Sometimes I like to skim through some of my favorite books. Doing so usually reminds me why it’s one of my favorites. Touring Ogden International School’s new building last night inspired me to re-read The Third Teacher, 79 Ways to Use Design to Transform Teaching and Learning. The morning, as soon as I picked it up, my mind began racing:

Consider: A child entering 1st grade this fall will graduate college in 2030 and retire around 2065.

The world’s changing fast (as is what’s required from graduates), yet a teacher from the Victorian age could fit in pretty easily at most ‘modern’ schools. More than 100 years ago, John Dewey argued that children are learning beings, not vessels to be filled with information. So, at a time when we need creativity and life-long learners more than ever, are we stuck trying to reform an outdated model? Could this explain our scandalous drop-out rate? Or the growing numbers rebelling against the narrowing of curriculum and focus on standardized tests? How different would schools look if the focus were on nourishing creativity and developing the wide range of intelligences we need in the 21st century?

Consider: Within the lifetime of today’s child, the human species must figure out how to fit in on the planet. Changing our relationship with nature means a complete redesign (and understanding ecosystems to start). From energy flows to material cycles, every aspect of life will change. If today’s students will transform our systems to work with nature, not against, might it make more sense to think of schools as incubators, both in the actual designs themselves, but also as places for the designers (students) inhabiting them?

Designers are, by their nature, problem solvers. They’re optimistic. They can imagine what’s possible and then design solutions. And it can begin with the school, and in the school.

The Third Teacher

P.S. The Chicago Architecture Foundation hosted the tour. Btw, they have fantastic programs and exhibits worth seeing.

By Tim Magner

So much craziness happening, what’s a kid to think? If it’s not homework and grades, maybe they worry about their appearance and material wants. If it’s not enough free time, perhaps it’s too many hours plugged in—to the TV, computer or iPod. Sure, every generation has had it’s share of stresses and challenges, but what if students pay attention and think critically about the bigger picture? From growing inequality and lack of political leadership to environmental collapse and climate change, is there room for hope?

If we overwhelm, we alienate. If we frighten, we paralyze. I argue times are ripe for change, point to the millions already involved in altering the current course and find relevant (usually local) projects to partake. Importantly, I suggest teaching ‘democracy’ as a verb. To that end, check out Rebecca Altman’s piece here on students taking meaningful action on reducing the number of catalogs shipped and film The Lorax that produced results.

By Tim Magner

Education. While the word itself may not spark as much passionate debate as religion and politics, everyone has an opinion. Those opinions vary wildly, yet there’s one common theme: we can, and we must do better at educating children. Education is viewed as essential to “progress” and better lives.

Ideas for improvement are put forth. Sides are taken. Debates rage—ratcheted up as test scores arrive. What makes sense? More school choice? More teacher accountability? More parent accountability? Longer school day? Longer school year? More test prep? Budgets are squeezed, yet, even in crunches, we increase money spent on education. Yes, we know a few things that make a difference, e.g. preschool, great teachers. But some don’t always add value, e.g. money spent (even as gaps between rich and poor increase). Importantly, this all happens in the context of community integration and family bonds breaking down. And while every living system is in decline. Our existing capitalist model, led by the most ‘educated’ graduates, decimate the natural resources which make life possible, burning fossil fuels and using the air, water, soil and our bodies as repositories for their waste.

Admittedly, I’m an authority on nothing, but because my nephew thinks I’m as smart as most 5th graders, I apply logic and deduct, “something’s not working.” Understanding everything’s connected, let’s follow Eisenhower’s suggestion, “If you can’t solve a problem, enlarge it.” So, we take a step back, widen the lens and begin with, What’s education for? Farmer, professor and writer Wendell Berry argues, that, rather than prepping students to be upwardly mobile citizens, we ought to change the standard and constantly ask, what do communities need? This way, learning becomes more practical. Sure, we get specialists, but they learn in a wider context, understanding how actions and policies impact jobs, community, food and fuel. Students as consumers make better decisions and advocate for policy change so business begins to integrate all the costs of bringing products to market.

