Vila Verde School
Vila Verde is a private Primary School that contains children of 3-6 years old in the city Unit, and of 7-12 years old in the Unit next to the National Park Chapada dos Veadeiros, in Alto Paraíso de Goiás county (GO), a distinct region for its Cerrado vegetation. Founded in 2000 by a group of parents, the School had the intention of offering a differentiated education to children of the Region. However, since 2013, the School became a partner of Caminho do Meio Institute, administered by the Centre of Buddhist Education Bodisatva (CEBB). Since then, the School incorporates Buddhist philosophy to its teaching methods, contextualised into its essence and projects. This way, all of the people involved benefit from this pedagogical freedom once self-identity is established – based on the local reality. There are approximately 50 students in both Units, who attend morning classes that are multi-categorised.
The School has “Educate individuals for happiness and action, in a world where confidence and consciousness represent the inner-self, conjoined with nature,” as their mission. Inserted in this context, the students learn from a young age to preserve their settings. For this to happen, they are stimulated to understand, incorporate, and finally reproduce respect and responsibility. As a result, many of the School instruments are strongly connected to environmental matters. The necessity of preserving local flora and fauna intensifies the sustainability awareness, creating habits that are indispensable to the life of future generations. Militant ecology is present and active, seeking the common well-being of the residents, future residents and all of those who are present.
