Introducing the Global Forum

Winsor’s Global Forum 2017 Waste Not, Want Not:

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An investigation into what we throw away

Global Forum Overview The aim of the Winsor School’s Global Forum is to offer a distinct five-day curriculum for the entire school in which problem-solving skills, design-thinking pedagogies, interdisciplinary approaches, and global competencies would be applied to real-world problems and global issues. This separate yet complementary curriculum dedicated to the study of some of our more pressing global challenges not only will allow the students and faculty the time to immerse themselves collectively in the study of socially relevant world issues but also will serve as an “innovation lab” for creative approaches to teaching and problem solving. Issues of local and global significance–such as poverty, conflict, hunger or disease–transcend national and disciplinary boundaries and thus require these 21st-century skills.

The Global Forum is a week-long Jan term or “minimester” that runs once every two years. During the five days of the Forum, each student will be required to pursue her own personal interest in a “design studio” atmosphere where small groups of like-minded participants explore a particular dimension of that year’s global issue and work toward specific and practical solutions. Winsor teachers and outside experts will serve as studio facilitators in guiding participants to prepare a final project. In the months preceding the Forum, some assembly and community time will be used to introduce the community to that year’s global issue and to organize participants (including students and faculty) into their studio groups. Much of the student’s time during the Global Forum week will be spent in studio groups working collaboratively on dimensions of the larger global issue. The last day of the Forum is a collective experience of celebration (involving students, teachers, parents, friends, and alumnae) during which the design studio final projects are shared publicly. All participants will also develop a general and shared understanding of the global issue through assemblies, assigned readings, and other workshops.

We aim to hold the Global Forum every two years in order to plan adequately for a week-long change in schedule and curriculum, to introduce the students and broader community gradually to the Global Forum topic, and to ensure that students are ready to engage deeply during their studio workshops.

Active student participation at all levels of planning and execution of the Global Forum will provide valuable leadership opportunities and will blur the distinction between student and teacher. Finally, the Global Forum offers new opportunities for tapping into the remarkable human resources–including alumnae, parents and local experts–available to Winsor in the Boston and wider New England areas.

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Rationale Over the past decade the Winsor School has embarked on a program of curricular and pedagogical innovation with the aim of preparing young women for a 21st-century world. According to the Winsor School’s recent (2012) Strategic Plan: The pace at which our world is changing suggests that we can no longer predict all of the content bases that will prepare our students to engage in the world. Therefore, students need to develop skills necessary to adapt to this rapidly changing world, including the ability to solve problems across multiple disciplines, collaborate with others, think creatively, and apply critical thinking skills and strategies to any field of study, including those that do not yet exist (pg. 10).

In order to develop those skills in a substantial and concerted way, the Plan recommended that the School appoint a group to “research dedicated curricular arenas for the application of global competencies, multidisciplinary problem-solving, and student-centered learning” (pg. 13). Over the past year, Rick Mosher, Denise Labieniec, and Brian Didier developed the proposal to offer this one-week Global Forum.

The aims of the Global Forum are to: •

Empower Winsor girls to be problem-solvers. The specific action and engagement dispositions we hope to foster are best developed within a problem-solving approach to global or local issues.

During the Global Forum, Winsor girls will be asked to identify challenges related to the topic at hand and to choose “studio” workshops designed to devise practical solutions to global issues or their local forms. Our aim is to foster within the Winsor student body active engagement and individual action with regard to global problems and issues.

•

Give Winsor girls the opportunity to find socially and personally meaningful solutions to global problems. We believe that a global citizen “is willing to act on behalf of social justice and human rights” (Principles of Global Responsibility), and the Global Forum encourages Winsor girls to pursue solutions that preserve human dignity and the welfare of others.

•

Promote innovative teaching and learning practices. By giving Winsor teachers and students this time and space to experiment with innovative curricular and pedagogical practices, our aim is to infuse all teaching and learning at Winsor with these practices.

