Education for Sustainability part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
How can I be a better teacher? How can I make my community and the world a better place through my work? Perhaps I am hopelessly idealistic but I believe that all of my colleagues in education share the goals embodied in these two questions. At one level they are simple questions, reflecting desires to do good work and to make a difference. But anyone who has spent much time in the classroom knows that the answers are rarely simple and the work involved in answering these questions is never complete.

Geology and Sustainability part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
I think most geologists would say that sustainability is at the root of our discipline, though we certainly didn't invent the word or define the concept. Geology considers the earth as an open system of gases, liquids and solids, distributed from the outer limits of the atmosphere to the earth's center. We know that within this system are many interacting subsystems that involve the transfer of energy and materials from one area – and state – to another. Resources – minerals, fuels, water, soils and others – all exist within the earth system that geologists study. Geologists study how these resources are created, how they are altered, and how they move from place to place. Just tracing the routes of water on the globe, for instance, involves the atmosphere, the earth's land surface (sometimes called "the critical zone"), the oceans, the ice caps, and the crust and mantle of the solid earth. Humans alter many of the transfer processes and at the same time they alter the amounts of resources in storage. It may be true, as the physicists say, that matter can neither be created or destroyed, but matter can certainly be changed from an un-usable state to a usable one (think mining and smelting) or from a usable state to an un-usable one (think gasoline and carbon dioxide).

Sustainability and Me part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
Curiosity brought me to sustainability, and it still keeps me interested. Many years ago, Alexander Wilson wrote a book called The Culture of Nature,a title that seemed so strange to me that I decided to teach it (which is what I often do to satisfy my curiosity). My first step was a course by that title in the first year writing program. My second was an interdisciplinary course on "The Environmental Imagination," meant to introduce the Humanities as part of our Environmental Studies major. In both of those classes, I encouraged students to think about their own place, St. Olaf College.

Bridging the Gap part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
Global Sustainability is an area of strength at Central College, and it is therefore infused throughout the various areas of the college. The administration of the college has visibly supported sustainability by signing the Talloires Agreement and the President's Climate Commitment. This dedication to sustainability also extends to our facilities planning, with three LEED-certified projects having been completed since 2003. Central College is in an especially active stage of curricular development for sustainability-related topics. We have a strong and vibrant program in Environmental Studies, offering both a major and minor. Having unanimously passed the Global Sustainability core requirement as part of recent curricular revisions, the number of courses with a focus on sustainability is increasing each semester. To encourage this growth, the college recently hosted the "Prairie Project", a three-day interdisciplinary workshop on sustainability curriculum development and the resources available to faculty members.

Teaching Sustainability in the Humanities classroom? part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
As the daughter of a French government official specializing in environmental issues, I grew up repeatedly hearing about "le développement durable" (French for sustainability) and our individual responsibility as stewards of this world. This childhood influence followed me to this day and I still recycle, use a reusable mug for my tea and spend far too much time and money finding the ultimate shower head that doesn't drain our water supplies while still providing a "spa-like experience". In a word, I really believe in sustainability. That is, at least in my personal life.

Sustainability at Ripon - Economics part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
While in general sustainability seems to be becoming more and more popular as a topic these days, one thing that needs to be understood is what kind of sustainability we are talking about. There is no secret that the definition itself varies among people and among institutions. Some prefer to focus on small issues – like switching to local-grown food and going "trayless" in the commons, some decide to "go bigger" and replace grass on athletic fields with artificial turf made of recycled tires or turn to alternative energy sources for different campus needs. Regardless of which particular actions we are talking about, the end goal seems to be the same for all – minimizing the environmental impact of human activity.

Sustainability and Latin American Literature: Initial Thoughts part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
I have very little experience or expertise related to sustainability, so this essay serves more as an outline of some initial thoughts on what I hope and plan to do, rather than a description of what I have already done. As a teacher of Spanish language and Latin American literature (mainly related to the legacies of authoritarianism), I haven't had much opportunity to incorporate sustainability into my teaching (aside from the lone chapter dedicated to "el medio ambiente" (the environment) in our current language textbook). However, teaching the "Corn" section of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma started me thinking about how I might incorporate issues of sustainability into an upper level Latin American literature seminar. Many Luther students combine a Spanish major or minor with areas of study in the sciences or environmental studies, and I hope my participation in this workshop will help me develop a strong course offering that will help students think about issues of sustainability from a literary and cultural perspective.

Public Education and a Responsible Sustainability Disposition part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
In the summer 2009 Harvard Educational Review (HER), an issue in which 47 educational experts debated the potential of the Obama presidency to affect education in dramatically new ways, critic Henry Giroux pointed out that Obama and his instrumentalist view of education tended to gloss over philosophers such as Horace Mann, John Dewey, W.E. B. Dubois, and Jane Addams, "who valued education as a preeminent force for preparing young people to be socially responsible, critically engaged citizens in a democratic society" (258). Yet, Giroux, like other educational experts, in the volume including Linda Darling-Hammond, overlooked what a growing number of concerned citizens believe is public education's most pressing need: to educate American young people to live in ways that contribute to earth's sustainability. Among the topics that the experts addressed were urban school reform, integration of "non-white" communities, and the high rte of child poverty. Yet, the issue that will affect all learners, whether publically or privately educated, is whether a future will exist for the coming generations and if so for how long. If the predictions of thinkers, such as Jared Diamond and Joseph Tainter for a societal collapse, due to increasing complexities with economic, political and social systems, are to be taken seriously, as many believe, then the need for environmental education ought to be part of public education and every single teacher's curriculum, whether implicit or explicit.

Sustainability at Carleton part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
Aaron Swoboda, Carleton College Download essay as PDF (Acrobat (PDF) 39kB Jun8 10) The largest problem that confronts us as we try to take steps to make ourselves, our society, our cities, and our lifestyle more ...

Sustainability at Luther part of ACM Pedagogic Resources:ACM/FaCE:Projects:Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum:2010 Sustainability Workshop:Essays
There are several reasons for my interest in sustainability education. Sustainability education complements the goals of a liberal education and the mission of Luther College in many ways. First, sustainability education emphasizes an interdisciplinary, systems approach to thinking about problems. It promotes an understanding of social and ecological systems, an awareness of their interdependence, and an appreciation for the complexity of our world. Second, sustainability education demands attention to the importance of place and community while simultaneously increasing students' awareness of cross-cultural perspectives and global interconnectedness. Finally, sustainability education helps students become informed, ethical citizens. The ability to assess empirical claims, think critically about alternative viewpoints, engage in political discourse, advocate change, and commit to action leads students toward a life of service and learning. As a teacher in a liberal arts college, I think it is essential to introduce sustainability concepts wherever appropriate.