Reflection on the EfS Curriculum Design Studio

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Last summer, I had the pleasure of taking one of the most productive professional development workshops in my sixteen years of teaching. The Cloud Institute had asked participants of their Education for Sustainability Curriculum Design Studio to come prepared with a lesson plan or unit which would be worked on and viewed through the lens of the EfS standards. This made all the difference. I chose our fall science unit on Water/Salt Marsh Ecology.
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What is Sustainability?

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Educators for sustainability never begin a conversation by defining sustainability. We don't define it because that is not the best way to understand what we mean by it. Many great concepts and processes share this particular difficulty--grace and democracy among them. At the Cloud Institute, we prefer educating for sustainability to talking about sustainability. Having said that, people still ask us "what is sustainability?" So, the following is a list of definitions we have collected from various experts within the field.
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Pencils : A Classroom Commons

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This 3 minute video podcast entitled, Pencils : A Classroom Commons, was produced by Betsy Kates , a teacher in our PNW BOCES EfS Curriculum Design Project , and her son Gabe.  Betsy got very excited about the work of educating for sustainability—particularly passionate about the EfS Standard, “Healthy Commons”,  and decided to produce this video about the lessons her students learned by studying the Commons through their use of pencils in the classroom.  

Marla Gardner, Director of the The BOCES Curriculum Center got very excited about this podcast as a great way to communicate what the EfS Standrds are all about, and decided we should have a podcast for every one of the Cloud Institute’s EfS Standards.  She offered mini grants to all the teachers in the project to produce additional podcasts.  Three have been produced so far.  Click here to check them out. 

Stayed tuned for more… 

 
 

Two Video Animations Demonstrate EfS Attributes

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These video animations were designed and produced by high school students in the Philomath High Robotics Engineering Division (PHRED) at  Philomath HS  in Philomath, Oregon.  These two 30 second animations are from PHRED Team 847. PHRED Team 847 is sponsored by local foundations, corporations and the Lions Club.

Operation Gyre is an elegant  30 second demonstration of several EfS attributes including authentic curriculum and assessment, the entrepreneurial mindset,  an understanding of the materials cycle principle and three of our enduring understandings:  “A Healthy and Sustainable Future is Possible”; “Live by the Natural Laws” and  “Read the Feedback”.  

 
 

Pure Water 847  is another elegant 30 second demonstration of  authentic curriculum and assessment, the entrepreneurial mindset, Biomimicry and “A Sustainable Future is Possible.”  In addition, the animations illustrate a robust use of technology in the classroom (Autodesk 3ds Max).   

 
 

Education for Sustainability: Bridges and Solutions from an Intern’s Perspective

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As a new intern to Cloud, I knew very little about the New Jersey Learns Program. Words like practicum and indicator were foreign to me. The week prior to the recent NJ Learns meeting, I helped to organize participant practicum information to prepare for their certification. I stared at the mysterious names and read email exchanges describing how these people were incorporating sustainability education into their lives. It was inspiring and I was happy to help Cloud, but I felt removed from what was actually happening with the program. Then the ladies invited me to come to the final day! I was delighted to travel into the ‘field’ and be a part of the action.
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Getting the word out! Creating Awareness for A Sustainable future!

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After attending NJ Learns Training at the Cloud Institute last year, I was ecstatic to return to Cranford and begin inspiring students, staff and community members to educate for sustainability. My number one goal was to use what I had learned and share my experiences; I didn’t want to pass up this great opportunity for change. Luckily I was fortunate enough to be able to incorporate all three groups - students, staff and community members - into the NJ Learns practicum I needed to complete for my certification, which helped me to achieve my goal.
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Hands Are for Helping, Not Hurting

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I believe, as a teacher, it is my responsibility to prepare my students to become active citizens in our world. They have the power to create both social and environmental change. This project and our school garden help build awareness, responsibility, and action about our school’s cleanliness and its relationship with the environment.
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First Graders Resolve Social Conflict Using Systems Thinking

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There is nothing more inspiring than being able to resolve conflict in our relationships with one another. Respecting one another and our differences and recognizing our interdependence is a core attribute of Educating for Sustainability. The result is happy, diverse, successful, and healthy societies.  

The Waters Foundation is an organization that integrates systems thinking tools into classrooms and schools. Learners are provided with the tools to develop solutions that break unsustainable patterns in our thinking and behavior. Watch in amazement as a group of 1st grade boys use a systems causal loop diagram to identify social problems in their playground and resolve their conflict with one another!

Three 1st grade boys use feedback loops to help define and solve problems they were having on the playground.

 
 

Trevor Day School raises money for EfS!

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We love to feature the beautiful work of our clients! This video is a great example of the commitment our clients have to Education for Sustainability (EfS)!

Trevor Day School, located in New York City, created this four minute fund raising video for EfS (with a quick interview from a familiar face)!  They raised over $100,000 at an Auction Night for the school! Keep up the incredible work!

