Funding Opportunity for Sol Summer Camp 2005

Ladies & Gents:

Check out this information provided by Sherry Kuchon for a youth empowered researched based granting opportunity.

With support from the Cricket Island Foundation, CIRCLE (The Center
for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) has
announced a new grant opportunity for youth researchers.

Research teams of five young people under age 18 are eligible to apply for
grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to fund research on a community
issue of their choice.

Teams may include adult mentors in an advisory capacity only.

Teams also must partner with an organization that has
an operating fiscal agent.

For more information, visit

http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/YLR_RFP05.pdf

http://www.civicyouth.org/practitioners

Proposals are due March 31, 2005

Globalization Report / Go Globiate among us

Folks:

I was wondering when I would ever get a chance to use this "new" buzzword ( although I had already put it in the trash where I think it still belongs........the word not the report).

Here goes............Globiate this............(;<)
http://www.cia.gov/nic/NIC_globaltrend2020.html

Best,

Jim

Question from Renee

Jim,

Have the youth selected a leader? We are hoping for one voice from the group on the steering committe as we discussed on the call. The others can be in the room or they can work through some of things we discussed prior to the call and have that one person represent them.

Renee

I spoke with David about this on Sunday and asked him if you guy's could prepare a response that I could forward to Renee. We discussed the designated leader vs. designated spokesperson proposition, since all of you are leaders.

Please let me know your thoughts ASAP.

Best,

Jim

Minutes of December Phone Conference

Guys: (FYI / Please review Renee' minutes and add your comments, etc.)

Happy New Year everyone. Carol and I are still on the track of trying to launch some kind of summer youth program this upcoming summer. Sorry, that I have been deliquent in getting this material out, but I just started a full time job which has been a bit more demanding than I thought it would be.

Anyway, late Decemeber we moved forward with the call, though the meeting was small it was quite productive. The group that showed up with the Detroit Youth. And they made quite and impact as they were filled with many great ideas. Attached you will find a copy of the minutes.

What I would like to do next is set up another call. And I think I am going to take a different approach. This time I am asking you to share what you availability might be next week - particularly after 5 in order to get me on board and the youth represented on the call. Once I see everyone's availability I will try to schedule another call. Can't wait to speak with you all !

All the best,
Renee

Youth and Education for Sustainability Camp Retreat
Meeting Notes – December 27, 2004

Attendees:
Carol Gorelick cgorelick@notes.interliant.com
Renee Kaspar
David Oliver (Detroit student)
Katleyn Smith (Detroit student)
Amber Schudlich (Detroit student)
Jim Ross (observatory-director)
Linda Terroni (Detroit teacher)
John Iras

Planned Agenda
Introduction: Why we are here? – Renee

Agenda:
· 12:05 -12:15 Check-in
· 12:15 -12:20 Review Agenda
· 12:20 – 12:30 Purpose – Review/Discussion/Adoption
· 12:30 – 12:40 Review Concept (has everyone read it?)
· 12:40 - 1:00 Value Proposition – Brainstorm—Why is this a good idea?
· 1:00 – 1:30 Next Steps Discussion—who by when

o Steering Committee
o Time for Camp (1, 2, 3 weeks?)
o Age Range
o Selection process
o Location, venue (we have some connections with Duke or Cornell or Detroit)
o Program curriculum
o Number of students we will host
o Infrastructure requirements
o Costs to run the program
o Sponsors

Actual Discussion:

Introduction to Carol
· involved with SoL as research member and Trustee.
· Involved with youth through a primary school in Cape Town South Africa
· business school professor
· personal goal to create a Youth & Education branch of the Sustainability Consortium

Why are you here?

David: We are all willing to back up Renee

Renee-Others willing to participate in camp but not on this call-- Jeremy (Ford), Paula (Slumberger-SEED project), Dean from Dean’s Beans (fair trade, agriculture, coffee industry), Joe Laur (Sustainability Conference organizers)

John –description of “Observatory”—75 years old, solar observatory, 1st to take motion photos of sun. We all met here. We connected through Don Carli of the Institute for Sustainable Communicaton (ISC) and the Sustainability Consortium (we suggested Kent Roberts and the Civility Center attend the Sol Conference in ). Sustainability part of observatory. Work at the observatory is extracurricular for students... Volunteers help to expand education/ knowledge in the classroom through REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE. It’s a way to give k-12 students real world experience that can’t be gotten at school.

