Is Surpassing Self-Righteousness the Key to Overcoming Racism, Sexism and Other Destructive Biases?

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Dear Readers, 

I started a unit plan to respond to the unacceptable things people have been saying and doing in the U.S. because of racism, sexism and xenophobia. I draw from the Enduring Understandings, Standards and Performance Indicators of Education for Sustainability. I  completed Stage I and invite educators everywhere to build out Stages II and III as appropriate for your students, grade levels and disciplines. 

We ask: 

How can the new brain science help us to understand what is going on when people feel threatened by “the other”?
Throughout history, there are many examples of people who stood to gain economically and/or politically from creating and fueling conflict between diverse groups of people. Is the U.S. experiencing this phenomenon right now? Who stands to gain? Who stands to lose?
What good does diversity do us?
What do we need to know?
What kind of future do we want?


Please share your unit plans with us and with our larger community. This is a participatory design process and I look forward to seeing what you will build from this foundation. 

Jaimie P. Cloud

Spring Newsletter | Remote Learning for Teachers and School Administrators

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Spring Newsletter | Remote Learning for Teachers and School Administrators

What perspectives are needed to weather our current social climate? What knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits of mind do we need to instill in young people to prepare them for tomorrow? How do successful leaders manage remote teams and achieve goals during times of change and uncertainty? What role will vision, imagination, and intention play in creating a future that is vibrant, resilient and thriving? We will explore these ideas and more in this free webinar series.

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‘Women In Green’ Supporting The Green Schools Movement

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“I'm still feeling the powerful impact of the Green Schools Conference last week, I personally feel it was the most productive conference to date. There was a strong acknowledgement between all attendees that furthering the green schools movement is imperative in helping to address the climate crisis we’re in, and it’s only by working closely together with a unified commitment to the implementation of green, healthy, and sustainable practices that we’ll create access for all students to healthy, sustainable schools.”- Bridgitte Alomes, Natural Pod

Winter Newsletter | EfS Professional Learning Opportunities

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Winter Newsletter | EfS Professional Learning Opportunities

We are committed to the roles that teaching, learning, and thinking play in contributing to the shift toward a sustainable future. Our work with school systems and higher education institutions revolves around the curriculum, instruction, and assessment aspects of Education for Sustainability, as well as the strategic planning and leadership development that is required for lasting change.

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The Three E's of Sustainability | Webinar

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The Three E's of Sustainability | Webinar

The Three E's as a Design and Decision Making Tool - Two-Part Webinar on Feb. 4 & 11, 2020

This two-part, interactive and dynamic webinar is presented by Dr. Koh Ming Wei. Participants will make use of several senses to explore and engage with the multi-layered concepts of equity, economics and environment. Outcomes include confidence to apply the Three Es as a design and decision-making tool in personal, professional, and cultural settings.

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2019 Fall Newsletter | Playing The Fish Game

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2019 Fall Newsletter | Playing The Fish Game

The Cloud Institute uses The Fish Game to start the conversation about education for sustainability. The transformative learning experience encourages thinking and new ideas about system dynamics and interdependence. Through their experience, the 'players' realize how much their thinking drives their behavior and how much, in the context of interdependence, their behavior makes a difference.

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Blue Planet Foundation | Empowering Youth

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Blue Planet Foundation is clearing the path for 100% clean energy.

On April 20, 2017, over 600 students from across Oahu rallied at the State Capitol in support of their 100% clean transportation future. Inspiring!

MORE VIDEOS
For Our Future - Overview of Blue Planet Foundation's programs and the climate challenge, through the eyes of a 7-year-old.

Student Energy Summit 2018 - Recap of our annual signature event bringing students together for a two-day energy and climate-focused summit

REFERENCE: BLUE PLANET FOUNDATION VIMEO

2019 Summer Newsletter

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2019 Summer Newsletter

THE CLOUD INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION

We are committed to the roles that teaching, learning, and thinking play in contributing to the shift toward a sustainable future. We often partner with schools and organizations with similar goals and interests to deliver educational experiences that transform thinking and inspire collaborative learning and action.

We hope you will join us for one or all of these exciting events!

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How Project Based Learning is the Key to Sustainability TEDxYouth@AvonRiver

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How Project Based Learning is the Key to Sustainability TEDxYouth@AvonRiver

16-year-old E Wen Wong is the founder of plastic pollution organisation, P.S. Our Beaches and she has an important message for all of us: sustainability starts with sustainable education. E Wen Wong is a passionate environmental advocate, innovator, and founder of plastic pollution organisation, P.S. Our Beaches. E Wen was a recipient of one of this year’s New Zealand Youth Awards for her commitment to the environment and, in the past two years, has initiated litter audits, awareness posts on sustainability initiatives and interviews with the Department of Conservation and UNESCO to raise the profile of the beach pollution issue.

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2019 Spring Newsletter

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2019 Spring Newsletter

The Cloud Institute is dedicated to the vital role of education in creating awareness, fostering commitment, and guiding actions toward a healthy, secure and sustainable future for ourselves and for future generations. 

