“Make a Classroom Green Team” by Greenfox Schools featured in IndyKids Newspaper

“Make a Classroom Green Team”

Greenfox Schools article featured in the current issue of IndyKids Newspaper.

November/December 2009

Sustainability Education Resources

Monday, November 16th, 2009

This month Greenfox Schools is highlighting five excellent resources for sustainability education. The following list includes organizations listed in alphabetical order that provide useful tools for schools going green.

Read below and click on the links to learn more.

Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education

The Cloud Institute is a non-profit based in New York City that works nationally and internationally to promote sustainability education. The Cloud Institute’s approach to sustainability directly engages young people to work with their communities.  Cloud’s model for sustainability begins with its mission: to ensure the viability of sustainable communities by leveraging changes in K-12 school systems to prepare young people for the shift toward a sustainable future.  During the first phase of work, Cloud facilitators develop an awareness and shared understanding for Education for Sustainability (EfS) among staff, faculty, and administrators at a given school.   They work with the whole school system to collect baseline data, and assess the extent to which the school is teaching for sustainability.  Teachers work with the Cloud Institute to design EfS outcomes and indicators and to develop a pilot EfS unit.  Over time, facilitators work with the school to collectively develop an EfS Scope and Sequence that is mapped across the entire school curriculum.  This process allows teachers to collaborate and build on one another and to integrate the broader school community, and beyond, into their classrooms. These outcomes are achieved by differentiating professional development, coaching, and capacity building with participating faculty and administrators, trustees, parents, community partners, and students.

Facing the Future

Facing the Future is a non-profit based in Seattle, Washington, that supports teachers by providing resources that teach students about complex global issues, the linkage between local and global communities, and environmental sustainability. Facing the Future delivers curriculum workshops to middle and high school teachers, and maintains an online database of teaching material related to service learning projects of local and international interest. Serving public and independent schools, Facing the Future develops curriculum across all subjects, including math, science, history, geography, language arts, and more.

Sustainable Schools Project

The Sustainable Schools Project (SSP) is sponsored by Shelburne Farms, and is a partnership with Vermont Education for Sustainability. A dynamic new model for school improvement and civic engagement, the program helps schools use sustainability as an integrating context for curriculum, community partnerships, and campus practices. The SSP aims to improve communities economically, environmentally, and socially for current and future generations by facilitating curriculum and campus projects, offering professional development, and identifying funding sources for schools.

Roots & Shoots

Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute, and seeks to initiate positive change for communities, animals and the environment. With tens of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries, the Roots & Shoots network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create a better world. Young people identify problems in their communities and take action. Through service projects, youth-led campaigns and an interactive website, Roots & Shoots members make a difference across the globe. Here is Dr. Jane Goodall’s inspiring vision for Roots & Shoots: “Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light, they can break open brick walls. Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet. Hundreds of thousands of roots & shoots, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls. We CAN change the world.”

U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development

The U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development unites leaders in education, environment, and business to promote sustainability education and government policy. The U.S. Partnership was established to fulfill the goals of the United Nations declaration of a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a declaration that was established to promote the local and global acceptance of principles of “sustainable development.”

The K-12 Sector page provides a variety of resources from useful links to actual national K-12 sustainability education standards developed by the U.S. Partnership. The U.S. Partnership has launched the first national listserv for K-12 educators focused specifically on the topic of education for sustainability. Educators involved in teaching students in any subject in the K-12 arena are encouraged to join. The goal of the Sustaink12 listserv is for educators to communicate and collaborate on strategies to integrate education for sustainability into the teaching and operations of K-12 schools.

To join the listserv go to https://listserver.itd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=sustaink12

-Kristen von Hoffmann

Kristen von Hoffmann with the Board of the Women's Leadership Initiative at Yale University, October 2009

Linda Rosenbury, Principal, Middle School 22 Bronx NY; Dr. Colleen M Getz, U.S. Department of Defense; Kristen von Hoffmann.

Kristen von Hoffmann to present at Women In Leadership Conference @ Yale Law School

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Kristen von Hoffmann, founder and president of Greenfox Schools, has been invited to present a workshop and speak on a panel at this year’s Women in Leadership Conference hosted by Yale Law School on Saturday, October 24th, 2009.