Trevor Day School - EfS Fundraiser Video from Cloud Institute on Vimeo.

From the Field— “I Matter! A Systems Approach to 3rd Grade Field Trips”

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In the summer of 2010 I attended the Cloud Institute’s EfS Curriculum Design Studio and rewrote our Monarch Butterfly Curriculum to integrate systems thinking. Although monarchs are still the stars of our curriculum, our third grade team really wanted the students to learn that they have a real and genuine influence on the systems in which they are a part: they do matter and can affect change!
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Jessie-Ruth Corkins: Vermont Sustainable Heating Initiative

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When thinking of the young people who continue to inspire EfS work, Jessie-Ruth Corkins comes to mind.

Jessie-Ruth is the core leader of the Vermont Sustainable Heating Initiative (VSHI), a group of students representing 200-plus youth from 26 high schools.  In 2004, Jessie-Ruth rose to a teacher’s challenge to create an energy conservation plan; her proposal to transition the school’s oil boiler to a woodchip boiler fueled by local products was adopted by the school board. After learning that Vermont does not have the forest capacity to heat the population with wood alone, VSHI wanted to facilitate the transition to heating with locally produced biomass energy crops.

Jessie-Ruth and VSHI wrote a persuasive statewide plan to develop Vermont’s 100,000 acres of underutilized land to grow prairie grass that could be pelletized and provide all of Vermont’s home heating needs. VHSI estimates the program’s financial returns could eventually reach up to $1.3 billion. However, Jessie-Ruth believes the returns will be greater than just money. “Locally produced energy will develop a greater sense of community in Vermont towns,” she said. “Our fuel will come from our own backyards and will offer a stable and affordable price to all Vermonters.” VSHI is currently running a pilot project in which it is transitioning low-income family homes in the community to pellet stoves.

States, Stories and Sustainability, a Fourth Grade Project at The College School

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We have each been teachers for 12 years and most of our experience has been at The College School (TCS), a pre-eighth grade, independent school in St. Louis, Missouri. Sustainability has always been a value at TCS, and yet is has been somewhat intangible. We were fortunate to attend a week-long seminar at The Cloud Institute with a team from The College School.
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Thinking Different About Our Lives

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Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School is a community of active, self-reliant, and lifelong learners. It is a center of meaningful inquiry, research, understanding, and communication. Our school offers integrated instruction in the arts, technology, sciences, and humanities and promotes an environment that fosters self-esteem, responsibility, and respect. Our faculty is composed of outstanding teachers who are committed to providing their students with the best education possible.
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Networks for Sustainable Action

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The New Jersey Learns training has brought together 70 exceptional leaders representing 15 communities in New Jersey (including: Cherry Hill, West Milford, Elizabeth, Livingston, Far Hills, New Brunswick, Green Brook, Jersey City, Bayonne, Trenton and others). As we initially embarked on this journey, the Cloud Institute and our partners set forth that: We would open a program to community teams comprised of individuals who are interested in developing their community’s capacity to make the shift toward sustainability. By linking community efforts to K-12 Education for Sustainability we create a whole community learning environment for systemic change.
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Sustainability as Resilient Community | EfS @ St Paul’s Episcopal School

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The Mission of St. Paul’s Episcopal School in New Orleans is to instill in children the strength of intellect and strength of character in a Christian environment that is positive, respective and familial. They encourage their students to strive to do their best, to be humane, and to appreciate the beauty of life. Merry Sorrell, the Head of School, came to the school at a critical point when, due to the floodwaters of hurricane Katrina, the school was questioning its own ability to keep its doors open and to keep its student registration up.
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A Million Ways of Learning, A Million Ways of Taking Action

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Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES represents 18 local school districts. Their Education for Sustainability initiative represents a far reaching attempt to teach students to live within the means of nature, to be connected with their communities and to catalyze far reaching change starting with their schools. An interview with Carolyn Elwood, who has been participating in this initiative provides insight into the many ways schools can foster the principles of Education for Sustainability in their curriculum.
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Students from the South Bronx Green the Hamptons

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Steve Ritz has served as an educator in South Bronx for 12 years, and has been a friend of The Cloud Institute for almost as long. Steve has consistently generated 100% passing rates on NYS Regents Exams in Math and Science with some of the most challenging students in NYC. He has personally sponsored and arranged scholarships for students, facilitated monetary donations as well as hundreds of computers for South Bronx Youth. Steve recently founded the Green Teen Program and has secured funding for over 2,200 local jobs in line with cultivating minds and harvesting hope.
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Jaimie's Story

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Jaimie's Story
Speaking from my own experience as a K-12 student in the 60’s and 70’s, I can testify to the power of transformative learning in the service of preparing young people to thrive in the 21st Century: I entered the 6th grade at Skiles Junior High School, in Evanston, Illinois in 1968 at the age of 11. My parents sent me to the “experimental program in global education” —called SKIP. I don’t remember what the acronym stood for. I do remember, however, the first days of school and every lesson I learned after that.
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