To the disappointment of many skiers and winter enthusiasts in the KO community, we have made it to the end of January without typical snowfall accumulation, and it’s starting to look like this might be the year without a snow day.
Unsurprisingly, the thin cover on ski trails throughout the Northeast isn’t the only indication that something is amiss in the atmosphere. While we wish for flurries, the West Coast has been inundated with precipitation in the form of torrential downpours along the coast and feet of snow in mountainous regions. These erratic weather patterns, which have grown more frequent and severe, are in part caused by the ongoing climate crisis.
Despite decades of warnings from scientists to take action, society has been slow to change our ways. We are now left at a pivotal point, where any further delay will have planet-altering consequences. Recognizing the gravity of this issue, faculty at KO are combating the climate crisis through education. Head of the Upper School Dan Gleason cultivates eco-conscious dialogue through his English elective, “Literatures of Climate Change.”
Rooted in Dr. Gleason’s interest in climate fiction, the course explores novels like Oliva Butler’s “Parable of the Sower,” short stories, films, photographs, and even scientific papers such as the IPCC Report. Like many English classes at KO, a major component of the coursework is rhetorical analysis. Dr. Gleason explained that this skill is particularly useful for evaluating how impactful a piece is. “Each piece of art will have different strengths,” he shared. “A novel might be great at showing the narrative and emotional impact, but it may not be great at giving statistics and certainly not creating visuals.”
The culmination of work done throughout the semester was a final project in which students created detailed proposals for eco-friendly and innovative solutions and pitch their ideas to important decision-makers at KO. Groups selected an area of focus, such as energy or transportation, investigated the school’s current practices, and researched ways that KO can lessen its eco-footprint. For their presentation, students shared their findings with a panel of administrators, including Head of School Tom Dillow and Director of Financial Assistance Alan Comrie, who engaged in a discussion about the proposal with students.
Dr. Gleason emphasized that the ability to hear immediate feedback from the panel kept the project relevant to the KO community and allowed students to elaborate on specific aspects of their proposal, like the cost and feasibility of execution in a day school setting.
Senior Andrés Rollán, who created a proposal to install wind turbines on the roofs of buildings around campus, echoed the value of presenting in front of the panel. “I was very nervous at first,” he said, “but it was a really great experience. They asked some good questions about the proposal, critiqued it, and as representatives of the school, questioned how the cost of implementing more eco-friendly solutions would impact tuition for students.”
In addition to giving students a unique presentation experience, the aptly timed presentations provided the KO administration with the invaluable opportunity to consider improving the school’s eco-footprint in the New Year.
When asked what proposals seemed to grab the attention of the panel, Dr. Gleason mentioned composting. He shared that, in the past, KO had partnered with Blue Earth Compost, a service based in Hartford, to properly dispose of food waste created by the cafeteria. Unfortunately, cost became a limiting factor, resulting in the termination of the program. An updated cost estimate brought about renewed interest in the endeavor, and Dr. Gleason is hopeful that this will also extend to other eco-friendly solutions, like solar, that have become less expensive in recent years.
Much like Dr. Gleason, environmental science and marine biology teacher Graham Hegeman understands the importance of climate change education and facilitates productive conversations in his classroom.
When teaching, he strikes a balance between developing an understanding of one’s personal eco-footprint and emphasizing that this is truly a systemic problem. While it may seem daunting to make a change on such a large scale, thinking about systems as smaller units, like individual families or even our own KO community, can help prompt action. He shared that these complexities are a topic that students in his AP Environmental Science class explore in depth.
Mr. Hegeman also shared his perspective on the reality of sustainability here at KO. Although no instances of blatant disregard for the environment came to mind, he concluded that there is certainly room for improvement on our campus. “We have not made it a huge priority of the school,” he said frankly. “There are little things being done here and there, some of which is student-led, but I don’t see a huge effort by the school to be environmentally conscious. Not in a blaming way, but it just seems to me that it’s not one of our big priorities.”
Unfortunately, the truth is that the climate crisis is worsening and will continue to alter the natural world around us, and so, just like species will have to adapt to their rapidly changing environments, we too will have to adjust our approach to tackling this issue. Mr. Hegeman highlighted that much of this adjustment must begin in classrooms. He explained how he feels curricula will evolve in the future. “In the next 10 years, we’ll be switching over from, ‘Hey, we need to solve this’ to ‘Hey, we can’t possibly solve this, but we could do to make it not as bad.’”
In the coming years, schools must embrace the influence they have in the lives of young people and utilize education to bring about change. Conversations like the ones taking place in Dr. Gleason’s or Mr. Hegeman’s classrooms are ones that move the needle. Dr. Gleason is a strong believer that constant dialogue on climate change encourages progress. “Every time someone in class goes home and talks to their parents or gets in a debate with their friends, it’s as if a stone has been thrown in the pond,” he said, “and slow concentric circles begin to radiate outwards.”
As the next generation of scientists, engineers, and policymakers, young people cannot be afraid to make ripples, or, better yet, waves in the world around them. The courage to do so is developed in the classroom.
