Building a Change-Maker Mindset

Over the past few years ISKL has been moving steadily toward a change of thinking with regard to service. The concept is simple. Charity is helpful, and in some cases (as is the situation with disasters, for example) essential, but there charity does not, on its own, bring forth lasting change and internally motivated citizens. To internalize a service-oriented, change maker mindset one needs personal connections and a deep understanding of how service connects to a sustainable future.

Take, for example, the idea of a student wanting to help the rainforests in Borneo. Certainly there is a recognition of a larger issue at hand - deforestation and loss of habitat - which is a great starting point. The child has a sale of sorts (hopefully not through the sale of virgin rainforest paper cards) and collects money, which he/she then sends along to an organization supporting rainforests. This is a great start to being a change maker for a positive future, but an arguably incomplete one. 

Now add a bit to that. Allow the student to delve deeper into the context, to research, perhaps interview someone "on the ground". The student can also engage in identifying a authentic solution to address the issue at stake. It's a solution within his/her sphere of influence. And then, off to put the plan into action....

Last Saturday the Grade 5 Service Learning Showcase (pictures on the Sustainable ISKL Facebook page here) took place at the Melawati Studio. For those in attendance it was impressive to see the grade 5 students "doing their thing" with regard to addressing issues as varied as providing food for the homeless, supporting stray animals, giving voice to the undocumented children, healthy eating and integrating with refugee communities. Those taking the time to delve deeper would have revealed that the student participants "knew their stuff". Whether talking about how, exactly, funds to the SPCA would be used to support stray animals, to how personal decisions relate to the plight of the sun bears, to how and why to make a healthy snacks, the kids provided exceptional evidence of solid learning.

More importantly, the showcase was a great step to supporting the growth of a service learning mindset at Melawati. Younger students, teachers, parents and staff roamed the studio for several hours. The buzz was impressive but not quite as impressive as the recognition of what such events can do for a school community. How wonderful to have our little ones can roam the room and recognize just how much was done in the service of others. One can imagine how, with some guided inquiry from a teacher, these visiting students can recognize their own personal potential as a change maker in their family, their school, their community. 

The Showcase was also a chance to take baby steps in recognizing that service to others need not be charity. The students themselves might not know it, but service learning is also a valuable tool to breaking down barriers, to "levelling the playing field" as they say, and to gently move away from the "us and them" dichotomy that makes charity a tricky learning tool sometimes. In the end, we will do great things - like changing the world for the better - if we have a conviction to make positive change, we recognize our personal potential and we know how to use the tools to make it so. It's already happening. :-)

Earth Week: What is Sustainability?

Often people will ask that very question: What is sustainability?  Other times people will assume that it's helping the environment, pure and simple. But the reality is that it's much more complex than that. This past week - Earth Week - we had the pleasure of welcoming Kate O'Connell (Compass Education), an elementary school teacher who uses tools whose focus is education for sustainability, to conduct a workshop for 14 of our ES teachers. 

The premise is that sustainability is essentially the interplay of different elements - in this case Nature, Economy, Society and Wellbeing (N,E,S and W) - in a systematic manner. Much of what Compass Education focuses on is the analysis of issues, trends, behaviors, etc., through the four compass points of sustainability (the N, E, S, and W) followed by the critical thinking required to determine cause-effect relationships and systems thinking. This is very similar to the ESD dimensions that we utilize at ISKL. 

What does all this have to do with our children?  Well, at ISKL many of our conversations revolving around critical thinking, ethical living, problem solving, etc., are geared around those types of sustainable thought processes. Children as young as three or four can understand the concept of cause and effect. Even before the can write they know that a seed, soil, water and sunshine can result in a beautiful plant and that can, in turn, provide seeds for future generations. Just this week, for example, our PS students just enjoyed the organic cucumbers they planted a while back!  But similar learning takes place across the entire school at developmentally appropriate levels.  

During Earth Week - and throughout the year - our classrooms conversations revolved around issues of being in the the outdoors (especially with our MS off to Malaysia Week), meat consumption (through Meatless Mondays), organic and locally produced food supply (through our very own gardens), energy, culture, human health, stress, artistic expression, culture, poverty, critical analysis of the media and a host of other meaningful educational experiences!  These are all sustainability conversations. Powerful ones.

