Next Generation Science Standards

Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn, and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.

                                -John Dewey

I learned a lot about the Next Generation Science Standards last week, and found a resource that I thought anybody in elementary education (classroom teacher, outdoor educator, professional development facilitator, principal, anybody) would find really beneficial and cool. Paul Anderson, Montana's 2011 Teacher of the Year, a science teacher at Bozeman High School, created a ton of really good science videos for students and teachers. I spent some time checking out his website, bozemanscience.com, and really liked the videos about the Next Generation Science Standards. They're for teachers, under 10 minutes long, and do a great job explaining science in a way that makes teaching it easier. For me, it was a clear, concise refresher on overarching concepts that apply to many specific content areas in science. For teachers with less of a science background, these videos simply explain what we want kids to know and ways to do that at different levels of development.

I learned about these videos at a curriculum planning workshop I got to attend last week.
I felt really fortunate that, although a parent volunteer and not on staff, I was invited to take part in an elementary science curriculum planning session. This particular session built on some visioning that took place in the fall, where teachers painted a picture of what they wanted elementary science to look like in the school district. I learned that the teachers had a vision of student discovery, exploration, and wonder. And that they care about sustainability. But that they wonder about how to realize their vision despite the demands of testing and day-to-day constraints.

The school district's new science facilitator shared his philosophy of science education for the elementary years and how this blends with the Next Generation Science Standards. He talked about the importance of focusing on broad concepts, like teaching kids how to question; the basics of the scientific method; or learning how to recognize patterns, understand cause and effect, and make predictions about systems. He talked about the need to concentrate on these rather than focusing so much on content at this stage. He talked about designing an experience, trusting in children's innate curiosity and purposeful playfullness.

Well, I think this is exciting stuff, to be sure. As one participant remarked during the workshop--almost all educators enter the profession desiring to create learning experiences like the one John Dewey described in the quote at the top. But this can be difficult due to constraints put on teachers, and downright intimidating to some teachers if they don't have a lot of science education themselves. This is where these science videos come in. They turn the 400 page document (nextgenscience.org) containing the entire framework of science standards into easily understood chunks of information. They simplify complex topics, they're engaging, and I think they will quickly increase teachers' comfort level and ability in teaching science. Check them out, and let me know if you think they're as cool as I do!

Stop there, or read on below for some more tidbits about the curriculum meeting I attended.  This meeting gave me hope for both my son who has a few more years in elementary school, and for his teachers who want the freedom to create learning experiences that help kids maintain an attitude of exploration, discovery, and wonder.

Some of the ideas that resonated with me from the workshop:

• Young kids learn while playing, and their play almost always has a purpose. Educators can design science-related experiences that tap into learning through play. Check out the Periodic Table of Play to see different ways play can be classified...

• Currently, we generally begin designing an experience with a consideration of content. (Content is what we want kids to learn, i.e. the parts of a plant or the process of the water cycle.) At the elementary level, content is less important than learning to use scientific practices and learning to understand the broad, cross-cutting concepts which encompass the content students should know when they leave high school. Approaching a learning experience this way makes it more likely students will have a sense of wonder, discovery, and exploration. Basically, the science facilitator's message was this: Get kids comfortable with scientific method and argument and help them understand the cross-cutting concepts. Worry about specific content when kids are of an age where the details will begin to stick. 

• If you want teachers to feel free to design learning experiences that emphasize Practices and Cross-Cutting Concepts, the grading rubric needs to reflect that. We worked on this a bit. Whew. As if I didn't already think teachers jobs were hard...

• There needs to be some sort of coordination among grade-levels so that the kids' learning in science builds on previous years' learning without too much overlap in content or activities. This is the nitty-gritty, and it will be interesting to see what happens when the planning gets to this stage!

Race and Our Community

So, I live about 20 minutes from Ferguson in a pretty darn white suburb of St. Louis. Since Michael Brown was killed, I can't stop thinking about that whole situation--but even more so just how entrenched this city is in de facto segregation and systemic racism. I've been reluctant to write about it on here, in part because my feelings of sadness and confusion about how to make a difference have impeded any ability I might have to write something cohesive. But also, if I'm honest, because I am nervous about ruffling feathers. I am definitely non-confrontational.

The title of this blog is "Kids, Community, and Food", and I usually write about food or kids growing food. But community is in the title too, and it's it's in there because I believe so strongly in the power of gardening in groups to build healthy communities. And because I believe that we have to have strong, healthy community groups in order to solve the complex social and environmental problems that our children are inheriting. Mike Brown's death highlights just how unhealthy our community here in St. Louis is, and the outrage and sadness that bubbled over in Ferguson has been there a long time because our community is chronically ill with systemic racism.