John Iras--Iris (former principle of school, 37 years business, associated with Observatory for 12 years.—on board). Observatory was originally U of Michigan—bridge builders, amateur astronomers built 3 towers. It was the first research facility at U of M. They did film on the development of the sun (over 40 years)—no where else has this been done. We have applied digital technology to bring research into the 21st century—open door policy. K-12 and university education= mission of Observatory. Partnered with discovery channel, Johnson space center. Make sure we are preparing people for work force. “Out of box thinkers” as young people are unusual today—need to have this for future.

Renee asked: # students involved in Observatory—level, age, model of operation.

John –number 20-150 depending on who you solicit for participation. 4 community centers (urban underserved population)—interesting CORE and backgrounds for work at the camp.

The model is based on:
6 hats De Bona—project based---thinking model that empowers young people to take an issue to next level….You have to DISCOVER answers. Socratic model of discovery, increase preparation for students. 50-100 kids go through the Observatory summer camp. Art, astronomy, chem. Lab, technology (observe sun) and they have capability to deliver content all over country. Web site being worked on.

Jim Ross—experience in 3 industries (automotive) using these systems thinking principles—graphics arts, automotive, HDTV. Rich heritage—out of box thinking, intellectual capacity, automotive industry….Few are invited to sit at this table—you have to have an open mind. We need to make sure that we are research based to be successful in the 21st century.

What do you know about SoL?

Katelyn- From conference I learned that from a sustainability perspective we are not prepared. Significant learnings: 1st day prep with Jamie Cloud—fishing game, 2nd learning from Dean—fair trade (brought that home with me). Most memorable—they actually talked to us. Shared, helped us, we asked questions and they answered... TREATED US AS PEOPLE. Building on each other’s ideas.

Interests
· 2 young folks want to become hydroponics farmers and have bed and breakfast
· 1 student working on his own invention for alternative energy using self contained kinetic energy

Students’ concept for SoL:
To bring people from around the world learning how we can help each other move into the 21st century (reason for hope). Get more creativity into SoL.

Suggestion: hold it at Observatory—they have a farm and can plan many experiences. Oakland University dorms can provide housing.

SoL Background-Carol
See: http://www.s/olonline.org

Note: Observatory has a web site—blog (chat room)—you can pass on information in an instant. They will set up the blog for this committee.
www.comsc.blogspot.com

Check-in
What would you like the camp to be?

David Oliver—I’d like interaction between students (students in project team and camp participants)—because it’s key for students to have a good memory of meeting people, interacting and take back [content] to spread wisdom. Scope and shape activities each person would be doing.

Katelyn- Going to see people from around the world (if possible). Interacting, knowing what they do at home—daily life.

Amber-Put a new face on the world—perception of Americans.

Linda-Participating since first Earth Day in 1969. Helping build alternative energy housing since 1978. Children should be exposed to project based learning and experience necessities of environmental concerns as it impacts us around the world.

Renee-excited to create a space for young people to interact with government, business, and so young people learn skill sets to make projects come into fruition. Also to have adults learn from young people what they have forgotten.

John Iras-do you have capacity to get video conference capacity? It would increase our ability to communicate—body language, commitment understood. We have video conferencing equipment. We have partnered with for profits….at minimal cost to have video events.

Most looking forward to general public understanding how sophisticated K-12 learners are compared to teachers. Teachers are not as prepared technologically as students are. Focus bringing public education and students around world to that realization. Funding sources need to know that it is not only technology but professional development that is necessary going forward. Young people will showcase talents to the rest of the world….switch paradigm for k-12.

Carol- story of Annual meeting where young person said “you won’t be here in 50 years we will—why don’t you include us directly in the meeting? My desire is to integrate government, ngo, education, youth and corporates for mutually desired outcomes...

Jim- from the point of view of Presence, I see the camp as a fresh canvas and we get the opportunity to paint it. These young people practice the tenets of SoL even if they don’t know it explicitly. They want to DO it and learn and experience it. They will be supported by Observatory…SoL event added awareness (broadness)—to issues at the crux of their understanding as young adults. The camp should be something engaging—young people involved in design if not development. Design is synthesis of environment around us. Development is the process control.