Along the same lines, professor and writer David Orr argues, “there isn’t a problem in education, but of education.” He makes the case for eliminating environmental education as a separate subject and integrating it into every subject. Orr uses the Oberlin college campus and town to teach energy flows and nutrient cycles, and applies the lessons to a wide array of specialties, e.g. history, economics, science. Orr also proposes measuring schools differently. Rather than ranked by test scores and the income of graduates, measure schools in their success cycling nutrients and relying on current solar income. View them in the context of how well they’re integrated into, and support, the community they’re a part. Lastly, consider how successful graduates are in their work redesigning our relationship with the earth,  and creating jobs while improving quality of life in communities the world over.

Yes, to progress, we need education. Just a different type of progress than our schools teach today. What do you think?

By Tim Magner

2012 is the year I’ll spend less time plugged in and more time outdoors. After too many hours cooped up indoors, I walk outside and my mind says, “what took you so long?” So, I often hesitate recommending visiting yet another website. That said, the trick is to find the sources that save you from spending time on other sites. Is the content engaging, valuable, diverse and concise?

With that in mind, I find myself repeatedly pulled to Mrs. Q’s Fed Up with Lunch blog. True, I hadn’t read it before being asked to post a guest blog, see here, there are plenty of food blogs and I’m biased towards the subjects of food/kids, but Mrs. Q’s blog covers the gamut, and covers it well. She’s a Chicago Public School Teacher that ate school lunch every day last year and blogs about the experience. Mrs. Q’s great at bringing attention to the injustice of the food system, while sharing stories of those sowing the seeds of change. And she’s always concise.

Love & Peas, Tim.

P.S. Here I am recommending more time on the computer: a Chicago Tribune article on our urban agriculturalist Seneca Kern. Seneca, thanks for the signature.

By Tim Magner

Farm A: 1000 acres of corn and soybeans managed by one part-time farmer (with help from lots of subsidized oil, chemicals and a couple big machines). The harvested crops feed livestock, cars and food processing centers. The farm poisons the water, erodes the soil and pollutes the air. The fraction of their crop that enters our bodies as ‘cheap’ corn-fed meat and junk food makes us sick and raises healthcare costs.  And this farmer gets a check every year from taxpayers.

Farm B: 4 acres worth of fruit and vegetables. It requires 4 farmers with knowledge acquired over time. With more than 100 types of plants, the farm is diverse and the system is complex. The farm needs no chemicals and little oil. Over time, they enrich and build soil. Connecting with neighbors and customers, they create community. Their food tastes great and nourishes our bodies.

Which farm do you support? Who are your elected officials supporting? Which is better for our kids? Can your family know your farmers?

By Tim Magner

Humans spent the last 10,000 years struggling to obtain enough calories, often just squeaking out an existence.  Here we are in the 21st century and we grow far more than enough food to provide adequate calories to every man, woman and child on earth. Consider that the population at the advent of farming was 3M (rough estimate) and we’ll hit 7B this year and the feat’s even more remarkable. So, when talking food, why is it that all anyone talks about are the issues surrounding the ‘food system’?

The cliff notes answer: Our industrial agriculture requires massive amounts of fossil fuel energy (for fertilizer, pesticides, transportation, processing) and irrigated water. Because the system is controlled by a handful or so of multibillion dollar corporations we lack choice in what we eat (and what most can afford). We shovel in processed commodities laden with fat and sugar that lack the nutrients our bodies need. Even though 1B go to be hungry each day, we feed a large portion of our grains to livestock and to cars. The billions of tons of pest control we apply to our food pollutes the air, water, soil and our bodies (there is no “away”). The worst part? Our politicians and our tax dollars support and encourage this behavior.  Oh, and the other result of our success: more than 1B of us are overweight, and our worst chronic diseases are diet related.

And yet, I’m upbeat. We’ve hit rock bottom and the system is rife with opportunities. Every day for the last six months, I’ve witnessed this food movement gaining momentum. It’s unorganized, diverse and unconnected, but it all has to do with replacing the status quo with something that makes more sense. The efforts have a variety of names, e.g. local, organic, diverse, small-farm, grass-fed, community supported, but they all mimic what nature would do if in our predicament.