The unique challenges that define our time require fundamentally new ways of thinking. If we intend to transition to a sustainable way of life, educators and young people have a critical role to play. Join us as we explore what’s possible when we educate for sustainability.

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The Fish Game In Play - In Germany | A Case Story

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The Fish Game In Play - In Germany | A Case Story

The workshop was part of our "Land Use and Resources" day (other parts of the program that day included workshops, discussions and presentations on food, farming methods, waste management, and circular economy). We started the workshop by playing the Fish Game simulation in eight groups with 5-9 members, each recording their results in a table. We followed up on this in reflective group discussions, talking about why groups failed, what the different scenarios represent, and how this relates to real life/ in what ways this is not a 100% accurate representation of international (over)fishing. Afterwards, we provided some more theoretical context on overfishing by going through our own presentation on causes of overfishing, consequences for the ecosystem and the human population, and proposed solutions and strategies to prevent overfishing / fix the damage already done. Additionally, we went over some specific cases of overfishing e.g. in Canada and on the West African coast.

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PHRED Team 847 | Philomath High School

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Inspiring Kids: Operation Gyre & Project Pure Water

These video animations were designed and produced by high school students in the Philomath High Robotics Engineering Division (PHRED) at  Philomath HS  in Philomath, Oregon.  These two 30 second animations are from PHRED Team 847. PHRED Team 847 is sponsored by local foundations, corporations and the Lions Club.

Operation Gyre is an elegant  30 second demonstration of several EfS attributes including authentic curriculum and assessment, the entrepreneurial mindset,  an understanding of the materials cycle principle and three of our enduring understandings:  “A Healthy and Sustainable Future is Possible”; “Live by the Natural Laws” and  “Read the Feedback”.  

Pure Water 847  is another elegant 30 second demonstration of  authentic curriculum and assessment, the entrepreneurial mindset, Biomimicry and “A Sustainable Future is Possible.”  In addition, the animations illustrate a robust use of technology in the classroom (Autodesk 3ds Max).   

Recap of Webinar- Staying Hopeful: Gathering Strength for the Work Ahead

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Recap of Webinar- Staying Hopeful: Gathering Strength for the Work Ahead

How can we remain creative and hopeful in these crazy times?  Jaimie has been thinking deeply about this question for the past few months.  Her recent blog posts, Game on or Game over?  (with video) and Easier Done than Said:  Move from Fear to Action by Educating for a Sustainable Future address this topic and encourage us to get to work. In her recent webinar, Staying Hopeful: Gathering strength for the work ahead, Jaimie asks the question, “Why should we be hopeful?” She offers up three big ideas that have been a source of inspiration during this time of negativity and chaos.  These concepts are useful, natural occurrences that can serve, both as metaphor, and as examples of how life organizes towards life on our spaceship called Earth.  

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Exciting Update on our Partnership with NYC DOE CTE

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Exciting Update on our Partnership with NYC DOE CTE

Our work with the NYC Department of Education’s High School Career Technical Education continues and has now been merged into the CTE Academic Integration Blueprint.  This document aims to bridge the gap between graduation rate and low college readiness by facilitating the integration of CTE and academic coursework, training teachers to develop integrated curriculum and promoting high quality project-based learning (PBL) practices in academic classes.  One of the plan’s five objectives is to “Infuse sustainability principles throughout CTE and academic content curricula”.  

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Easier Done than Said:  Move from Fear to Action by Educating for a Sustainable Future

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Easier Done than Said:  Move from Fear to Action by Educating for a Sustainable Future

In my experience, it is harder for people to think about what it will take to educate for sustainability, than it is to actually educate for sustainability. This makes sense, given that change of any kind is threatening to our reptilian brains. We have a biological fear of change. Add to this the fact that most educators think of “sustainablizing” as an add on to an already packed life, curriculum and to do list. Given the flavor of the month way that schools often operate, it seems like just one more thing to do.  It isn’t.  It can’t be. It is the thing we all must do if we want to thrive over time.

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Teachable Moments | Game Over or Game On?

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Teachable Moments | Game Over or Game On?

For the past three years, I’ve taught a required graduate course on the Ethics of Sustainability in the Design for Social Innovation Program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. During this time, I’ve witnessed the unintended results of educating about unsustainability.  Although my students come from all over the world, they have at least a few things in common at the beginning of the year. These young people report feeling depressed, hopeless and guilty. Many of these students, believing they hold degrees in sustainability, have become experts in its opposite--unsustainability. They are nervous at first at the thought of discussing the ethics of sustainability. They tell me that their professors were very effective at pointing out that it’s too late, that we’ve already exceeded too many critical thresholds and that there is no way back. Game over?   

My response to them is always the same, “I think what your professors have actually been saying is that they cannot imagine and they don’t know how we are going to pull off the mid-course correction that is required if we want human and other life to flourish on Earth indefinitely.  I think this has more to do with their imaginations, mental maps and knowledge base than it does our fate.”  Game on.

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