I still don't know what to say, exactly. But I do know that I don't want things to just calm down and go back the way they were. I want things to change. To be better. I want to live in a city without a redline. I want to live in a city, where when I choose which neighborhood to live in based on the quality of the school district, that school will also be racially diverse. That is not the city I live in today. And I did choose a well-to-do, mostly white school district when we moved back to St. Louis a couple years ago. It's been a long time since I lived in a diverse suburb of St. Louis, studied environmental justice in grad school, and experienced the power of community and school gardening to bridge racial divides.

Today I find myself gardening in groups of mostly white people through my work to integrate sustainability education into the curriculum at Tillman Elementary. Of course, it's great, because community gardening is almost always awesome. While I'm confident we are laying down experiences that will help the kids involved learn to care for the Earth, I don't believe that this will have any impact on dismantling racism unless we make social justice an explicit part of what we teach. There are lots of avenues for this, especially through the lens of environmental justice. I am certain that issues of fair food distribution will come up, because the kids at Tillman are so wonderfully kind-hearted. But will we adults have the courage to take it a step further and examine who is most likely to be "food insecure" in our city? I don't know. I'm hopeful, actually, because my son told us last night that his class wrote cards for kids at Michael Brown's school. That's a step, and one I could learn from.

After several years of living in mostly white neighborhoods, I have noticed a subtle shift toward complacency in my own self. It's just easy not to think about systemic racism, or even my own personal biases, when I live in a neighborhood surrounded by a lot of other folks enjoying white privilege without even having to think about it. I'm not saying we're bad people, I'm just saying we are enjoying the privilege of staying blind to systemic racism if we want to. I don't know how to fix it, I just think we definitely can't fix it if we are afraid to look at it and talk about it. And if we are on the defensive when we do look and talk.

A couple weeks ago, my pastor quoted Cornell West (prominent black thinker/philosopher) addressing a white audience. West had said something like, "If I still have vestiges of white supremacy in me, I'm willing to bet that you do too." For me, this was so comforting. And challenging. Racism is embedded in our culture and communities, so of course it's hiding in us too. It just is. And if we are honest with ourselves and work to change things for the better, then we need not be ashamed. Another thing my pastor said that stuck with me: "Our faith tells us that we are one. If this is true, then we have to see Michael Brown as our child. And we have to see Darren Wilson as our brother." Whoa. Think about that one for a bit.

Well, I already wrote way more than I had planned. I got on here just planning to share three articles that have touched me deeply, or opened my eyes in new ways since everything blew up in Ferguson. Maybe these will have meaning for you too. There are links to them below. Thanks for reading, and thinking, and talking with your friends about how to make our world better for everyone.

Article by Wash U mom (African-American) about her sons
Article by a white mom about her sons
Blog post from a woman in Portland, Or entitled "I am racist, and so are you"

Planning Success and Engineering Fail: Winter Update for Tillman Elementary

It's January. Wow. Winter is in full swing, but spring will be here before we know it. Various member of the Tillman Sustainability Committee have met a few times since I last posted about planning and progress: A Vision is Taking Shape. Most of my efforts over the last few months have been in one one one conversations with folks who are involved or interested. And taking care of the beds that are trying not to stay covered this winter. Lesson learned: I am a people organizer, a gardener, and possibly even an educator--but not a builder or engineer. I was so so confident my low-tech low-tunnel would work with just some bricks and clips to secure the plastic to the frame. (Jenny Grabner, I miss your practical knowledge and skills so much right about now!!)

It held through one round of strong wind and light snow.

These binder clips do really work well. I think it's the fact that the plastic isn't taut on frame and more secure at bottom that is causing the problem.

Calling all engineering people....help!!

We need a version 2.0. 1.0 was no match for Snowpocalypse.

But on to the planning, which seems to go much better for me...

Just prior to Christmas, our committee met, planned a super-ambitious all-school project, and divvied up tasks. Part of my job was to get the word out to parents, and below you will see the two communications that are going out ahead of the Sustainability Design Charrette next week, which will glean ideas from all the students in the school as they walk and talk with the teachers around the school and campus.

Here's how it will work:
Buddy Groups (upper grade classes paired up with younger ones, a mentoring arrangement, they meet monthly) gather to tour 12 stations around the campus and in building to discuss ways to implement sustainability practices at Tillman

• ipads will be used to capture pictures, video, and audio 
• pen and paper will be used to take notes as well
• volunteers at each station will record any themes that emerged repeatedly throughout the activity from the different groups rotating through

 Here's the communication sent out to parents:

E-Newsletter pre-Christmas:

Over the last decade or so, schools across this country have begun to think about sustainability: what it means and what it might look like to integrate this concept into a school’s culture and curriculum. Initiatives and projects are as varied as the U.S. landscape. Many have started with gardens or changes in cafeteria purchasing practices, while others have looked at changes to the curriculum and even building design.

