Upper School Curriculum

Grades: 10, 11, 12
Fall

We can’t predict the future, but we can explore what’s possible. How can a healthy and sustainable future be achieved? How might we contribute to a cooler Earth, more robust ecosystems and a more just and equitable environment? We pursue answers to such questions by studying recent, positive examples and using methods and tools from the field of futures thinking. For example, the world has already reduced probable warming from 7°C to 3°C. How did this happen? What has led to successful efforts to reduce air pollution, restore biodiversity on public lands and reconnect communities cut by freeways? These case studies generate inspiration grounded in reality. Turning to the future, we cultivate critical thinking and expand our imaginations through improv games, a data-based simulation and a work of speculative fiction: Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel The Ministry for the Future. We then turn to the real world to seek signs of positive changes that contribute to environmental sustainability. Incorporating library research, field trips and interviews with experts, students gather data and inspiration. They imaginatively weave these and other potential changes into varied scenarios of possible futures. Their best-case scenario becomes the basis for the culminating project in the course: designing a plan that could lead to their chosen scenario. This plan is then shared with audiences within and beyond the school community to inspire hope and action.