Two additional student voices . . .

This is a long post, something that I know is not suggested by those that are considered blog experts, but I want to share what the other team members have to say about the conference. I encourage you to read what both Kaylie and Cort have to share, I think you will be impressed.

Kaylie Holcomb

Kaylie Holcomb, soon to be junior at Tahoma High School, at your service. After reading my friends entries, I’m not sure what to add that would be new and interesting, but I’ll try my best.

The first day, there was nothing more I would have liked than to stay in bed, for my mood was anything but pleasant. However, after an introduction by Peter, making new friends, and several cups of coffee, I was feeling much better.

The rest of the day consisted mostly of socializing and introductions. The next day is when we really began kicking off with mental models and systems thinking. And so the week began for real.

While at the conference, I learned a plurality of skills and lessons. Some of my favorite ares: how to get kids excited about being Green, listening skills, leadership skills, and how awesome chickens can be.

Speaking of which, learning about the chickens was the best part for me. In fact, an idea I now have for my senior project and for a personal project in Green Team is to build a chicken coop at Shadow Lake Elementary (my old and personal favorite school). I want to have the kids there take care of the chickens, learning responsibility and love for animals.

I would also like to grow a type of crop there, like potatoes or corn. This would teach the kids that it is indeed possible to grow your own food, and that it can be fun! It’s pretty amazing how few kids realize that they can grow their own food and that it can be even more delicious than store bought.

I also want to teach them, on an elementary level, where their meat/food comes from and compare the lives of that livestock/produce to the life of the ones they take care of/ grow.
All the things I learned at the conference are things I plan to use in my future. I want to teach others these skills. And with them, hopefully change the world, one chicken at a time.

Cort Hammond

The SOL conference reminded me of the lessons learned at last year’s conference and gave me energy and experience which I cannot wait to put to use. Our site group this year was exceptional, even before the conference began we were discussing problems and ideas concerning school and the environmental initiatives at the school. Now after all the seriousness, the jokester, Mr. Maryanski, wouldn’t let us off the hook; we were going to have some good laughs. We had deep dish pizza for dinner and we underestimated the size. Seeing skin-and-bones Cort, Mr. Maryanski insisted that I finish the pizza. Using my environmentalist streak against me, he urged, “You would hate to waste all of the food.” I managed to eat three slices and I became the leftover disposal.

Of course conversation concerning the District’s goal picked up with the start of the conference. Immediately we set about determining what we have accomplished at our school. I must say, the results were heartening, as a District there has been steady progress in the realm of sustainability and education in systems thinking. Indeed this helped determine what our goals were by separating the current situation from the vision of what we hoped to achieve. What were our goals? We envisioned Tahoma Schools with: students using logic, systems thinking, and knowledge about sustainability to make conclusions, or decisions about more complex problems. We all agreed that the environment in which students are educated ought to be more sustainable.

We students were much more interested in coming up with concrete actions to be carried out in pursuit of our goal. Even though this was often appropriate seeing how we were more concerned with organizing activities, we were reminded that we should avoid looking for a quick fix action and look for the fundamental solution. It certainly was helpful to review the applications of systems thinking.

I am primarily concerned with the actions students can take to make their school and community more sustainable. So when examining systems present in society, I thought up a few systems that are related to the environmental movement in the District. When concentrating on the District’s recycling efforts, we recognized some faults in the system. For example: as students come up from the junior high, they are no longer forced to recycle, and they resent being forced to do anything. So, they often refuse to recycle. We realized that by simply changing the attitudes of authority, fewer students might be lost.

Of course, there comes a time when precise actions must be decided upon. For this reason, I was glad to have two Green Team members at the conference with me. Our greatest challenge last year was keeping members engaged. So, after having the opportunity to join in another school’s icebreaker demonstration, we planned to include such activities in our first meeting. Furthermore, we resolved to hold team days when members could get together for outdoor activities. Otherwise, we hope to make volunteer events more accessible and more frequent. Our other focus is education. To educate the student body, we plan to work with the Global and Outdoor Academies to train leaders in Advisory activities.

The student-led presentations that were given by other school groups were very helpful. The Hewlett group screened a video of first graders promoting the use of reusable bags. A group from St. Louis presented about the benefits of raising chickens at the school as a means of education on sustainability. Certainly we are a ways off from implementing such a program, but it is likely that one of my peers will begin dialogue with the Elementary school about raising chickens.

The learning journey (a sort of field trip) took us to the Growing Homes organization in the impoverished and violence-ridden area of Inglewood. I was astounded by the perseverance with which the organization sought to teach skills to land a job and teach the community to eat healthier food. This gave me insight into how the less fortunate can be more motivated than those with plenty. It is imperative that we find a way to circumvent this dilemma; young people can not be brought up without awareness and a sense of stewardship for their environment in which they learn, work, and breathe.

Thus, after five days of talking with members of schools and organizations across the country, the confluence of ideas, passion, and guidance has indubitably given me and my peers the necessary creative tension to catapult ourselves into another year of community involvement and leadership.