Process Check (20 minutes)-Renee
1. Purpose
2. Scope Issues
3. Next call

Review Purpose (as written)
John—Overall purpose—right re: SoL--appropriate
Linda—Second and keep it open
Katelyn--Not just social issues. It should also include the environment
David-About smaller schools that need to learn (10 years behind the business world).
John –“Schools that Learn”---tell us that smaller environments are better learning environments. It is NOT about money but purpose under which schools operate. State mandates versus learning how to think is a detriment to sustainability. You get sustainability through teaching thinking.
Renee—purpose based on David’s thoughts—small school model but not only selecting students from small schools.
Katelyn—small schools mean learning communities not physically small schools.
John-effectiveness increases exponentially in small environments.

Camp Purpose
· Diversity—area, cultures, religions to come together to share what we do, why and how it makes us feel. Create controversy that we can learn from.

· David Oliver’s grandfather (Lonnie)—you are missing the point of the young people….they don’t want old guys with old ideas. They want young people with fresh ideas to build from. I am 64 learned more from young people than everything else on earth. Don’t want big wigs coming to take over the place. They want youngsters from other parts of the world to pick brains. Note: from Jim-Grandpa Oliver—has taken David to the Observatory for a year—He [Grandpa Oliver] co-creates with the young people. The Observatory is devoted to making sure that young people have opportunities.

· Intergenerational diversity is desirable at the camp.

Request—one Detroit participant co-lead camp with Renee (Carol can be facilitator, advisor). This student will represent youth on the Steering Committee. All the students can actively participate but this person will be the “spokesperson”.

Availability for next call—early January.

Action Items
1. Look up meaning of Iris. Is it really wisdom?—John Iras
2. Keep doodles and share—all students
3. Reports on research—opportunities for future get cites from John Iras.
4. Send e-mail’s and get blog for Observatory-Renee
5. Research better communication modalities-Renee/Carol
6. Schedule next meeting-Renee
7. Look at next steps in original proposal email. Provide guidance with rationale—Detroit sub-committee
8. Review purpose once more-all
9. Identify co-leader (student)-Detroit sub-committee

Hi Everyone,

Guess I fell more behind on my reading than I thought but now that I 'm all caught up I have one thing to say, "Wow." And one question for Jim, "Where do you find all of these juicy articles?" "I just keep my eyes and mind open....and there they are" (:<) Jim
On another note I'm glad the Advisory meeting went well and I can't wait for the next one on the Febuaury 10th.
By the way so no one forgets,
Reminder for Sunday:

• Application-David, John, and Grandpa
• Curriculum(1st Draft)-Katelyn, and Amber
• Web Page (Open Deadline)-Dan

(Sorry Jim haven't figured any paperwork for you yet but I can guarantee you will be one of the first to critetic ours)

Other things we discussed on Sunday were:

Selection

1. Age: 14-19
2. attitude: Positive
3. Criteria: Communication Skills, Active interest in the world around them

Length- 6 weeks (will have breaks between groups)

Groups

• 15 youth per group
• 4 groups total
• Groups attend camp for 2 weeks a piece

The 4 groups are broken down into 2 sessions (1 session =2 groups) (also, 1 session= 3 weeks)(meaning 2 groups =3 weeks) (Thus how we got the 6 weeks from 4 groups) We plan on having a break between sessions (time off not predicided...As yet)

The 2 groups in each sessions will over lap for a week, so each group will have a week to explore and a week to work/meet another group.

Location: McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory

Sleeping arrangement: Oakland University Dorms

Type: Mixture of Local, National, and International (Need to figure out how to split the groups up)

If you have any questions about the SoL Summer Camp, e-mail me at kesmith882006@yahoo.com, I should be able to get back to you next day, or just come to the Breakfast Club Meeting Sunday morning and ask David, Amber, Jim, or myself at the Observatory.

~Katelyn

P.S.- Get-R-Done

A little insight on Practicing WHAT WE Preach!

Hi guy's:

This was provided by Paul Briercheck. Absorb!


How We Learn
January 16, 2005
By ALISON GOPNIK


So here's the big question: if children who don't even go
to school learn so easily, why do children who go to school
seem to have such a hard time? Why can children solve
problems that challenge computers but stumble on a
third-grade reading test?

