Today, Not Tomorrow

Global Issues can be a very heavy class at times. One of the many aims of the program is to seek out the stories of those people, places, and conflicts that most of us were not taught about back at our home schools. My goal for the class is not to provide answers but to encourage students to ask the most essential questions. This semester these questions have included:

• Why is it are some people saying that the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti was both a natural disaster and man-made?
• How is my ipod contributing to war in the democratic republic of congo?
• Who sewed these shirts we are wearing and under what conditions?
• What exactly does walking through the desert towards a better life look like, feel like, smell like--for a Mexican Immigrant headed towards the United States?
• When did corporations amass so much power that they legally have more rights than you and I?
• What is the purpose of education? What are the various strengths and weaknesses of formal education and the type of education that occurs outside of a classroom?

It is my deepest belief that while analyzing the urgent and troubling crises of our times we can also have a lot of fun seeking out those genius alternatives, creative visions, and holistic solutions that keep us going. Over the last 4 months we also studied a youth permaculture corps that fundraised their way to help in haiti, we had a guest speaker teach us about a community in Washington which practiced civil disobedience through local lawmaking in a campaign that gave community members the power to decide whether or not a giant corporation could set up shop in their town, we explored human rights groups from around the world organizing in hopes of meeting the Millennium Development goals, we learned about cooperatives, local economies, microcredit, and artists using their talents to change the world and finally we also took the time to envision our own ideal communities--because as Maggie said, sometimes we spend so much time speaking out about what we are against instead of what we are fighting for.

A lot of high school graduation speeches will include a bit about how proud we should be to be in the presence of tomorrow's leaders. This is not the case, at this morning's graduation. Here at Woolman, we are in the presence of the powerful young leaders of today. The world cannot wait for the quirky and brilliant ideas of this group, nor should it have to. Each of the students you see before you has the tools, the fire, and most importantly the heart to create long lasting, inclusive, joyful, beautiful, positive change in both their local communities and the wider world. It is now my pleasure to introduce to you my advisees.