BEING A CHANGEMAKER

Coming together as a community to address global challenges

By Sarah Wyllie, Kindergarten Teacher

Last year, I participated in a Global Think Tank through Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, collaborating with educators around the world to develop plans to empower global citizens in our educational communities. We centered our discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, which were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a “universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.” We considered how best to apply them to curriculum, and I returned from this outstanding professional development opportunity excited about how clearly the program connected with Brimmer’s mission and determined to find ways to bring it into our classrooms.

I spent the summer revisiting the Global Goals, collaborating with our Director of Teaching and Learning Ina Patel, researching materials and resources to support Lower School students in learning more about the goals, and narrowing our focus to three goals that we could work on together: Life Below Water, Life on Land, and Climate Action. We worked on connecting these global initiatives not only to our mission but also to other aspects of Brimmer’s Lower School program. How could our weekly community Share program be used to learn more about these goals? What resources are available in our library? How could this work connect with our existing community service efforts, our STEAM program, and our focus on the design process? How could Buddy Groups come together in a meaningful way to address a global challenge?

When the school year started in the fall, we were ready to begin studying the first of the three goals, Life Below Water, and we investigated the ways this goal could be applied to each grade’s country or continent of study. For example, Kindergarten students were studying sea turtles in North America, and they investigated the threats that are putting these incredible animals on the endangered animal list. They learned about people and organizations who are working to help sea turtles, virtually visited a sea turtle hospital, and identified the many ways humans can help.

We have also developed ways to come together as a Lower School community to do this work. All Lower School students engaged in a two-week investigation of “the plastic problem,” reading articles and watching videos about the ways in which our oceans and fresh bodies of water are affected by plastic as well as the many alternatives to plastic. In our investigation, we discovered organizations and activists all over the world, trying to reverse and halt the damage caused by plastic. At the start of the year, each grade received the following books: Old Enough to Save the Planet: Be Inspired by Real-life Children Taking Action Against Climate Change and How to Make a Better World: For Every Kid Who Wants to Make a Difference. After reading about Amy and Ella, two children in the UK who started the organization Kids Against Plastic, students then began to reflect on their own plastic use and what positive action they, too, can take. We collected recycled materials from our homes and came together in our Buddy Groups to design a device, using recycled materials, that would pick up or filter plastic waste from the ocean without disturbing the natural ecosystem.

A few days after our Buddy Group activity, our Kindergarten students identified something at School we could change to help protect sea turtles and other marine life. Together, the students crafted a letter to Chef Craig and Mrs. Guild, drawing pictures to support their case, requesting that Brimmer no longer use single-use plastic bags for sorting Lower School snacks and instead use reusable bags. Sure enough, they made a compelling case and change happened!

This winter, we turned our focus to the Life on Land goal to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. Once again, students in their respective grades took time to explore their countries of study through the lens of this goal. As the second graders studied Brazil, Drama teacher Rachel Wolf-Heyman worked with the students on a process drama unit that explored deforestation and reforestation using two children’s books, The Great Kapok Tree and The Umbrella, as a starting point. Across the grades, students reflected on what it means to be “nature positive.” In their Buddy Groups, students discussed what nature means to them, what plant or tree resonates most with them and why, and shared ways in which they engage with nature every day.

Through our Global Goal work, students have discovered concrete ways to make a difference in the world, and they understand that there is no action too small. The entire Lower School was introduced to the incredible story and work of Jadav Payang. Through beautiful pictures books, interviews, and articles, students learned that when Jadav was a child, he noticed the devastating effects that erosion was having on his island on the Brahmaputra River in India.

We were all touched by Jadav’s beautiful heart and his efforts to improve life on land, and students came together with their Buddy Groups to engage in ARTivism For Nature. ARTivism combines art and activism, using art to bring about social change or raise awareness about a topic. ARTivism For Nature calls for students around the world to make artistic trees that will be compiled to design a digital forest. Buddies worked together to design a mixed media tree inspired by the native trees Jadav has been planting in his forest. This digital forest will be shared with leaders at this year’s World Biodiversity Forum.

This spring, students will put their learning into action and tackle Climate Action for our final Global Goal of the school year. To begin, they will be introduced to young changemakers around the world who are working to reduce our carbon footprint. Students will investigate signs of climate change, both at home and abroad, and will explore various ways to do our part to make a difference. They will then have an opportunity to experiment with different forms of climate change activism. In addition, we are looking forward to celebrating Earth Day, participating in Earth Hour, and working in the Brimmer Garden.

When students were first introduced to the Global Goals at the start of the year, they took a quiz to better understand activism. The quiz was broken down into four categories—animal rights activism, community activism, human rights activism, and environmental activism. The results helped students reflect on the kinds of causes they might support. As the weeks went on, they began to share their own wishes for the world as they learned about various ways to champion a cause. They investigated, discovered, and connected with one another and the world around them. It was incredible to watch them translate their learning and inspiration into actions to make the world a better place – fourth graders restarted biweekly recycling collections in all the classrooms; third graders led a 500+ book collection for schools in Kenya; Kindergarteners participated in a neighborhood trash collection, raising money to symbolically adopt endangered animals. This year, through learning together about Life Below Water, Life on Land, and Climate Action, some of our students may have discovered a new lifelong passion, and every student became a changemaker. ■

OUR MISSION

WE ARE A PK-12 ALL-GENDER SCHOOL THAT UPHOLDS HIGH ACADEMIC STANDARDS WHILE IMPLEMENTING INNOVATIVE IDEAS IN A SUPPORTIVE AND STUDENT-CENTERED COMMUNITY. WE DEVELOP LIFELONG LEARNERS WHO ARE INFORMED, ENGAGED, AND ETHICAL CITIZENS AND LEADERS IN OUR DIVERSE WORLD.

LOWER SCHOOL BUDDY GROUPS

DESIGNED TO BUILD COMMUNITY AND FACILITATE LEADERSHIP, BRIMMER’S BUDDY PROGRAM OFFERS OUR YOUNGEST IN EARLY CHILDHOOD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PAIRED WITH OUR UPPER ELEMENTARY STUDENTS FOR A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. FROM BUDDY WALKS TO STEAM ACTIVITIES, TO CHEERING EACH OTHER ON IN A PUMPKIN-ROLLING CONTEST AT HARVESTFEST, THE PROGRAM INTENTIONALLY BUILDS MEANINGFUL AND REWARDING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN OUR YOUNGEST AND OLDEST LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS, BOTH ONE-ON-ONE AND IN SMALL GROUPS. IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT OUR ALUMS LIST BUDDY GROUPS AS ONE OF THEIR TOP MEMORIES FROM LOWER SCHOOL.