•

Offer universal access to global studies. Many of the global studies programs that the committee considered are open only to a select portion of school’s population. Global studies certificate programs–such as International Baccalaureate or other global studies “major” programs–often involve application processes or self-selection, thus limiting student access. The Global Forum aspires to achieve universal rather than partial access.

•

Redefine what it means to be at school. Our aim is to restructure the school day, the teacherstudent relationship, and the classroom itself to foster collaborative, student-centered, and creative learning.

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Create a school and community rally point in January, as was recommended by Roxanne Higgins from ISM. Our hope is that the alternative teaching and learning environment, the lack of graded assessments, and the relevance of the global topics will make this week engaging and fun for the entire community.

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Global Forum Studios and Facilitators Winsor students and faculty will spend most of their time and energy in Global Forum Studios during the week of the Forum. These studios are designed to serve two objectives. The first is to provide students and faculty with an opportunity to engage in design thinking or project-based learning that relates directly to the world and the communities they live in. Not only do participants choose which studio they will work in, they will also play a central role in defining the direction of their work. The second objective is to provide Winsor faculty with the opportunity to pursue pedagogical and curricular innovation. Such experimentation in the context of the studios will foster stronger teaching and learning in all parts of the Winsor curriculum.

Each Global Forum topic will be broken down into specialized and manageable problem-solving dimensions. Studios will be grouped under one of these seven categories, and we anticipate offering approximately five different studios under each category.

Numbers

Money

Culture

Global Problem Locality

Invention

Nature

Expression

Numbers: How do numbers or statistics help (or hinder) the understanding of global problems and provide a sense of scale?

Nature:

How is our approach to global issues informed by our understanding of the natural world? How can science be used to solve global problems?

Money:

Can money or other material resources solve global problems?

Locality:

How do global issues affect local communities? How can groups and individuals respond at the local level?

Culture:

How are global problems shaped by the moral, political, social, or religious systems of human communities?

Expression: How does creative expression–be it in the form of literature, film, poetry, dance, music or art–affect a global problem and our understanding of it?

Invention: How can ingenuity be used to create practical solutions to global issues?

Each Studio will be made up of 10 to 12 students and two faculty facilitators. Our hope is that each studio would be meet before the Global Forum and every day during the Forum. The aim of each Studio is to

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produce a piece of “beautiful work” to be presented to the larger community at the conclusion of the week.

Global Forum Facilitators Many (but not all) Winsor faculty will be asked to serve as studio facilitators. Faculty will be asked to match their interests and expertise with a specific studio topic. Studio facilitators will then be asked to facilitate a specific studio and to structure student collaboration. The goal is to have multiples studios covering the same or similar topics, which will allow the facilitators to collaborate on the planning of their studios. All faculty will be required to participate in some professional development introducing them to the in design thinking or project-based learning processes. Some professional development time will also be designated for facilitators to use as planning time for their studios.

Potential Forum Schedule: Time/Day

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8:05-8:20 LS Homeroom/US Arrival 8:20-9:30

Opening Plenary Goal: Inspiration

9:30-10:00

Closing Plenary (shorter)

Studio Groups Break/Recess (Offsite Groups Leave - Earlier Wed/Thurs)

10:00-2:00

Studio Groups (Staggered Lunch)

Working Groups (Exhibition Prep)

11:45-12:15

Lunch A

Lunch C

Lunch B

Lunch A

Lunch C

12:15-12:45

Lunch B

Lunch A

Lunch C

Lunch B

Lunch A

12:45-1:15

Lunch C

Lunch B

Lunch A

Lunch C

Lunch B

2:00-2:20

Wrap-Up/Break/Self-Assignment of “Homework”

2:15

Group Summary Due to PR Group

2:20-3:00

Mixed Group Grade Level Discussions - Facilitated by Grouped Advisory

Presentation Prep

(Evening – Exhibition)

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Winsor’s Global Forum 2017: Waste Not, Want Not: An investigation into what we throw away It might seem like rubbish to spend a week talking trash. But the problem–like the garbage itself–is piling up: humans are creating trash at unprecedented rates, and the largest contributor is the garbage that we individuals throw away. But where is “away”? Where does trash go on a local and global scale? Who takes it there, and what happens then? What problems does garbage cause and what opportunities does it present? How do people around the world talk about and deal with trash?

