Day 1 Guiding Questions: * In your opinion, what are the most pressing issues of our time in relation to the health of our planet and its people? * What are your interests and experiences in relation to those pressing global issues? * Let's take a look at the Global Goals/Sustainable Development Goals and some background info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_hLuEui6ww * Which goals are connected and how? Which goals do you want to know more about? Which ones spark the most interest/emotion for you? * What does this look like in a scale we can understand? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3nllBT9ACg * Which book do you want to choose from our reading list to start a deeper dive into some ideas related to some of the SDGs?
Homework: watch the Ted Talks (above) Take notes on what the speaker says about steps/actions we need to take, either individually or collectively, to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
Day 2 Guiding Questions: * What does acting or thinking "sustainably" mean? * What does the term "sustainable development" mean? * How can we learn more about the SDG targets and how these support the bigger vision of the goals?
Homework: check out this website (https://sdg-tracker.org/) and see what's happening with the SDG you looked at in class today in terms of progress. Go ahead and check progress on the other goals as well. Are you inspired by what you see? Be ready to chat about this at the start of next class, and go ahead and read some of your first book circle text, too. Have a great weekend!
* Day 4 Guiding Questions (The Dark Side of our Current Situation): * What do leading voices (activists, political leaders, social entrepreneurs, etc.) suggest about the fate of our planet? * What specific details did you learn about from the videos and articles below that most concern you? Why? (Specific examples will be helpful.) * How much hope do you have that the human race will survive? * What type of change is needed to slow down the decline of the planet's natural systems? Note specific examples and details from the videos and articles below. * What are your own feelings about this when you think about your future children and grandchildren? * If systems collapse, how will you explain the actions of your generation and our neglect of the planet to your children and grandchildren?
Watch the following videos and read the following articles BEFORE next class. You can augment with more research if you'd like. Then bring your notes to class and be prepared to engage in a Harkness discussion about what you learned.
After engaging in a Harkness discussion in class about the questions above, your task is to write an editorial article that serves as a warning, a plea or a call to action for everyone in the Concordia community. Editorials convey a sense of educated opinion and often involve a passionate or intense tone. How can you convince our community that the time for change is now? Please hand in your written piece by this Friday or next Tuesday (gauge yourself based on other homework obligations in terms of what date works for you).
Day 5 Guiding Questions (The Hopeful Side of our Current Situation): * Is it possible to have hope for the future of our planet and its people? * What role does innovation have to play in a more hopeful approach to thinking about the future? * How much effort is required, individually and collectively, to save us from the dark possibilities we learned about in day #4?
Can you find more articles or case studies that provide hope for changing our current path with the planet, climate change and resource scarcities? Take some notes and gather specific details. We'll finish with a round-robin share-out in class.
Day 6 & 7 Guiding Questions: * What is the MISO method for conducting research? * How can you use MISO to learn more about one of the SDGs? * Let's go for it!
Day 8 Guiding Questions: * How can I share my MISO findings with the group in a way that helps everyone learn more about the SDGs and about the value of doing primary source research? Your task is to take your interview and turn it into a podcast or an infographic or a poster or an article with photos, a product that can highlight a local changemaker who will inspire others with their actions, ideas and character.
Day 9 Harkness Discussion:
Root causes of global issues: please do some research about one global issue and try to determine its root causes. What are the underlying issues that have CAUSED this issue? Do you see any trends surfacing? What conclusions can we draw from these trends?
Sustainability: also based on your research, what sustainable solutions have you discovered? What are scientists, groups or individuals doing to try and “fix” the global issue(s) you have explored? Again, do we see any common trends here? What are your overall thoughts about sustainable solutions?
The world: do some more research and look for examples of people or projects that you feel are sustainable. How and why is this work valuable? What principles are evident in these examples that could apply, in a universal way, to any projects or partnerships we might want to create here in our local context?
The future: in this introductory unit, we have attempted to unpack the severity of our current situation in terms of the strain we are placing on the planet and the inevitable collapse of systems and lifestyles if we, as humans, don’t change the way we are living. We have also attempted to look at sustainable solutions and changemakers who are making a difference. At this point in time, what are your thoughts/worries/hopes about the future and about your own choices/lifestyle? Discuss and share.
Please watch a video about changemaker Tom Osborn (he’s now studying at Harvard on a full scholarship): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK8x57A1Dg0. Do some extra reading about Tom and Greenchar and contemplate how Tom’s story ties into everything we’ve been learning in this unit.