One step at a time What s your first step going to be?

Transcription

1 Sustainability in the Gladstone School District One step at a time What s your first step going to be?

2 August Sustainability Curriculum Development Team Teachers Administrators Develop a common understanding "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p 43)

3

4 Sustainable Understanding August 2008 My understanding of sustainability is comprehensive and current strongly agree 5% sort of agree 18% agree/disagree 29% strongly disagree 26% sort of disagree 22% strongly disagree sort of disagree agree/disagree sort of agree strongly agree

5 Sustainable Understanding August 2008 I can easily incorporate sustainable concepts in to my lesson plans with the information I currently have strongly agree 4% sort of agree 13% agree/disagree 27% strongly disagree 30% sort of disagree 26% strongly disagree sort of disagree agree/disagree sort of agree strongly agree

6 Sustainable Understanding August 2008 I research what current information says about sustainability in order to use this information in my lessons strongly agree 5% sort of agree 9% agree/disagree 15% sort of disagree 16% strongly disagree 55% strongly disagree sort of disagree agree/disagree sort of agree strongly agree

7 September - January SCD Team meetings Inclusion of new ideas in a variety of classrooms Education of staff about sustainable concepts It s not just about our Carbon footprint

8 February - March Gladstone Center for Children and Families Kindergarten Environmental recycling (paper, cans/bottles) Community Garden in the works safe food storage in camping (Bear unit) Economic reduced paper towel use in bathrooms Social Equity portion size at lunch Black History month (literature, signs

9 Tom s turn How is sustainability taught in a technology class?

10 Ash Rivers Lead poisoning Water pollution Cadmium Mercury Air pollution CFC Build up of un recyclable computer components Loss of jobs from off shoring Companies need more money to recycle property Companies need to create jobs for recycling instead of illegally off shoring it Time/equipment/space/startup/people Upgrade verses replace Poor Education of the people Consumerism Upgrades happen to fast to keep up Poorest of the people physically harmed by poor practices

11 Poor Education of the people-there are not a lot of people who know the computer recycling process. They might mean well in recycling there computers hoping its done the right way. But they have no clue of the harmful effects that were causing in arias of China and other third world countries with landfills of computers,the effect on the environment and the harm to those recycling computers improperly there. Consumerism- We as the US Like to have the biggest the newest and the best. In order to keep business companies have to put out new products in order to keep business. This results in build up of computers that are unwanted or discarded because they are not the highest possible grade. Upgrades happen to fast to keep up- Unfortunately we as consumers demand the newest best and biggest. In order to keep business companies have to put out products quickly or they are over taken by another company. If they are over taken by another company and go out of business then lots of people will lose there jobs and there will be a fall in the computer economies. Poorest of the people physically harmed by poor practices- The people recycling computers have to make some sort of money in order to continue doing it. Its also cheaper to have a third world countries do the job instead of keeping the jobs in the US. So many of the people are doing the jobs without the right equipment plus not being paid very much.

12 So what can you do? Think about what you teach what can be related to: The environment Economics Social equity

13 School Board Goal build the capacity for futures oriented thinking by providing opportunities for teachers, staff, and students to gain knowledge from experts in the various fields of sustainability. Once this knowledge is gained it will be shared with and applied by members of the Gladstone Community

14 School Board Goal What do they want? build the capacity for futures oriented thinking How do we do this? by providing opportunities for teachers, staff, and students to gain knowledge from experts in the various fields of sustainability. What do we do with it? Once this knowledge is gained it will be shared with and applied by members of the Gladstone Community

15 Today s OEA April 2009

16

17 Current sustainable education in Gladstone Schools Gladstone High School - Social Studies SS I - Imperialism and expansion of the Western World - cause/effect on social status, cultures, world and global economics SS II US History - Industry and Imperialism - labor unions involved in both social and economic sustainability WWI- Harlem Renaissance, The Great Depression WWII - cause/effect on social classes, cultures, economic systems SS III - Conflict paper, Sustainability brochure all areas of sustainability are analyzed as relating to a specific country/region

18 Current sustainable education in Gladstone Schools Gladstone High School Family and Consumer Studies Foods: recycling (glass, food cans, plastics other than bottles) farm-to-table partnered w/gccf Textiles: recycle used extra fabric for rug making re-work a thrift store garment Interior Design: historical housing and the practices involved in building (i.e. cob vs. current practice).materials put together in an environmentally friendly way Off gassing, VOCs, 2nd year students create an environmentally friendly house

19 Current sustainable education in Gladstone Schools Gladstone High School - Business Computer Technology e-recycling (sustainable practices concerning disposal) Other Computer classes Earth Day Art Contest Presentations the focus is a topic that describes a regional/global issues and organizations that make a positive change and encourages participation

20 Current sustainable education in Gladstone Schools Gladstone High School - Art Advanced Art: Recycle, Reduce and Reuse Assignment recycled materials are required to be transformed in to something new

21 Current sustainable education in Gladstone Schools Gladstone High School Language Arts Social sustainability through the eyes of an Auschwitz survivor Partnered with Social Studies for a Holocaust presentation

22 Current sustainable education in Gladstone Schools Gladstone High School - Science Biology Biomes and long term sustainability, biotechnology and ethics Health Occ cultural/ethical responsibility, diversity of patients and their needs Environmental Science ecological studies, tree planting, SOLV Integrated Science - climate change, the environment and mining, deforestation, etc.

23 Current sustainable education in Gladstone Schools Gladstone High School Environmental Leadership and Green Schools Club Recycling program at GHS LEED certification moving from Certified to Silver status Energy/trash audits Solar panels on ASTC Doernbecher Week focusing on social/economic sustainability of patients in need MANY new projects in the works: i.e. Worm bin composting, cafeteria recycling

24 Current school wide sustainable education efforts Junk mail collection (~10 lbs./week) PBS I pledge assembly Shrinking World assembly Diversity in clubs, high expectations of students (i.e. academics)

25 Where are we going next?

26 Where are we going next? In the classroom: Continued sustainability support and integration Bio-swale, retention pond, and green space studies Providing skills/training to all students in Preengineering In the district: Solar panels providing enough energy to sustain our building, wind power??? Provide assistance to other schools in their efforts LEED certifications in other schools Increased electronic communication in place of paper reports/news Presentation to NAAEE in October

27 Remember what you can do - Think about what you teach what can be related to: The environment Economics Social equity

28 It s up to us! stewartw@gladstone.k12.or.us /