Excellent teachers connect these conversations with sustainability thinking, add a pinch of empowerment and provide tools and processes that allow the understanding to become much, much deeper and the engagement much more meaningful. 

Earth Week is Next Week!

Earth Week 2016 is upon us once again as we move into the final weeks of April. As is customary our MS faculty and students spend the week outdoors "in the wild"!  For the rest of us it's the routine with a bit of a twist. The following events might be of particular interest to parents and community members:

• Farmer's Market & Community Recycling: Saturday, April 16 from 9:30 to 12:00 noon at the Ampang Front Parking lot. Bring your recycling and some extra cash and buy some goodies (and even eco-friendly cleaning agents)
• Meatless Monday will take place on Monday, April 18 on both campuses. On this day we inviting the community to reduce consumption of meat in support of the planet and will not be offering beef on the menu. Chicken and fish will be available.  
• Clothing Donations in support of the Chin Student Organization will be accepted all week (by the bussing lane and entrances of each campus)
• ES Uniform Swap at Melawati on Wed & Thu, April 20-21 for those with children who have outgrown their uniforms and wouldn't mind swapping it for a gently used one brought in by another family. 
• The Grade 2 Show highlighting "being green" will take place on Friday at 8:30 am in the Studio
• Feel free to visit the garden in the Ampang administration courtyard to see the MS artwork aptly named "In Celebration of the TREE"
• At any time feel free to "like" the Sustainable ISKL Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sustainableiskl) to keep up with all things "eco" and service related at school!

Of course, the best thing you, as parents, can do for your children is to lead by example and to have the meaningful conversations that are essential on growing up in a rapidly changing world. They say it takes a village to grow global citizens and what better an opportunity than to focus on the place we all call home. 

Clothing Donations at ISKL

Melawati bin: inside Exit 6 adjacent to the field

Ampang bin: Front Parking Lot

For years we've been trying to determine the best way forward for end-of-use clothing. For the past few months a number of concerned parents, our Director of Development Mr. Charles Davis and our Sustainability & Service Learning Coordinator Mr. Laurence Myers have been working on finding an on-campus solution for those families looking for a place to discard or donate clothing. 

With Earth Week just a week or so away (April 16-23) one great idea is to support the Green Council's clothing drive on the Ampang campus. The clothing donated to this initiative will be given to the Chin Students Association for the children there. The Red Hats are also rumored to be organizing a clothing drive at Melawati as well.  Then there is the ever-popular uniform swap organized by 5BW. 

For those unable to donate during Earth Week, however, we have started up a new partnership with an company named Life Line Clothing. Though they donate some clothing to charity, the majority of their work utilizes the cloth either as is or by making into other clothing items, depending on the quality of the product. Their work revolves around providing clothing to low-income markets. A portion of their proceeds go to three charitable organizations in KL. 

At ISKL we have placed two large donation bins at the following locations (pictured):

• Ampang: At the end of the Ampang front parking lot (next to the recycling tent) 
• Melawati: Inside the entrance of the bussing lane (exit 6) in the parking lot area adjacent to the field. 

Please feel free to support this program if you have uniforms with the ISKL logo or any clothing which you are comfortable donating. 

We hope that this will provide our community an avenue to donate their clothing either for the benefit of our community (as in the clothing swap), local community organizations (such as the Green Council or Red Hats initiatives) or for on-going support in regions where affordable clothing is necessary. 

Thank you for your continued support of sustainable practices and keeping useful things from the landfill. 

The Ecology of a New Campus

 

