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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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In early November of 2009, Jaimie had the opportunity to present our work and discuss the Cloud Framework, and our approach to educating for sustainability. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
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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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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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