Tomorrow's Leaders Tonight

“I was really nervous, but once we got started, things just flowed, and I actually enjoyed myself.”

“I learned a lot from listening to the interesting conversations between the parents.”

“It’s a lot harderto teach than I thought it would be. I have a new respect for my teachers who do this every day.”

These are just a few of the 8^th grade reactions to the first annual Tomorrow’s Leaders Tonight sponsored by the Parent Community Network. Building on this year’s sustainability theme of “society”, over 35 Explorer West parents became “students” to the 8^th grade “teachers” for two lessons at the school on Wednesday night. Each fall the entire student body participates in school on Wednesday night. Each fall the entire student body participates in several sustainability lessons to build a common language and introduce the theme for the year. The

themes rotate through the three components of sustainability: society, economy, and environment. Actions and ideas that can balance these three are said to be sustainable.

With their parents divided into five separate classrooms, the 8^th graders took on the challenging task of organizing the lessons, guiding the activities and facilitating the discussions.

Understanding something is one thing, but successfully teaching it is quite another. The take-away for many students was that preparation is essential and that sometimes a class will take an unexpected turn. What to do? Many also discovered that asking a question is only the beginning of a fruitful discussion and that careful attending to the ebb and flow of the conversation is just as important. Finally, several students mentioned that giving clear directions is far more difficult than they had anticipated.

Although all EW students have ample opportunities to speak in front of their peers, teaching to adults was a new and somewhat anxiety-producing experience. However, the students discovered that adults share the same passionate concerns for the world that they do, and that there are lots of good ideas and enthusiasm for solutions in both generations.

The lessons came from local sustainability education resource, Facing the Future. The first, Is It Sustainable, used the difficult choice between a local apple grown with pesticides vs. an imported organic apple to demonstrate that the issues are complicated and that we there are often trade-offs.

The second lesson focused on conflict resolution and the role of mediation and compromise. Parents worked through several hypothetical scenarios trying to come to a workable solution for all parties. Although many were successful, some groups just couldn’t find a middle ground: their needs were too strong and the resources too thin.

Challenging decisions abound, and it was heartening to see the passion that students and their parents both felt toward making the world a better place for future generations. Tomorrow’s leaders recognize that things are rarely black and white and that exploring the grays is critical. By sharing what they know and believe with others, they have taken a step toward ensuring a vibrant future. Look for the second annual Tomorrow's Leaders Tonight next fall.