A few weeks ago Dr. Hudson announced that clearance and demolition work on the new campus site at Ampang Hilir is already underway. The new campus will feature 25.7 acres of purpose-built campus that will be a beacon for quality international education. It will be not just a school, but also a shining example of sustainable practices in energy, water and resource use. The campus is being designed with Malaysia’s Green Building Index (GBI) Platinum rating in mind. From an “exceptional education meets sustainable design” standpoint it is exactly where want to be in the coming years if we’re building a future based on responsible global citizenship. 
But such developments, no matter how visionary, do not come without cost. One such cost is that of the natural assets that currently exist on the site that, understandably, need to be demolished so that the new campus can be built. There are approximately 250 mature trees existing on the site. There are also numerous small homes and their corresponding garden spaces along with the animals that find refuge and food there. So how does a school with a sustainable consciousness co-exist with the fact that nature will be impacted for our school’s expansion? 
To address that, we have several simultaneous conversations going on that will, hopefully soon, become reality. A survey of the new campus space has identified seven frangipani trees that will be removed, maintained and then replanted onto the new campus. Mr. David Perrau, the Director of Project Operations, indicates that 14 trees will be re-purposed on our new campus by turning them into sculptures and or utilitarian elements (e.g. tables). This use of place-based resources will be augmented by the use of bricks of present homes that can be utilized to highlight aesthetic appeal of the new campus and reduce waste. Beyond that we are currently in conversations with the Global Environment Centre, a reputable NGO, to create an “adopt an acre” type program that will replant a substantial number of trees over a five-year period in an area of high ecological importance. ISKL has participated in tree plantings at The Raja Musa Peat Forest over the years but the partnership currently in process would be larger in scope. It will take a while for our planting to reach the carbon sink capacity of the mature trees on the campus, but planting that many trees at the Raja Musa Peat Forest would allow for an expansion of land that has major ecological benefit, from acting as a water sink for KL and providing a home for many species or animals and plants. 
Once our new campus opens the ISKL community will, no doubt, feel its pulse and recognize the sustainable nature of its design and function. It will serve as an example of the interaction of building space and learning experiences and will feature things such as solar energy, recycling, composting, reuse of water, cooling slabs, passive light maximization and green spaces for study, observation and appreciation. We envision a harmony of building, learning and sustainable design. We expect students to partake in behaviors that, supported by design, will limit the impact on the ecology of the space while simultaneously forming an excellent resource for integrated study. But we will also have a new school “forest” where students can study how it grows, how it works and an example of how schools can change the world. With good planning - which has characterised everything about our new campus - the relationship between the history of our school and the regeneration of natural ecosystems could be the perfect fit. And who knows? Hopefully, with the passage of time, those trees (and any trees planted after that) will grow large enough to be of greater carbon benefit than even the beautiful space we will soon call home.

Two New Clubs Go "Live"

It's always great to see students engaging with their community. It also wonderful to see them taking initiatives to involve in making their world a better place. For the past few months we've had two very different groups coming together, one from HS and one from ES. 

At the HS this week marked the initial building of new garden beds which were placed in the nursery behind the art building. The beds have not been entirely placed yet, as schedules so often get in the way of finishing projects on time, but they will be by next week. The HS Garden Club, advised by Mr. McCutcheon will be the "owner" of this space and will take care of it, ensure that plants that are grown are utilized, and also create a small compost area to ensure good quality soil. 

This week was also "go time" for the new Children Helping Children after school activity at Melawati. Around 16 ISKL students, advised by Ms. Varney and Ms. Manglesdorf, have signed up for what appears to be an excellent connection with the Fugee School (comprised largely of Somali refugees). This activities willl meet with the Fugee School children once every other week (with their first face-to-face interactions having taken place this past Tuesday). The alternate weeks the ISKL students will spend time planning for the subsequent meeting with their new friends. 

Both these activities are indicative of the willingness of our students to engage with their community. In doing so they learn from and learn with their respective points of interaction. Global citizen building, one interaction at a time.

MS Commits to Action

Last Friday, February 5 our grade 7 global issues and MS Student Council students were busy tackling the world's problems in a practical solution-oriented way. In what we hope is just the first of many Transforming Our World conferences, close to 130 students from ISKL and MKIS addressing the UN Global Goals for sustainable development.  The end result was a series of action plans (referred to as "Commitments to Action") presented at the end of what felt like a very short day (time does fly when you're engaged)! 

What was perhaps particularly impressive about this conference was that, from start to finish, it was a student-driven conference. Of course, teachers were there to guide and support, but the conversations, research, deliberations, learning activities and presentations were all entirely the work of our students. 

Much of the feedback from both student participants and adult observers pointed to an exceptional amount of focus, hard work, collaboration and solution-oriented conversations. It spoke of meaningful conversations, concern for the world and realistic empowerment. 

The day was incredibly well organized and students were able to develop skills in research, using technology, critical thinking, communication and public speaking. The final outcomes - the presentation of Commitments to Action (which can be found here) were particularly impressive, ranging form community plans to address waste to programs to ensure opportunities for girls, education programs for island populations and many more. 