Kristen’s workshop is entitled “Social Entrepreneurship in a Green World: Taking Initiative,” and will engage young women who are interested in becoming leaders in the emerging green economy. The Workshop will examine the overarching themes of globalization, social justice and environmental sustainability as well as discussing the details of how to start a green business.

Issues such as funding, networking, women supporting women, men and women supporting each other in business, operations, and budgeting will be included. The Workshop will be highly visual and interactive, allowing participants to engage in two colorful activities that relate to exploring individual’s strengths and interests. Kristen will also talk about her work with the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, for which she serves on a fifteen-person K-12 Sector Team that examines current sustainable education policy at a national level.

Kristen will also serve on a panel at the Conference, “Women in the Public Sector: Education Policy,” where she will share her viewpoints on education reform, sustainability in education, and emotional learning.

A Feeling of Universality

Monday, September 28th, 2009

During the second week of school this year I took my 5th grade class on a 3-day camping trip to Project Adventure in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Project Adventure is a company that is known for its exciting ropes courses and climbing challenges, and every year myself and a few other teachers bring the 5th and 6th grades to Project Adventure for 3 days of community-building.

On the afternoon of Day One I found myself trying to balance on a large wooden plank with half of my class and one of our guides. Heavy, jolted movements caused the plank to tip one way or the other and I noticed that when we bent our knees it helped us to balance, versus standing upright. After 15 frustrating minutes, the plank continued to tip on its fulcrum and touch the ground as we all moved around.

Our guide told us that to achieve balance would mean that no sides of the octagonal plank would be touching the ground. It was hard for me to imagine how this might be possible, since several people on the plank were absorbed in their own movements and not paying attention to the group dynamic.

Suddenly, one of my students raised his hand.

“I have an idea,” he said. Our guide got everyone’s attention.

“What’s your idea?” he asked.

“Why don’t we all hold hands and stand with our heels closer to the edge?” he answered.

There was some snickering and eye-rolling as my fifth graders considered the idea of holding hands, but before I knew it, we were all linked together and shuffling backwards towards the perimeter.

When we got there, another student spoke. “How about we shuffle one step to the right in a clockwise direction as we hold hands, to keep up the momentum,” she said.

The transformation was amazing. In one gentle movement it felt as though the plank lifted off the ground and that we were hovering in the air, low to the ground. I took in the sight of everyone holding hands and felt the lightweight sensation of the plank in balance as we moved together. It was awesome.

The experience is one that stands out in my mind and will not be forgotten. It was a powerful metaphor for the way in which we can achieve balance in our own lives when we work on it together. Likewise, when one person is self-absorbed, connection breaks down because they don’t notice what’s going on around them.

Without a doubt, the plank touched the ground and got unbalanced a few more times. But we had found a way to keep the plank more or less successfully balanced, and when I looked around the circle at my students’ faces, they were smiling.

I think this experience can also be applied to the larger question of sustainability that Greenfox Schools seeks to address in educational settings. It is necessary to recognize the interconnectedness of all living things on our planet, and to realize that this is why we need to implement long-term environmental solutions in schools that benefit the environment and teach our children how to be stewards of the earth.
Thanks for reading.

-Kristen von Hoffmann

Education Reform: Emotional Learning

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Think back to grades 3 through 12. What dominated your thoughts as you sat at lunch? In algebra class? Waiting for the bus? The answer for most people I talk to is always the same: “I was thinking about other people and myself.”

I would venture to say this is true of our experience as adults as well, as we continually process emotions at work when developing relationships with colleagues, or thinking about the relationships we have at home with family.

As a teacher I observe that students focus on subject matter to varying degrees, but it is clear that children’s happiness as human beings depends significantly on their ability to have successful relationships with other people. The same is true for adults. Why, then, have we failed to bring explicit emotional learning into mainstream education?

A place to start might be to ask: what is the function of K-12 education in America? Education as it now stands in our country functions to prepare children for the careers they will assume in society as adults, and so we teach them the intellectual skills necessary to be successful in the workforce. Math, reading, writing, science and history teach children the skill sets they need to organize and manage jobs relevant to these subject areas.

Aside from a handful of progressive programs and schools on the fringe, our education system has remained relatively unchanged for the past 50 years, which is ironic given the rapid pace at which the world is globalizing around us.

