TITLE: Inventing the Future: What Kind of Future Will We Invent?
THEMES: Sustainable Communities; Global Development; Earth Science; Environment and Climate Change
GRADE LEVEL: Ideal for 12th Grade Government; fulfills the sustainability education requirement; multidisciplinary approach
DATES: Week 1- Wednesday, September 23rd
Week 2- Wednesday, September 30th
Week 3- Wednesday, October 14th
Week 4- Wednesday, October 21st
Week 5- Wednesday, November 18th
Week 6**- Wednesday, December 2nd
TIME: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
COST: $300/VC (at least 2 VC sessions required) or $750 for entire series ($150 savings), or membership price*
**Please note; Week 6 is only available as part of the entire series and cannot be selected as a two-part option. Entire series' participation is high encouraged.
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Global Nomads Group has teamed up with the Cloud Institute to challenge students to become future leaders of a sustainable global community via a multi-part curriculum unit called "Inventing the Future." Students will learn to become active citizens, responding to some of the gravest environmental perils facing our future such as deforestation, global warming, etc. In this unique six-part program series, students from across North America will gather together and with experts via live videoconferences to discuss the multifaceted concepts of "community" and "citizenship." Students will not only share their perspectives as citizens of a locally and globally interconnected community, but will also create plans to measure the progress and success of their ideal community. The program will conclude in a culminating session where students will share their ideas with their peers and together, create a common vision for a sustainable future.
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Week 1 - Community, Citizenship, & Rights
Module 1: Introduction to Community and Citizenship (From Chapters 1-3)
Wed, Sept 23 - 10:00 AM EDT
In this introductory session, students will discuss characteristics that form a community and share the various components that form their local community. Students will learn to identify and describe communities to which they belong and answer the age old question What does it mean to be a citizen of the community? Students will learn that while differences exist in each community, they also share many similarities. Additionally, students will discuss the notion of citizenship and the responsibilities and roles tied to it. Students will also explore various rights declarations, sharing their ideas of what they all have in common, including: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.S. Bill of Rights, Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Rio Declaration, and the Earth Charter. In addition, students will discuss their initial vision for the future as members of their local, national and global communities.
Guest Speaker: Jamie Cloud, Founder and President of The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
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Week 2 - The Commons - Public vs. Private Property
Module 1: Introduction to Community and Citizenship (From Chapters 4-6)
Wed, Sept 30 - 10:00 AM EDT
In Week 2, students will explore the difference between public and private property and learn about the concept of "the commons." Students will share details about public spaces that exist in their own communities and reflect on how it may be similar and/or different to that of the commons in the communities of their peers across North America. Together, students will identify the benefits and challenges to the commons vs. private property and how the two will fit into the future they envision.
Guest Speaker: Jonathan Rowe, On the Commons.org
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Week 3 - Visions for a Sustainable Community
Module 2: Creating Sustainable Communities (From Chapters 1-2)
Wed, Oct. 14 - 10:00 AM EDT
After being introduced to the overarching concepts of community and citizenship, students will delve into learning about the significance of envisioning a sustainable community in Week 3. Students will be able to recognize and articulate the various characteristics and processes of sustainable community initiatives. What can be learned from examining how others have established and implemented initiatives for their communities? In addition, students will be able to articulate a vision for their community as well as a plan for incorporating community members into the vision.
Guest Speaker: TBA
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Week 4 - Indicators, Assets and Liabilities
Module 2: Creating Sustainable Communities (From Chapters 3-4)
Wed, Oct. 21- 10:00 AM EDT
How does one measure the progress and success of the ideal sustainable community? In Week 4, students will be introduced to the idea that progress and success are multi-dimensional. Students will learn to identify practical indicators that will reflect the progress of their envisioned community from various arenas including - social, ecological, and economic. In addition, students will define assets and liabilities in their own communities and learn how they may differ from other communities in other parts of North America.