Such powerful learning experiences offer a window into the development of "responsible global citizens".  As an observer of such opportunities for authentic learning through inquiry and combining experiential, cognitive, emotional and social growth with a purpose one cannot help but feel that unwavering sense of pride in children becoming global citizens literally as they speak. 

Grade 7 "Solutionaries" Address the SGDs

Just two short months after the world's leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ISKL is already empowering students to develop the skills necessary to address the world's largest issues, albeit on smaller scale. Transforming Our World (website here), is a one-day "solutionary" conference facilitated entirely by students, is aimed at the following learning outcomes for participants:

• Be introduced to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030)
• Address a topic related to sustainable development in a meaningful way
• Develop action plans ("Commitments to action") related to a SDG
• Present action plans to an audience of peers

The event is organized in part by the MS Student Council, who is ably facilitating the opening ceremony and keynote address, the community events and the closing presentations. SDG focused workgroup are also part and parcel of the even and are all facilitated by grade 7 Global Issues students.

By the end of the day the students will have interacted with each other and with the SDGs in meaningful ways, deliberating the issues, identifying existing solutions around the world and creating a realistic action plan ("Commitment to Action") that they will present to their peers. Obviously the world cannot be changed in just one day and so the "commitments" will be passed on to trimester 3 global issues and grade 6 service learning classes as recommended starting points to service learning experiences!

A big thank you goes to the MS Student Council advisors, Ms. Feitas and Ms. Vivian, the Global Issues teachers Mr. Peters and Ms. Keithley and the MS Service Learning Coordinator, Ms. Smith. But the biggest of thank yous, of course, needs to go to the G7 Global Issues and MS Student Council students who are rising to the occasion and developing their leadership through commitment and energy in addressing such important issues with a "can do" mindset. 

Diving Deeper Into Service Learning

Last week, for the second time this academic year, Cathy Berger Kaye - an expert in service learning - came into town to work with the faculty at all levels. After a weekend workshop that drew nearly 30 educators from across the region she settled down to work with our HS, MS and ES faculty in planning. It's always nice to have Cathy come by because, in addition to being a simply wonderful connection to best-practices and a plethora of very practical ideas in good teaching and learning, she is also a great gauge on how ISKL is doing. 

Cathy has been visiting ISKL for the past three years and, as she puts it, "ISKL is doing very well". How can she tell?  The way she puts it it's about the conversations that take place at the planning sessions. No longer are we talking about what the stages of service learning are, or what constitutes "good service learning". Now the conversations are much more pointed, revolving around curricular and experiential learning experiences. For example, HS is working on developing the pastoral care program. MS is developing experiences that maximize learning through the use of appropriate literature connections. "How about becoming someone's hero?" was one of the questions in a grade 7 talk about The Odyssey.  At Elementary School the conversations are as varied as the faculty represented. From creating toolkits for others to writing books to gardening and compassion the interactions were thought provoking, extended thinking and challenged our teachers to determine the true purpose for their units. 

Perhaps than anything Cathy's visit allows us to become introspective, to collaborate in meaningful ways (on issues as varied as brushing teeth or human trafficking) and to think about the many possibilities in teaching through inviting students to engage in authentic learning that combines community needs with a curricular focus.

In her debrief to the ES Cathy was glowing in her remarks. She mentioned that we "are ready" to take the plunge, to generate exemplars, to document and to become the school that other schools will look up to. She, on her part, would make sure that she shares all the great stories of exceptional learning taking place at our school, this semester and beyond. It's a great time to be molding socially responsible global citizens at ISKL!    

What's in Another (Green) Flag?

Last Friday morning, as the the children of ISKL sat in their first block of the day, Mr. Myers was on his way west. His drive took him to Shah Alam and, specifically, to the closing events of the Eco-Schools International Conference. His role there was as a "filler" for the students but given that our high schoolers were well into "exams" mode it made more sense for him to be there in their stead. He represented ISKL proudly as the recipient of a 2nd Eco-Schools Green Flag award, the only school in Malaysia to be honored in this way. 

But though Mr. Myers stood there on his own in a sea of other recipients of different awards, he was fully aware that this was incidental. Because he was representing an able body of students - the Green Council - who have handled researched the evidence, gathered the data, communicated the results, completed the application, ran the tour and made a fine presentation to the visiting team of university professors. Certainly, there are accolades to be given to the Green Council. But it still wouldn't be enough. 