At Tillman, the idea of integrating sustainability practices into school culture has been percolating for several years now. We think the first champion for sustainability at Tillman may have been a recent Tillman grad who dreamed of a greenhouse on the school grounds and worked to get composting started at the school. Or was it a couple of teachers who have long held a vision for a prairie patch at the school? Or perhaps the parents who converse about the complex world their kids will inherit and the skills they hope their kids will have in order to rise to the challenge? No matter who was first, the ideas are flowing, momentum is growing, and we’re ready to take the next step.

Landscape architect Nancy Nafe is volunteering her time and expertise to draw up the Tillman community’s vision for sustainability. She will be gathering ideas from the students and staff at Tillman, and we want you to be a part of this as well. On Friday, January 17, please join us for a sustainability design charrette from 10-11:30 am. More details to follow but for now, please SAVE THE DATE!

If you are unable to join the fun in January, please send your thoughts about sustainability and what it might look like at Tillman to tillmansustainability@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Parent communication just after Christmas Break--sent out 3 ways to ensure maximum awareness

Sustainability Design Charrette for the Green Schools Quest

****Rain, Snow, or Shine

Friday, January 17 from 10-11:30 am

9:30 Sustainability Design Charrette: A Brainstorming Tour of the Campus and Building

    **The kids will be going outside for this activity--no matter the weather. Please send appropriate outdoor gear for this activity: hats, gloves, boots. Please send in extra gloves to share with classmates if you are able!

Parents welcome, and volunteers are needed. Please email tillmansustainability@gmail.org or text/call Lesli Moylan at 314-368-0500 if interested in helping.

What is sustainability? In a nutshell, it’s prioritizing the health of the planet, its people, and its communities when making decisions. It’s thinking about how what we do today will impact those living seven generations down the road--and how to balance the needs of the future with the needs of today.

What is a charrette? Literally, it means “cart” in French, and in the design world it means an activity to collect ideas from many people for a specific project. Our design charrette will collect tons of ideas from Tillman students about changes to make our campus and building that contribute to the idea of sustainability.

What is the Green Schools Quest? This is a contest created by the Gateway (St. Louis) Chapter of the Green Building Council, challenging schools in the region to devise and implement sustainable practices for their schools. Our mentor and landscape architect, Nancy Nafe, will take the student ideas from this design charrette and create a landscape design for Tillman. This long-range plan will be a great visual for the community, and will be a great reminder of student interests and priorities as we move forward with outdoor and indoor sustainability efforts over the next few years.

I'm really excited about the charrette, it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. It's so neat to be in a school that truly is committed to student input, and with more than 500 kids churning out ideas next week....who knows what wacky and ingenius idea may be born! One week from today....

A Vision is Taking Shape

The last time I posted on the blog, I was preparing to lead my first lesson in the garden in a long time. In the meantime, that lesson was a blast, then I got busy organizing caretakers for the cool-season veggies the kindergartners planted, and got to go on a meditation retreat. The time and space to come back to the present, to sit in silence, was a welcome respite to the busy-ness of life. It helped me to settle in to the long-haul with both schools I am working with (Tillman Elementary and Nipher Middle), and not worry if I had to let some school garden things go by the wayside in order to maintain balance in my personal life.

While I was away on retreat, another school gardenin' mom was busy helping to organize parent efforts to help with the Tillman's cafeteria composting kick-off for the year. I had a great time when I came back, diving into trashcans and showing kids how to sort their compost/recycling/landfill items after lunch. It's a dirty job, but not many things are more fun! Matter of fact, I'm leaving in a few minutes to go experience this with the kindergartners today:)

This week was full of exciting developments both at Tillman and Nipher. This same parent who was organizing composting also entered Tillman and Nipher into a sustainability in education contest sponsored by the St. Louis chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Both schools were accepted, and matched with a USGBC member who's a professional somehow related to green building and sustainability. At Tillman, we were matched with Nancy Nafe, a LEED certified landscape architect. At Nipher, it's Michelle Rook, a local architect in town who is going to help us start an after-school composting club that will begin composting in the Nipher cafeteria. Finally, there was also a Tillman sustainability committee visioning session. This group of parents, teachers, and administrators got together to dream big about a vision of sustainability for our school.

I can really start to envision how big changes are going to become a reality here in the Kirkwood Schools. When people aren't afraid to dream big, and are also willing to invest their time, energy, and talents, anything is possible! Below is the email I just sent out to all the people involved in the sustainability group at Tillman, detailing our longterm dreams and short-term goals. It will be a great document to come back to in a few years to see how far we've come!

October 25, 2013
Hi everyone!

I hope this email finds you all well. It has been an exciting week for sustainability at Tillman. Below is an update that encapsulates results from Tuesday afternoon's committee visioning session and a meeting between myself, Jaime Kelley (another parent volunteer heading this up), and Nancy Nafe (a landscape architect serving as Tillman's sustainability mentor for the next 6 months for a contest called Green Schools Quest). The email is the nutshell version, if you want more details, I've included links of meeting notes. As always, please pass this along to interested folks and call me with any questions!