I agree that academic excellence is of great importance because it enables us to train a workforce that fuels our economy and serves as an integral part of our society.

What I advocate for is a greater vision: a significant reform in our country’s education system that puts emotional learning on par with academic excellence. I believe that we can have both, and that to do so would result in a nation of adults who are much happier individuals, and an economy that is strengthened because of it.

The reason emotional learning results in happier individuals is because it allows people to gain a self-awareness that provides stability. The confidence in knowing oneself—fears, weaknesses and strengths, allows a person to better communicate their needs to others, and allows a person to better understand the needs of another individual. In the classroom, one example I have found to be transformative is helping children feel comfortable exposing a mistake they have made, rather than covering it up.

Emotional learning in schools would not teach children how they should feel, because that is up to an individual to determine. Rather, emotional education would teach children the explicit communication skills needed to gain self-awareness and to communicate joy and pain to other people in order to build stronger relationships.

Connecting to other people to build strong cooperative relationships is essential to teaching sustainability now and in the future, and for this reason as well, emotional learning belongs at the core of our education system.

-Kristen von Hoffmann

A Big Thank You

Monday, July 27, 2009

Thank you to our sponsors, writers, and editors of Greenfox Kids Magazine, a teaching resource on environmental sustainability for grades 4-8, with articles, lessons and games for classrooms and libraries.

Our first issue featured an article on the environmental impact and lifecycle of food products; an interview with Janie Katz-Christy, Director of the Green Streets Initiative; vocabulary keywords including “globalization,” “sustainability,” and “economy;” solar panel math problems, a word search game, and more.

A big thank you to the following individuals and companies:

Our Sponsors:

CitySprouts

The EarthSavers Gang

Little Bits Recycled

Greenward

Paradice Ice Packs

People Powered Machines

SolSolution

Our Greenfox Editorial Team:
Kevin Y. Lee, Creative Director
Patrick John Morris, Business Relations
Soren Harrison, Dan Riles, Camille Stevens, Writers
Janie Katz-Christy, Green Streets Initiative, Greenfox5 Hero
Puritan Press, Publisher
Brooke Beebe, Ashlee Martinez, Kyla O’Neill, Public Relations

Other News

Cambridge Montessori School

Greenfox gave a workshop this spring at Cambridge Montessori School, presenting to the CMS Green Up Committee. Notes from the lecture for public viewing can be found by clicking here.

Green Decade Cambridge

Greenfox was invited to present to Green Decade Cambridge, an organization of Cambridge residents concerned about global warming and taking action locally.

Greenfox spoke to the group about the Greenfox5: Energy, Waste Disposal, Food, Products, and Greenspace, and discussed its applicability to Cambridge Public Schools. More information on Green Decade Cambridge can be found by clicking here.

Facebook and Twitter

Check out Greenfox on Facebook and Twitter !

ExCL (Extras for Creative Learning)

If you are a teacher or involved in K-12 education in the Boston area, be sure to check out ExCL over the summer for excellent recycled supplies and materials for your classroom.

New White Paper
Kristen von Hoffmann co-authored a working paper entitled “Internationally Sustainable Education for the 21st Century” with June Gorman, Education Chair for the United Nations Association of the USA.

Both are members of the K-12 Steering Committee for the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development.

Thank you for reading, and have a great summer.

-Kristen von Hoffmann

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Monday, June 29, 2009

When school lets out everyone sighs a collective breath, and as a teacher I can relate to the feeling of relief that arrives when the end-of-year frenzy gives way to slower summer days.

Summer, while a time of rest and relaxation, is also a time of planning for every school community: refreshing the classroom curriculum and budgeting for the fiscal year.

Summer is a great time to think about ways to green your school for the upcoming year, and to prepare a budget—whether for your classroom or school—that allows for sustainable consumer choices, environmental curriculum development, and environmental upgrades.