That's because the Green Council is merely a representative of our entire school's body. Their task, among other things, is to document the successes of ISKL clubs, students and classes in sustainable and service learning related projects. Though they did their job impeccably their task only revealed a small glimpse of what ISKL does on a daily basis.  It is often small things that make a community what it is. They are an often anecdotal - but no less meaningful - measure of the cumulative commitment to making positive change to the world around them. 

And so, though one man stood on the podium representing a small group of 25 students, who in turn represented several clubs and classrooms, it was all about the entire ISKL community coming together in the hallways, in the gardens, in the classrooms, in the meeting rooms and in the theatres. They come together to have conversations that are meaningful and purposeful, that are ongoing and never ending. They touch sensitivities and thoughts and empathy and attitudes. They touch teaching and learning and behaviors. And, in the end, they are transformational in that they touch our lives in millions of ways that, through collective capacity, make a lasting and important difference. 

Congratulations to all of us, young and younger, for doing the things that matter. The award is merely a recognition for all the cumulative wonderful things that you think, you say and you do to make the world a better place each and every day.

Community Engagement: In Elena's Words

The following is a post written by Elena Ortiz ('17) who worked tirelessly as a member of the organizing committee for the 24 Hour Run (to Stop the Traffic) aimed at addressing the issue of modern day slavery. Away from the eyes of most of us, she worked day after day for six months in a true collaborative project spanning a number of schools and the entire region. Her story is shared here as an example of our students' engagement with the community and a living example of ISKL's school-wide learning results. If you have a moment ask her about it and see her eyes shine with pride as she talks about it. 

Here is Elena's story, shared with her permission:

"This year I had the wonderful opportunity of being Kuala Lumpur’s Executive Director of Advocacy and Impact of the 24 Hour Race. This was both the most challenging, and eye-opening experience that I have ever undertaken. When I started my responsibilities back in May, I knew that it would be a challenge, but I had absolutely no idea just how far in over my head I was. But I was full of passion, energy, and ready to learn. Our only adult ‘supervision’ was in Hong Kong, meaning that it was up to the five of us directors to put on an entire event start to finish. And that meant everything from writing business proposals, to selecting and maintaining a partnership with beneficiaries and even trying to coordinate permits with the Malaysian government. I essentially devoted most of my life to trying to keep up with its mountain of demands, and cannot count the times where my teachers have caught me formatting the financial spreadsheet instead of doing math problems or finishing my essay. 

The factor that drove me most was knowing the impact that I was having. Human slavery is one of the biggest problems in the world, claiming the lives of 35 million people and plaguing every single country. The industry is a 150 billion dollar problem that nobody is talking about. Knowing in the back of my head that my efforts were helping to save lives and shut down some of the biggest injustices the world drove me to put every single challenge and task at the top of my priority list to complete. I am so proud of what my team and I were able to accomplish, and I’m so excited to see how the movement grows in the future."

Hoping for a 2nd Green Flag Award

In August 2013 ISKL was the proud recipient of Malaysia's very first Eco-Schools Green Flag award. We were proud at the time and excited all at once. In the acceptance speech, Deana Anuar ('14) and Tunku Alysha Alizan ('14) spoke of the honor and responsibility that this would bring, of the leadership that ISKL needed to show moving forward and of the need for collaboration outside of our school walls. 

Fast forward two and a bit years and our Green Council, responsible for documenting environmentally and sustainability based experiences under the Eco-Schools platform, are a completely different group. This year's team is led by Anne Wilson ('16) and Tiffany Tung ('17) and a very able group of 25 students. The team has been working diligently for the past two months to ensure that our application for a second Green Flag award is completed, evidence provided, and attention is paid to the proverbial dotting of our "i's" and crossing of our "t's". 

We now stand ready (with a few minor adjustments and practice-runs to go) to host the Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation visiting team once again. On Wednesday, November 25, between 3:00 and 5:00 pm members of WWF Malaysia and university professors representing Eco-Schools Malaysia will be visiting our Ampang campus to see what we've been to for the past two years. The visit, of course, will include a tour of the campus (with requisite stops for "eco" highlights) as well as a formal presentation by members of the Green Council, HS Earth Club, Global Issues, Local Solutions class and Global Issues Club. 

The power of this experience is hard to explain. It is as authentic as authentic can get as the students themselves become the representatives of our entire institution and success and failure is defined not by their teachers but by external assessors. How they present, how they respond, their knowledge and skills related to sustainability in general and ISKL's ESD platform are critical in how we, as a school, are assessed. 