Garbage is an issue that affects every Winsor community member every day–from composting in the dining hall to considering global health and social justice. It is local and global, a historical phenomenon and a modern crisis. Understanding and reducing garbage demands interdisciplinary approaches and innovative solutions. These many potential lenses make it accessible, relevant, and appropriate for both divisions. The U.S. is a huge contributor to global garbage, and much of that comes from individual homes–students’ innovations, revelations, and inspirations about garbage can make a difference.

Our learning goals for the “Waste Not, Want Not” Global Forum are the following: •

Each Winsor girl will appreciate the global, national and local scale of garbage production and the consequence such waste is having on the environment.

•

Each Winsor girl will appreciate her own personal contribution to the scale of garbage production, will recognize the consequence of this contribution, and will be encouraged to enact specific strategies to reduce this contribution.

•

Participants will learn that while the problem of garbage is complex and daunting, it is not intractable. Collaborative and individual solutions can be developed to reduce the detrimental effects of human waste production.

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Studio Topics

Numbers

Money

Culture

Waste Not, Want Not

Locality

Nature

Invention

Expression

Below each category we have provided examples of possible studios.

Numbers: How do numbers or statistics help (or hinder) the understanding of global problems and provide a sense of scale?

• Trash Stats: How much and what kinds of garbage do different countries/states/localities produce, or your own household? How have trash stats changed over time, and what do we calculate for the future?

• Throwing it “Away”: How far does trash travel, and how long does it last when it gets there?

• Price tags: How much money and energy is required to “throw away” waste? How does this compare to other options (recycling, composting)?

• Food waste: How much food do we throw away? Are new regulations changing these numbers?

Nature: How is our approach to global issues informed by our understanding of the natural world? How can science be used to solve global problems?

• Human Health and Disease: How and what kind of diseases spread due to poor waste management?

• Eco-Unfriendly: What types of trash have the most/least impact on the environment, from corn plastic to nuclear waste?

• At Sea: What is the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and why does it occur? Why did many countries recently ban plastic microbeads for ocean health?

• Waste in Nature: How do natural systems handle waste, and how can we apply those principles to manage ours?

Money: Can money or other material resources solve global problems?

• Cost analysis: for a particular item, what are the costs of trashing vs. recycling/composting/reusing?

• Incentives: What financial incentives exist/have been tried for reducing waste, and have they been successful?

• Local economy: How do different economic systems influence how a particular country/community deals with waste? Do some economic models/systems create or incentivize more or less waste?

• Global economy: What is the global economy of garbage? Why do wealthy countries pay poorer countries to take their waste, and what impacts result?

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Locality: How do global issues affect local communities, and how can groups and individuals respond at the local level?

• Where does it go?: What happens to Winsor’s (or Boston’s) waste? What initiatives, organizations, and people work to reduce waste (including food waste)?

• Who helps it get there?: Who are the people involved in the waste management industry?

• Green Garbage Champions: How did Boston decide to recycle/compost?

• Rubbish Rules: What are the regulations around recycling labels, post-consumer recycled, etc.?

What should they be?

Culture: How are global problems shaped by the moral, political, social, or religious systems of human communities?

• Anthropology: What do we learn about communities–historical and modern–from their waste?

What do different cultures consider to be garbage/waste? How do different languages play a role?

• Archaeology and Garbage: How have archaeologists used garbage as a window onto the world of past cultures? What does trash tell us about cultural values and practices?

• Trash then & now: How do cultural shifts affect the types/amounts of waste we produce? (Ex. consumer culture and planned obsolescence vs. repairs) • Trash policy/Not In My Backyard!: Who makes decisions about how and where trash is dealt with? What are the political incentives for/against sustainable options, and what might create different incentives?

• What is the ethical responsibility surrounding what happens to our garbage and recycling?