By that I mean, consider how nature has figured out how to do what we have yet to: feed life with the current energy of the sun, cycle all it’s nutrients, celebrate diversity, reward cooperation over competition and demand local expertise (paraphrased from Janine Benyus, Biomimicy). So, polycultures replaces monocultures and composting replaces fossil fuel based fertilizers. Healthy plants in a diverse setting manage pests without synthetic chemicals. What small organic farms do require: more eyes per acre, more hands getting dirty and more know-how of how to work with natural systems.

How do we speed up this revolution towards better tasting food that supports and enriches life? Well, every decision we make has an impact and as Michael Pollan says, “vote with your fork three times a day.” So, consider spending an increasing amount of your food budget on local and organic (and better tasting food that helps grow community).

More importantly, we follow David Brower’s advice, “politicians are like weather vanes. Our job is to make the wind blow.” Cumulatively, an informed and engaged public can demand elected officials change policy so all the costs of the current food system are factored into the price of food. We want “to get the economy going” bringing in revenue by taxing waste and pollution and leveling the field of competition so we grow jobs that restore and enrich life. And provide great food.  Now, that would be a jobs bill we could believe in.

Thyme for Peas, Tim.

Note: The most impressive ‘farmers in nature’s model’ experiment has been going on in Salina, Kansas. Check out Wes Jackson and his Land Institute.

By Tim Magner

Fresh Food with a Fresh Paint Job

The Industrial Revolution was fantastic for a number of reasons, but taking what we could from nature for our benefit and then using the air, water and soil (and our bodies) as repositories for our toxic waste no longer adds value to our lives. Worse, every living system in the world is in decline and that decline is accelerating (Hawken).

What if we were to change our relationship with nature? Instead of seeing nature as something to control, to exploit, and, yes, to conserve, what if we view nature as a teacher? Nature’s been around, tinkering to find out what works and what doesn’t, for a couple billion years. What would it mean if we, homo sapiens, mere upstarts, look to nature to find our way? How would we, in the words of Aldo Leopold, “think like a mountain”?

If we could redesign our built environment with nature’s principles, what would it look like?

We’ll stick with food (it’s harvest time in Chicago and I have veggies coming out my ears), and we’ll learn what’s already happening….

By Tim Magner

Truck Farm Chicago’s inaugural tour is nearly four months in (now powered by biodiesel from Loyola University) and we’re giving away cherry tomatos to anyone who asks.

During a Truck Farm visit the other day, a young grandmother asked, “If you don’t sell anything from your little farm, what do you do with it?” So, while her grandkids sampled produce and painted veggies on the truck, I explained our mission: connecting kids to food & wellness, and described our programming (often w/partners), i.e. visiting schools & conducting programming like gardening, wellness education and cooking.

With a few miles under my farming belt, I’m realizing the power of using the topic of food for learning. We’re all connected to it at least three times a day and it’s connected to everything else. From brain power, to healthcare costs and from public policy to social justice and jobs, food is our medium. Fresh, tasty food. And the best part is the number of practical ways to improve our system. It’s not about sacrifice, it’s about abundance. It’s not about higher costs, it’s about food that tastes great and nourishes us (and the soil). And being with youth to talk about these issues is a great place to be. And that’s why Truck Farm continues to roll…

Truck Farm Chicago

P.S. Coming soon: Changing our relationship with nature. Then, the difference between corn/soy farm and a small vegetable farm. Then, the real cost of ‘flaming hots.’

By Tim Magner

We spark instincts already in kids:  the desire to get outside and wander, wonder, dig and climb. Kids are curious and we aim to keep it that way long enough to let them bond with, and gain inspiration from, nature. Einstein knew, “Nature teaches us everything we need to know,” and creatively applying nature’s principles leads to brilliant design and a world of abundance.

By Tim Magner

Props are good. I like props, so I knew Truck Farm Chicago would work. With a ‘farm-on-wheels’ that lets kids harvest and eat food, it’s easy to engage in conversations about health. I just wasn’t sure the plants would like being on the bumpy road day after day. Well, from the kale to the onions and spinach, to the chard and broccoli, we’re growing food. And yesterday we harvested the first fruit from our strawberry patch. The look on the student’s face after he bit into it was priceless.

P.S. This link takes you to Jamie Oliver’s blog and an article on an innovative school in Chicago, The Academy for Global Citizenship. And Truck Farm gets to visit next week

By Tim Magner