​In our constant striving to provide an education to our students capable of building global citizens, this is a big test and one that we are sure our students will shine in. Of course, there is no way of knowing whether we will be awarded the Green Flag award again, but that doesn't stop us from moving toward a sustainable future behind the leadership of some pretty terrific kids.

JUMP! Training for MS StuCo in preparation for Transforming our World Conference

The following was an article for the ISKL Panther News written by Jessica Vivian, Middle School Student Council Advisor. 

The Middle School Student Council members had a great opportunity to participate in a leadership training program for two days on October 23 and 24. This program was lead by JUMP! Foundation - a non-profit social enterprise that uses experiential education to build community leaders and global citizens and helps students to realize their passions and potential. Student council members participated in a variety of character building activities and completed several valuable tasks to address the importance and power of their role as ISKL Middle School student leaders. STUCO members were trained to facilitate learning and leadership, personal development and group collaboration in future Middle School activities and events. Their training will be put to the ultimate test come February 5, 2016, when they facilitate the running of the ISKL-hosted Sustainable Development Solutionary Conference, that explores the United Nation’s most recent Millennium Development Goals. Well done to our dedicated student council members!  

~ Jessica Vivian, MS Humanities Teacher

SDGs: A Student Voice

The following is the script of a speech presented by Sonja English (Class of 2016) to the Global Action Program assembly on October 20, 2015. Is is shared here with her permission.

"In light of the expiration of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, they have released a new set of ambitions: the Sustainable Development Goals. In essence, they aspire to achieve a series of ambitious proposals by the year 2030. Here is a taste of what they have to offer: ending all poverty, everywhere, and with that an end to hunger and promotion of nutrition and sustainable agricultural practices. Another crucial goal, is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Most studies strongly support the view that giving women a voice in their communities fosters a higher and more lasting level of development. Consequently, the role of women and girls needs to be emphasized ,especially in poorer regions of the world. We need more projects like The Girl Effect, as seen in 2008, which directly funded education for girls in Nigeria, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, with great success. We need to tread lightly on cultural issues like female genital mutilation and child marriage that results in girls trying to avoid the process by breast ironing. Child marriage and FGM isn’t going to go away by the developed world simply lambasting these practices. Instead, we must promote alternate ways of celebrating womanhood that still preserve indigenous values. Amhef Health Africa has founded an Alternate Rite of Passage (ARP) that replaces FGM with life skills teaching, and a ceremony. Over 9000 girls and their families have opted into ARP in Nigeria and Kenya. The UN functions on respecting the cultural traditions of communities, yet at the same time identifying where sometimes these practices do more harm than good. We must be able to consider both sides of the coin, because it’s too easy to say that “the world needs fixing”. It’s harder to suggest the means of solution that protect cultural identities and values while promoting universal human rights. The SDGs are attempting to bridge this divide and attain a more humane and respectful development for all.

Consider another issue: the part of the world that lives in darkness. We often take for granted the ability to turn on air conditioning, running water, lights. Even in Malaysia, many orang asli tribes not far from KL still do not have electricity. Liter of Light and MIT have invented a solar powered plastic water bottle light that has been introduced to rural communities. These ventures have not been government sponsored, but rather NGOs and normal citizens have worked to bring light to communities in Brazil, the Philippines, and Malaysia. This is only the beginning. Access to electricity and safe shelter go hand-in-hand. The UN’s Sustainable Development goals are all interlinked, and with the achievement of one, we get a domino effect into another. With the majority of you embarking on GAP this week, keep these goals in mind because they’re supposed to be the foundation of the trip, and we often forget this.

Malaysia with all it’s beauty invariably has its own struggles to quell. Before we embark on new journeys, we first should tackle those closest to home. Hence, Malaysia week and a Malaysian Action Program is what we should pursue. Act local, think global."

Snippets of an ever-growing Sustainable Culture

Years ago, when the Environmental Coordinator (now Sustainability & Service Learning Coordinator) position was created one of it's key responsibilities was the "development of a 'green' ethos". For those who have ever studied change it is often argued that people's mindsets are the hardest thing to change and so a job responsibility like that was, and continues to be, a tall order. 