Expression: How does creative expression–be it in the form of literature, film, poetry, dance, music, or art–affect a global problem and our understanding of it?

• Found art: how can garbage be/become art?

• The language of waste: euphemisms and idioms across languages. E.g. “throw away” (where is “away”?)

• Media: how are waste and waste disposal options portrayed, and how does this affect our attitudes?

• Photography exhibit: what does our trash say about us?

Invention: How can ingenuity be used to create practical solutions to global issues?

• Upcycling: what useful products can be made from trash?

• Packaging: less wasteful options?

• Single-Stream: design a system to efficiently sort recyclables.

• Waste-to-Energy: How can trash be a source of energy? What are the pros and cons?

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Principles of Global Responsibility

The Winsor School believes that a critical dimension of academic excellence in the 21st century is the preparation for responsible participation in the global community. The forces of globalization now ensure that individuals and communities separated by vast geographic distances and cultural differences are increasingly interconnected and interdependent. Distant peoples and events shape local worlds, while at the same time individual and community decisions—made at Winsor, in Boston, or in New England—often have an impact on wider social and ecological environments.In preparing its students to act responsibly in this interconnected and interdependent world, the Winsor School is committed to ensuring that its students not only understand the nature of globalization but also appreciate the personal stakes and responsibilities they have as global citizens. The six principles set forth below make explicit what we, as a diverse community of teachers and learners, believe global citizenship entails.

Core Principles

Principles in Practice

We believe a global citizen . . .

To promote the ethics of global citizenship,Winsor...

1. Is committed to pluralism. She recognizes the dignity of every individual and values the diversity of human cultures.

s !CTIVELY PROMOTES ITS OWN 0RINCIPLES OF $IVERSITY AND offers a wide variety of programs designed to foster dignity and respect within the Winsor community.

2. Strives for self knowledge through the study of others.

She seeks to illuminate the core assumptions and values that define her own identity and cultural perspective while recognizing that her own worldview may not be universally shared.

s %NCOURAGES THE MEMBERS OF ITS COMMUNITY TO EXAMINE their own individual identities and cultural perspectives though a variety of faculty and student-led initiatives— including affinity groups, social justice organizations and diversity forums—as a first step toward responsible engagement in the global community.

3. Aspires to an empathetic understanding of others. She appreciates that other cultures, while profoundly different, are not incomprehensible and that seeing the world from the perspective of others is the first step in identifying shared values that bridge the gaps of cultural, political and religious difference.

4. Actively seeks intercultural dialogue and engagement.

She appreciates that her intellectual understanding of others is no substitute for cross-cultural conversations and meaningful relationships.

5. Is willing to act on behalf of social justice and human rights. She understands that respect and concern for human dignity requires, when necessary, strong action to preserve the welfare of others and that active engagement in the affairs of others is best approached with empathetic understanding and a commitment to pluralism.

6. Acts as a steward for the natural environment. She appreciates the degree to which human beings depend on and, in turn, affect the natural environment and acts to sustain the diversity of the ecological world.

s /FFERS NUMEROUS COURSES THAT EXPLORE THE FOUNDATIONS and values of Western civilization and American life as manifested in literature, history and contemporary events. s 2EQUIRES THE STUDY OF WORLD LANGUAGES AND THEIR cultures—including Chinese, French, Spanish and Latin—as necessary for intercultural understanding, dialogue and relationships. s &OSTERS PLURALISM AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP THROUGH THE required study of non-Western culture. Students currently take one of four literature and history course pairings focusing on Africa, China, India or the Middle East. s 0ROMOTES EMPATHETIC UNDERSTANDINGS AND CROSS CULTURAL engagements through a variety of foreign and local service-learning projects, educational exchanges and cultural tourism opportunities. s 0ROMOTES ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP BY OFFERING courses in environmental studies and by supporting a variety of initiatives—both school and student sponsored—designed to minimize the community’s negative impact on the natural world.

THE 7INSOR 3CHOOL s 0ILGRIM 2OAD s "OSTON -! s s WWW WINSOR EDU

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