Finally, if you would like to take a leadership role in any of the areas listed below, just contact me. This group is chock-full of passionate people with amazing resources, and we want you to plug in where it suits you best! Some of you have indicated that you want to be "doers", not planners, so for you this is just to keep you up-to-date and in-the-know:)
Lesli @ 314-368-0500

Visioning meeting agenda  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O58tjs_bAu6zfLcp772yR3OJgKv_R9z9HNuTXBDWn60/edit?usp=sharing

What is sustainability? It’s the ability to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations. The Iroquois idea of considering impacts of actions to the 7th generation is a great example of this mindset.

Discussion questions

1. In terms of sustainability, where do you want to see Tillman in 10 years?

2. How do we integrate the idea of sustainability with the service learning and character education already happening at Tillman?

3. How to balance student leadership and adult direction as we move toward our goals?

4. How can we support teachers, whose plates are so full already?

Wrap-up Each participant spoke about the sustainability goal that resonated the most with them

This list in bold is what came out as highest priority for question 1 (long-term dreams, not the how-tos) to those in attendance. Until we revise our vision, these are where we will invest most of our energy. It's neat to me that nothing on this list diverges from conversations I've had with folks connected to this committee over the past several months. Even though several of you couldn't make it to the meeting, I think it's likely you'll approve of the current emphasis!

• Getting fresh, local, organic food into cafeteria, whether it be through farmer partnerships, helping change food service procurement practices, or growing food at Tillman
• Assessing school environment and practices for health impact on students (food, air and water quality, opportunity for outdoor time and physical activity--think energy audit, wellness audit, etc.)
• Involvement in food equity (in and beyond Kirkwood, high desire to partner with a community in need)

• Integrating sustainability into curriculum and culture of school

Meeting with landscape architect
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JAxQ3B4ryTnwEkNg7qmrRkQnUptwNHGmdGTmqM44T9E/edit

• Green Schools Quest is a contest sponsored by the St. Louis Chapter of the US Green Building Council. This program assigns mentors from the professional community to help schools develop and implement a sustainability-related project over the course of about 6 months. In March, we will be required to submit a presentation about our project. If we win, we get cool stuff and some moulah. I think we will win. 
• Our mentor: Nancy Nafe, landscape architect, LEED certified, she recently designed Maplewood-Richmond Heights' new kitchen garden at their high school.
• Our goals for the Quest (some are new, some our committee decided on awhile ago--but this plan includes specific folks to head up different things, and that's in the works!)
• The plan between now and March:
• Increase amount of food we are growing
• Raising awareness about sustainability, "marketing" to students, families, and teachers
• Prairie installation
• Sensory Garden installed near playground
• Visioning sessions with students and adults that will culminate in a long-range landscape design

Systems thinking

I'm pondering systems thinking and ways to teach it. What about sitting in the school yard and listening to see how many different systems one can observe? You could break it down by senses. What can you hear? What can you see? I'd expect students to be able to hear or see a variety of animal systems (mammals, birds, insects), traffic systems, heating/cooling systems, woodland systems, a classroom system. This could be a great way to introduce the idea of systems to students, and help them see how ubiquitous systems are. 

What would happen if we just let kids explore this and ask questions? Start with systems and let them ask questions to direct us. As teachers we could let them take any system, then help them look for the components of the system and learn to understand the system they are already interested in. Learn to recognize patterns, learn to look for feedback loops (negative ones as well as amplifiers), identify energy flows, learn to look for hubs--points of multiple connections. 

I'm not a teacher (just a parent volunteer), so I don't have a class of my own to try these ideas with. Maybe that's why it is so exciting to me that Tillman elementary is already thinking about systems teaching. I'm not sure to what extent they are already teaching it, but I know that the principal and some of the teachers understand the importance of imparting an understanding of systems. That's why creating a helpful outdoor space is gonna be so transformational. Because the culture of the school is primed to shift right as the outdoor space is being changed, the potential for real and lasting change is great. 

It seems to me that so many teachers are ready and knowledgeable and want to help our kids be able to care for themselves and the planet when theyre grown. And they know that systems thinking is so important for that. 

It gives me so much hope to see how much change there already has been in our society in the last 10 years. When I started this, I never encountered an administrator and very few teachers who thought about "schooling for sustainability". 

Today I find myself in 2 schools helping to coordinate new garden programs and I'm blown away by their readiness to make substantial changes. Schools are such powerful definers of culture. So,  when thinking about what can happen over the next 10 years as many many schools around the country are doing what Tillman and Nipher are, I am filled with hope. And hope, let me tell ya, it makes life a whole lot more fun.