of the brain (Zadina, 2014). This can be used as a formative assessment to see how connections between students, and behaviors of an individual, have changed over time.
Greater Connections
Creating these tangible bonds allows us to take the web a step further and make an analogy in which we discuss how our community is similar to those within a natural ecosystem. Different organisms rely on one another for support and if one were to be removed from the web, the whole system would change. This then leads to conversations about interdependent relationships occurring in nature, as well as discussions about how diversity make a system stronger. This can begin with a conversation on diversity within natural ecosystems - the more connections within a system, the greater the resilience in the face of change; “higher-diversity communities generally are more productive and are better able to withstand and recover from environmental stresses, such as droughts. More diverse communities are also more stable year to year in their productivity” (Reece, Wasserman, Urry, Minorsky, Cain & Jackson, 2014, p. 1217). This same principle coincides with diversity within human populations - the stronger and more diverse the connections, the stronger the community, “students benefit from exposure to cultural as well as intellectual heterogeneity, and they learn from one another” (Haberman, 1991, p. 294). This allows for a transfer of learning to the classroom or home community, and can lead to discussions about how students can increase their connections and build bridges between communities. For example, teachers could create opportunities for service learning projects in which students are directly interacting with their larger ecological and personal communities such as habitat restoration projects. As Haberman puts it in his article, Pedagogy of Poverty versus Good Teaching, “we need graduates who have learned to take action in their own behalf and in behalf of others” (1991, p. 293). With such a project, students would utilize elements of collaboration, apply practical skills and continue their engagement with the four pillars of stewardship.
Tying It All Together We end the week in a circle around our community agreement,
for a final review, we reflect upon the connections we built this week and the ways in which we have engaged in stewardship. During a quiet minute of reflection, we prompt the students to think about how they have honored the agreement, and how their teammates have done the same. Students use the four pillars as a framework for sharing a time they themselves exemplified a pillar and then honor a moment they saw a teammate doing the same. Once everyone has had time to collect their thoughts we pull out a ball of yarn and explain that they will be creating their own stewardship web. One student begins sharing how they accomplished a pillar and then, while still holding the end of the yarn, passes the ball to any teammate and shares with the group a moment they saw that member demonstrate a pillar. Whoever receives the yarn does the same, first for themselves, then for a teammate. This continues until the last person to receive the yarn honors the first person who spoke. Once someone has received the yarn, they may not receive it again. The yarn is then tied off, the web having been completed (see photo above).
CLEARING Spring 2018
We ask the students to hold the yarn loosely in their hands, then together take a collective step backwards and ask if they could feel the yarn being pulled through their hand. At this point we revisit the words of Chief Sealth and explain to our students
Creation of the yarn web around the community web. Photo: Summer Swallow.
that everything they did this week impacted everyone in the team. That all of our actions are truly connected, no actions truly occur in isolation. We tell the kids how proud we are of their hard work and dedication during our week together, asking them to remember this team and community as they prepare to leave IslandWood. We then invite them to break off a piece of the yarn to carry with them, as an ever present reminder that they, and their actions, matter.
Our ultimate goal towards creating a positive learning experience for these students ideally is then transferred to their regular school and home life. The strength of connections is fundamental to becoming an active world citizen. Highlighting the contributions of all team members serves to illustrate the value of diversity and inclusion. Regardless of their young age, the power of their actions creates a ripple in the vast and ever- changing web of life.
Author Notes: More information on teaching children about Tribal Sovereignty can be found through the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (OSPI) office of Native American Education’s curriculum: Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State (
indian-ed.org)
Summer Swallow, an avid bryophyte enthusiast, and Alyssa Kaplan, a passionate social justice advocate, enjoy spending their time teaching 4th – 6th graders at IslandWood, an residential outdoor school, on Bainbridge Island, Washington while working on their Master degrees at the University of Washington.
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