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Happiness |
5/22/18 |
This semester we will be reflecting on contemporary issues and what makes for a better world. The class began then by thinking about what makes us happy, what makes for a good or fulfilling life. Students mentioned family and friends, money, sports, various interests like games and vacation, food and drinks, health, and freedom. Students were introduced to Maslow's hierarchy of needs in order to think about the choices we make and what motivates us. Students categorized their list according to Maslow's hierarchy.
When most think about happiness they think of wealth or fame, but studies are starting to clarify what actually makes for a happy life and it revolves primarily around creating a healthy community. This is primarily what this class on social studies is about. We have looked at our history with a view to understanding what makes our life together better. Unfortunately, many continue to live in unhealthy communities not only on a local level but also globally. This quarter we will examine how we relate to each other through our globalized world. |
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Healthy Community |
5/23/18 |
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Sustainable Development Goals |
5/24/18 |
Using the framework of Gross National Happiness, we are forced to think about further measures for evaluating our communal well-being, like health, education, a living wage, environmental sustainability, generosity and social support, freedom, and trustworthy governance. The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 represent agreed upon goals to build a better world. (They provide a second set of goals after the millennium development goals for 2000 to 2015.) Students will examine the SDGs to better understand what priorities we have as a world. Students will organize the 17 goals into groups by themes they draw out. After familiarizing themselves with the goals students will select one goal that they feel is most important and explain why it matters.
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Supply Chain |
5/25/18 |
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Ecological Footprint |
5/29/18 |
We turn to think about some of our everyday items in order to consider its impact on the world around us, namely our ecological footprint. First we will consider what goes into the classic American meal (hamburger, fries and soda) by creating a web diagram. Then students will select some everyday item (shoes, t-shirt, bicycle, newspaper, cup of coffee, or computer) and as a group diagram its ecological impact. The web of connections to other people and places and the environmental resources expands as one considers what is involved on the items we consume.
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Sustainable Development (Extraction) |
5/30/18 |
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Public Policy (Production) |
5/31/18 |
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When fertilizers and pesticide runoff pollutes ground water, who should pay for the purification? When deforestation occurs to expand grazing lands, ever growing cities, and produce a variety of paper goods, who should invest in the air we breath, let alone clean-up the air? Students are introduced to the idea that there are costs that are not accounted for in the price of a product. The planet and people are often sacrificed in the pursuit of profit. Students will consider what goes into the cost of a product and what is not put into that price.
GenX in the Cape Fear River |
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Designed for the Dump (Consumption) |
6/1/18 |
Students are introduced to the idea of obsolescence. Companies design products to break (planned obsolescence) and advertise to shape our desires (perceived obsolescence) concerning what we consume. While this is great for our economy, it has negative social and environment impacts. Our increased consumption fuels an economy that extracts greater natural resources that are quickly dumped and pull us away from activities that increase our quality of life--relationships.
Fueled by designed and perceived obsolescence, electronic waste has grown tremendously leading destructive environmental impacts. |
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Disposal |
6/4/18 |
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International Trade |
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Linear vs Circular Economy |
6/5/18 |
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Circular Economy |
6/6/18 |
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Design for Longevity
(or maximum use) |
Design for Service
(from product to service) |
Design for Reuse
(modular design) |
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The exploration of a sustainable, circular economy brings us back to how we work for healthy and happy communities. (School education connects to the real world by not simply preparing students to fit into the present world, but engaging in the real problems we are facing to make a better future.) Students will apply their knowledge by envisioning Cary as a sustainable city.
If we wanted to be a city planner or bring a proposal to the city council to spur it toward greater communal well-being, what goals should we set? The class will be working to create some outcomes that our city should aspire for. |
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Students revised a sustainable development vision and values statement for Cary, after brainstorming ideas. Then they compared it to the plan Cary has issued to guide the town til 2040 and evaluated whether how well the plan was developed. What are its strengths and weakness? After identifying its weakest areas, students were asked to brainstorm ideas for action.
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Review |
6/7/18 |