An adult perspective . . .

Julie Lee

When Mike asked me to attend the SOL Conference in Chicago in the middle of the summer with high school students, I have to admit that I was less than enthusiastic. After all, the month of July is when I usually take a mental and physical break from school and spend time with my family. However, I discovered that I was with four extraordinary young people who I learned a lot from about sustainability. They were outstanding contributors to both small group and large group activities and represented Tahoma High School well. Their energy along with the passion and enthusiasm of all the students from each school site was enough to convince me and other adults in the room that we must preserve our environment and embrace sustainable practices for future generations. As an educator, I must help students understand that they live within a large system and that their environment needs to be preserved. The collaboration between Peter Senge and The Cloud Institute is an exciting partnership to further awareness and education in schools about sustainable communities. In Tahoma we are beginning to make strides in developing curriculum that integrates these concepts into both science and social studies lessons.

Tracy Waters of the Waters Foundation http://www.watersfoundation.org/ presented an outstanding seminar on “Habits of a Systems Thinker”. She explained that students of all ages can understand systems thinking when it is presented in a relevant context. She used the example of three first graders in conflict with each other who had a mental model about each other and how it affected their current reality and the future. She helped them to change their perspectives to increase their understanding of their conflict. They were able to look for patterns and trends in their behaviors as well as identify leverage points to develop a resolution. In an unrehearsed video of the three boys, Tracy demonstrated how even the youngest of children can understand that we are interdependent and that our actions and behaviors affect a larger system. The Waters Foundation is a helpful resource to teachers who want to design lessons around systems thinking habits, concepts and tools in the classroom.

Our Green Team is becoming an active club on our campus and I want to support them in their efforts. I marvel at their enthusiasm and I can see how systems thinking is an important concept to introduce to our high school community. The Green Team steering committee is currently asking themselves these questions: What contributions can our school make to become a sustainable community? How can we build community connections and commitment to foster on-going innovation in our school? In what ways can we inspire our classmates to think about the world, their relationship to it, and their ability to influence it in an entirely new way? These questions and many others sprouted (no pun intended) in our time together invariably over an excellent meal after an inspiring day of education and awareness. We experienced many outstanding, gourmet meals from socially and ecologically conscious restaurants in the Chicago area who embrace using produce from organic, urban gardeners and meat from local farmers.

It was an added bonus to meet and speak with Dr. Peter Senge, Senior Lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology after reading and studying work on systems theory in “principal credential school”. During the conference, Peter’s formal presentations and informal conversations about systems thinking really amplified what I read from his book “The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for Educators” and has helped me to reflect more deeply upon my role as an instructional leader in my school. Dr. Senge’s book titled, “The Necessary Revolution” is my next summer reading.

How did I spend part of my July, you ask? I spent a remarkable week albeit hot and muggy in Chicago with an amazing group of students, Mike Maryanski and Mary Jane Glaser. It was a valuable, educational trip that I hope others in our “system” will have an opportunity to attend in the future!