Below, Greenfox offers a few suggestions to get started this summer for those of you in the education field:

Administrators

o    Budget for areas of environmental improvement in any or all of the Greenfox5 areas:

Greenfox5
-Energy
-Waste Disposal
-Food
-Products
-Greenspace

o    Create a sustainability pledge based on the Greenfox5 that your school community signs together (this pledge can be voluntary or required)

Teachers

o    Add an environmental piece to your curriculum, or develop an existing one. Environmental teaching can be woven into nearly any subject, including science, math, social studies, and language arts.

o    Create a classroom “green team” that will be responsible for environmental endeavors in the classroom, such as turning off lights when the class leaves the room, collecting food at meal time for the composter, collecting recyclables at the end of the day, etc.

o    When buying classroom supplies, budget for eco-products, such as recycled content lined paper, folders, journals, and pencils.

o    Brainstorm an environmental community-service effort with your class such as collecting recyclables to raise money for tree planting, collecting and recycling cartridges to raise money for your school, or working with your neighborhood to pick up litter.

o    Work together with other faculty or parents to implement recycling programs, composting systems, and environmental programs.

Parents

o    Ask your child’s teacher how you can be of assistance with any green or environmental initiatives in the classroom.

o    Work together with faculty and administration to implement recycling programs, composting systems, and environmental programs, or to create a “Green Committee” at your child’s school.

o    When buying school supplies for your child, budget for eco-products, such as re-usable lunchboxes and sandwich wrappers, recycled content lined paper, folders, journals, and pencils.

o    Set up a clean-air carpool or bike group that will commute to school in the fall.

Students

o    Have fun and enjoy nature! The first way to help the environment is to care about it. Have a wonderful summer!

-Kristen von Hoffmann

Greenfox Kids Magazine Subscription

Friday, May 15, 2009

Subscribe to the Fall 2009 issue of “Greenfox Kids! Magazine!”

Greenfox Kids! Magazine is a teaching resource on environmental sustainability for grades 4-8, and includes articles, lessons, and games for classrooms and libraries.

For questions, please e-mail Kristen von Hoffmann at kvh@greenfoxschools.com.

Fear and Optimism about the Environment

Monday, April 27, 2009

I was at a recent meeting for an environmental organization where someone brought up the term “state of emergency” to describe global warming. The organization talked about the possibility of declaring a “state of emergency” in order to get something done about energy use in their city. Some people stood behind it, while others felt it was too drastic.

At the time, I listened and didn’t state my opinion, and I enjoyed learning about people’s different perspectives on the issue. I do not know whether or not the term would be appropriate for purposes of public interest and public policy, but I would agree that our planet is in an environmental state of emergency.

For some, it can be easy not to recognize the extent to which our environment is in danger unless one has personal ties to drastic situations. For example, cancer clusters possibly caused by chemical Superfund sites, slash-and-burn deforestation, or the breaking off of an iceberg. The examples I’ve cited seem so extreme that it can be difficult to connect them to our lives. And yet, Superfund chemical sites occur in our own hometowns, and people drive cars emitting carbon dioxide daily.

The type of environmental degradation occurring today as a result of a century’s worth of degradation is generally insidious rather than explicit, so I can further understand why people would hesitate to use a term as alarming as “state of emergency.”

But what if we were to look closer to home? What if we were to look, simply, at the rate at which land is being developed in our own towns?

Take a moment to notice how many “land for sale” signs you see on the side of the highway the next time you are driving. What is your reaction?

Unless we pay attention, our daily routines do not necessarily cue us into the harm that is taking place. It might be true that for people who recognize the level of degradation, every day is a conscious “tuning in” to what is happening to the environment.

The complexity and depth to which the environment is intertwined in our lives can feel intimidating, and as a result it may be hard to conceptualize the idea of positive change. One thing we aim for in teaching the Greenfox5 is creating order out of chaos, and providing a roadmap for change.

Related to K-12 education in particular, it is important that the facts of environmental degradation are presented thoughtfully to children, with attention to the appropriate age-level, and again, with an emphasis on making a positive connection to the environment.

What I’d like to propose is developing an awareness about the environment rooted in personal connection and optimism. With a personal connection, empathy develops, and a willingness to change that was not there before.

I propose identifying what is important to you personally (for example, it might be the people you care about) and identifying those things born out of the environment that you like (for example, food).

How do we become aware of these things? By making a point to slow down once a day or once a week, and become mindful. Out of such mindfulness we develop a sense of connection.

Maybe it will take the implementation of the term “state of emergency” to get the ball rolling in some places. Maybe it will be a long time before such is declared. The answer to changing our daily behaviors is not through fear alone, but through feeling connected.

-Kristen von Hoffmann