Guest Speaker: Wendy Brawer, Founder of Green Maps
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Week 5 - Public Policy and YOU
Module 3: What If? (From Chapters 1-3)
Wed, Nov. 18 - 10:00 AM EDT
Students now understand the roles of citizenship, community, and rights and have set out a measurable plan to create their ideal sustainable community. Now what? In Week 5, students will understand and analyze the functions and roles of political, social and civic organizations in communities, government, regulations, and policy making. Students will identify constituent groups in their community and how they can interact to maximize effectiveness of their goals. In addition, students will identify the most prominent challenges facing their local community and explore the driving forces that influence policies and community visions for the future.
Guest Speaker: TBA
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Week 6 - Inventing the Future
Module 3: What If? (From Chapters 4-5)
Wed, Dec. 2 - 10:00 AM EDT
In this culminating session, students will share their ideas of the future with their peers in other parts of North America via a project-based learning approach. Students will reflect on their own development as responsibly participating citizens of their community, as well as the tools and habits of mind that they have developed during the course. Furthermore, students will share examples from the course activities to show how their learning is evidenced by the development of the characteristics of their responsible participation. Students will conclude the program feeling empowered by the decisions they can make as future leaders of our local and global community.
Guest Speaker: Jamie Cloud, Founder and President of The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
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The Inventing the Future program is aligned with these National Educational Standards:
Civics and Government Standards
- Topic IV: What is the relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs?
Education for Sustainability - Student Standards
- EfS Standard 1 - Students understand and are able to apply the basic concept of sustainability (i.e.: meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs). They develop an understanding of the historical context in which the definitions, concepts, and principles of sustainability and sustainable development have emerged over time.
- 1.1 Intergenerational Responsibility
- EfS Standard 2 - Students recognize the concept of sustainability as a dynamic condition characterized by the interdependency among ecological, economic, and social systems and how these interconnected systems affect individual and societal well-being. They understand and experience their connection to and interdependence with the natural world.
- 2.1 - Interconnectedness
- 2.2. - Ecological Systems
- Urban Design/Land Management
- 2.3 - Economic Systems
- Alternative Indicators and Indexes of Progress
- True (or Full) Cost Accounting
- 2.4 - Social and Cultural Systems
- Multilateral Organizations
- International Summits, Conferences, Conventions, and Treaties
- EfS Standard 3 - Students develop a multidisciplinary approach to learning the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to continuously improve the health and well-being of present and future generations, via both personal and collective decisions and actions. They understand and can describe their vision of a world that is sustainable, along with the primary changes that would need to be made by individuals, local communities, and countries in order to achieve this.
- 3.1 - Personal Action
- Lifelong Learning and Action
- Personal Change Skills and Strategies
- 3.2 - Collective Action
- Local to Global Responsibility
- Community-Based and Societal Level Decision-Making
- Public Discourse and Policy
- Organizational and Societal Change Skills and Strategies
Environment and Society
- Standard 14: How human actions modify the physical environment.
- Standard 15: How physical systems affect human systems.
- Standard 16: The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Geography Standards
Human Systems
- Standard 9: The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface.
- Standard 10: The characteristics, distributions, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.
- Standard 11: The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.
- Standard 13: How forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface.
Social Studies Standards
- Strand III: People, Places, and Environments
- Strand IV: Individual Development and Identity
- Strand V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
- Strand VI: Power, Authority, and Governance
- Strand IX: Global Connections
- Strand X: Civic Ideals and Practices
World History Standards
- Era 2: Early Civilizations and the Emergence of Pastoral Peoples, 4000-1000 BCE
- Era 3: Classical Traditions, Major Religions, and Giant Empires, 1000 BCE-300 CE
- Era 5: Intensified Hemispheric Interactions 1000-1500 CE
- Era 8: A Half-Century of Crisis and Achievement, 1900-1945
- Era 9: The 20th Century Since 1945: Promises & Paradoxes
All GNG programs are aligned with the U.N. Millennium Development Goals:
- Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
- Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
- Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
- Goal 5: Improve maternal health
- Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
- Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
What to expect from The PULSE
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