One way to determine whether ethos is being built rather than rules being instituted is to look at those things that happen naturally, from a bottom-up. These are not things that are required or forced. They are glimpses into the slow growth of a sustainable mindset on our campuses. Here are a few snippets:

• The creation of waste-free Fridays and waste free parties at Melawati
• The commonplace sharing of information in PTA newsletters about how to be "green" in a variety of events
• An International Fest that is free of non-biodegradable single-use items, offers bussing for participants and includes a number of "green" stalls and events
• A Panther Hut trying out sales of new shopping bags recycled from our very own school banners
• Students on both campuses extensively using their reusable water bottles
• Vendors increasing in the use of juice dispensers in lieu of plastic bottled drinks (and thus reducing waste)
• Student projects aimed at reducing paper use (Green Council), food waste (Global Issues, Local Solutions course), trash in the ocean (G6 service learning) among others
• Increased use of timers by the Melawati maintenance department to ensure reduction in non-essential use of energy
• The cleaning companies are consistently adapting their behaviors (use of water, use of cleaning agents, etc.) 
• Parents involved in addressing the issue of school uniforms (when families move on or children outgrow them)
• The establishment of the first (and hopefully regular) Grade 7 Conference on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development
• HS students initiating a Global Issues club (and others with social and sustainable foci)
• Student articles and public service announcements on issues from the haze to the caterpillars on our campuses to use of energy, water and the like

Each one of these (and the many more not mentioned) would probably not be defined as evidence of a changing "ethos", but once combined there is little room for doubt. It's the evidence of caring, empowerment, purpose and global citizenship that defines this school's culture. Though there is still a long way to go, the changes are obvious. It feels like the beginning of a wave of change for a better world. It's a good feeling, no?

The Global Goals for Sustainable Development

On Saturday, September 25 the UN General Assembly voted to pass the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. We had touched on this earlier in the year, but now that they are in place these goals are expected to pave the way to an entirely new future. The Global Goals take effect on January 1, 2016 and will extend to 2030. By that time our littlest ones will be in their final year of college and looking at a world of opportunity with the requisite excitement and worry that entails. 

Our class of 2026 will have gone through a whole new approach to development, been taught in a completely different manner than you or I. They will have been exposed to the world in ways that are interconnected, systemic and solution-oriented, and they will have tools to make them 21st century practitioners. 

The goals highlight the need for a diverse approach to sustainability. They focus on issues of the human condition - from education, to poverty to hunger - as much as on the condition of the planet - from biodiversity on land and in the oceans. They focus on the manner by which we function as societies - as consumers, as city dwellers, and on industries and innovations. But perhaps more than anything else, they focus on the fact that everyone - literally everyone - is needed. From the youngest members to the oldest the goals offer an invitation to partner, locally and globally to move forward. Both personal citizenship and collaboration are essential.

How hopeful a situation to be in, despite school closures due to the haze. At ISKL's Sustainability & Service Learning Office we envision a beautiful and harmonious future made so by the combined efforts of our community, where care not only follows closely behind but walks along side. 

For further information on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development please feel free to visit www.globalgoals.org, watch the promotional video, "We the People for the Global Goals" below or go in depth into the goals themselves by visiting the US Sustainable Development website (here). 

Guiding Questions, Enduring Understandings.

It's the 1/3 mark of trimester one in the Middle School. Two classes of sixth graders work diligently in their service learning classes to piece together global and regional issues and how they might help address them at the local level. One class, we are told, is working hard on perfecting their "elevator pitch" while the other one is busily finding resources to develop their plan to address waste, pollution and sea life. 

Connections are often a matter of perspective. When many of the adults in this community were young(er) we might be taught about how one thing leads to another. Often that was it. Cause and effect. In service learning classes, and a good number of other classes at ISKL, students are consistently asked to go even further. What are the connections between our sorting of waste and the marine ecosystem?  How does what we do affect the haze and vice versa?  Where can we find leverage to improve the system? 

These are powerful questions, and ones that can lead to a myriad of answers. Direction is defined by the interests, skills and experiences of our students and therein lies the beauty of it. No matter which way one goes, it doesn't take long to recognize that it's all interconnected. 

These systems, interconnections and solutions are a huge part in generating 'enduring understandings' that are essential to becoming a global citizen. In grade 6 our students are working hard connecting the dots and creating action plans. Because everyone knows that the best way to predict the future is to invent it. :-)