernment.
I sat next to Fred, the engaging orang-utan, who'd brought along his ventriloquist, Stephanie Roinier. Fred, aided by Stephanie (and Tom who used to work for the Natural History Unit and who had a huge bundle of super-nice pics to share with us) stole the show. You'll find Fred on YouTube talking about the evils of palm oil, and he's on Facebook as well.
Then there was sustainableshaun.com c/o Aardman. I've yet to explore this, but it's all about Shaun building an eco-friendly place to live and it comes via sustainable learning.com which explores the Green Capital legacy – what there is of it.
There were calls for more TeachMeets. Next time, I hope that teachers are given more of an opportunity to share what they do. After all, it is what TeachMeets are supposed to be about.
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