1. A slightly edited quote from my chapter in The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy:

• What do we want our children to grow up to be? Do we want them to be shallow, individualistic, infantilised, anxiety ridden, status obsessed, selfish consumers? Or do we want them to have fulfilling and meaningful lives, characterised by generosity, intelligence, community spirit, stable levels of self-esteem and maturity? If our educational, political, societal and cultural systems continue to foster children who will become the former, sustainability may well remain, as John Foster (2008) describes it, a ‘mirage’. If sustainability is to become a reality, we need learners to become the latter. Education, in all its forms, has a very important role to play in realising this.

2. A link to the 20 minute Alain De Botton film ‘Epicurus on Happiness’ you can link from this one to all his other films from that series and his excellent ‘Status Anxiety’ documentary. Its great to show before creating a Happiness Wall like this one!

3. The New Economic Foundation (NEF) work on the The Five Ways to Wellbeing is something I’ve used to frame my work with Global Footsteps. Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning, Give.

4. You can find lots about the Hedonic Treadmill if you read books by people like Oliver James, Tim Kasser and Tom Hodgkinson, here is a little quote that sums it up:

• Looking at the data from all over the world, it is clear that, instead of getting happier as they become better off, people get stuck on a “hedonic treadmill“: their expectations rise at the same pace as their incomes and the happiness they seek remains constantly just out of reach.

—John Lanchester, “Pursuing happiness,” The New Yorker, February 27, 2006

5. We talked a lot about Values, what our values are and, more importantly, about how we seek to attain, protect, conserve, win, borrow, etc, the things we value. I wrote an article about this at about the same time we were doing the course; it’s over on my becoming green blog.

6. Anna led a workshop on creative writing and we spent a very fun hour or two creating stories with a strong sustainability message, I was really impressed and highly amused by what came out! Here is a link to my favourite children’s book The Lorax.

7. Lastly, I put a playlist of songs on in the background while we were enjoying Danny’s awesome cooking, here it is:

What’s next? Using tonight as a catalyst we want to kick start something else, be it a day/half-day conference, workshop, event or other screenings and discussion activities. We’d love your thoughts on this as we brainstorm together ourselves, so do let us know what you would be interested in.

Thanks again to all who participated this evening, it was great to meet you all and I hope you found the film and evening inspiring! Huge thanks to Jessie, Morgan and the Arcola for facilitating the event tonight.

Creatively,
Kate

“Education is the platform for our success or failure. Is our system still fit for purpose? This fascinating study examines this and other key questions in the primary education environment. We live in a world dramatically different from the one we grew up in, the one we were educated in; a world that is changing at an accelerated rate. Education is the platform for our success or failure. The critical question is: is our system still fit for purpose? Will our children be equipped to face the challenges the future holds; the rapidly changing employment patterns and the global environmental, economic and social crises ahead of us? Or will our children grow up to resent their school years and blame them for their unfulfilled potential and achievement? “Leading Tomorrow’s Schools Today” explores these questions in the context of early schooling, primary education, some of the most formative and important years of our children’s lives. The book presents powerful arguments that suggest an imperative for change and will explore the possible strategies and thinking that can offer a solution. The author provides real context and concrete examples based on the incredible journey taken by one primary school, Grange. He shows how, by developing a creative and futures facing system, it not only evolved from being a school on the verge of failure to a school globally recognised for its success and innovation in two years but more importantly created a system that has equipped its children to be not only prepared for but confident in their futures.”

About Richard Gerver
Richard Gerver was formerly headteacher of internationally respected Grange Primary School in Long Eaton, UK, where he put into action his passionate belief in child centric learning that focuses on experience and context, saying that schools should have the excitement of Disneyland and the purpose of major industry. A former National Teaching Award winner, he has been described as one of the most innovative and inspirational school leaders of our time: highly creative, people centric and fun.

Great video we found this week.

With almost half of all 11-19 year olds saying they find school boring or irrelevant, how can we be more creative educators? How can we re-engage with our young people to ensure they enjoy learning and reach their full potential? What do we want our children to grow up to be?

On Tuesday 9th February, we are hosting a free screening of the feature film on education ‘We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For’, which will be followed by an informal discussion. We have invited teachers from across North London to join us for the event, but places are open to anyone interested in seeing the film and joining the conversation.

Organised by Dr. Morgan Philips and Limina’s Jessie Teggin, the screening will be hosted by Kate Andrews and held at the Arcola Theatre in North London, from 4.30-6.30p.m. Free tea and cakes will be served! :)

To book a place, please email rsvp@limina.org.uk