When we talk about learning, we really mean two quite
different things, the process of discovery and of mastering
what one discovers. All children are naturally driven to
create an accurate picture of the world and, with the help
of adults to use that picture to make predictions,
formulate explanations, imagine alternatives and design
plans. Call it ''guided discovery.''

If this kind of learning is what we have in mind then one
answer to the big question is that schools don't teach the
same way children learn. As in the gear-and-switch
experiments, children seem to learn best when they can
explore the world and interact with expert adults.

For example, Barbara Rogoff, professor of psychology at the
University of California at Santa Cruz, studied children
growing up in poor Guatemalan Indian villages. The
youngsters gradually mastered complex skills like preparing
tortillas from scratch, beginning with the 2-year-old
mimicking the flattening of dough to the 10-year-old
entrusted with the entire task. They learned by watching
adults, trying themselves and receiving detailed corrective
feedback about their efforts. Mothers did a careful
analysis of what the child was capable of before
encouraging the next step.

This may sound like a touchy-feely progressive
prescription. But a good example of such teaching in our
culture is the stern but beloved baseball coach. How many
school teachers are as good at essay writing, science or
mathematics as the average coach is at baseball? And even
when teachers are expert, how many children ever get to
watch them work through writing an essay or designing a
scientific experiment or solving an unfamiliar math
problem?

Imagine if baseball were taught the way science is taught
in most inner-city schools. Schoolchildren would get
lectures about the history of the World Series. High school
students would occasionally reproduce famous plays of the
past. Nobody would get in the game themselves until
graduate school.

But there is another side to the question.

In guided discovery -- figuring out how the world works or unraveling
the structure of making tortillas -- children learn to
solve new problems. But what is expected in school, at
least in part, involves a very different process: call it
''routinized learning.'' Something already learned is made
to be second nature, so as to perform a skill effortlessly
and quickly.

The two modes of learning seem to involve different
underlying mechanisms and even different brain regions, and
the ability to do them develops at different stages.

Babies are as good at discovery as the smartest adult -- or
better. But routinized learning evolves later. There may
even be brain changes that help.

There are also tradeoffs: Children seem to learn new things more easily than adults.
But especially through the school-age years, knowledge
becomes more and more engrained and automatic. For that
reason, it also becomes harder to change. In a sense,
routinized learning is less about getting smarter than
getting stupider: it's about perfecting mindless
procedures. This frees attention and thought for new
discoveries.

The activities that promote mastery may be different from
the activities that promote discovery. What makes knowledge
automatic is what gets you to Carnegie Hall -- practice,
practice, practice. In some settings, like the Guatemalan
village, this happens naturally: make tortillas every day
and you'll get good at it. In our culture, children rich
and poor grow highly skilled at video games they play for
hours.

But in school we need to acquire unnatural skills like
reading and writing. These are meaningless in themselves.
There is no intrinsic discovery in learning artificial
mapping between visual symbols and sounds, and in the
natural environment no one would ever think of looking for
that sort of mapping. On the other hand, mastering these
skills is absolutely necessary, allowing us to exercise our
abilities for discovery in a wider world.

The problem for many children in elementary school may not
be that they're not smart enough but that they're not
stupid enough. They haven't yet been able to make reading
and writing transparent and automatic. This is particularly
true for children who don't have natural opportunities to
practice these skills, learning in chaotic and impoverished
schools and leading chaotic and impoverished lives.

But routinized learning is not an end in itself. A good
coach may well make his players throw the ball to first
base 50 times or swing again and again in the batting cage.
That will help, but by itself it won't make a strong
player. The game itself -- reacting to different pitches,
strategizing about base running -- requires thought,
flexibility and inventiveness.

Children would never tolerate baseball if all they did was
practice. No coach would evaluate a child, and no society
would evaluate a coach, based on performance in the batting
cage. What makes for learning is the right balance of both
learning processes, allowing children to retain their
native brilliance as they grow up.


Alison Gopnik is co-author of ''The Scientist in the Crib''
and professor of psychology at the University of California
at Berkeley.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/education/edlife/EDSCIENCE.html?ex=1106973113&ei=1&en=5e14c718e2b159eb

Agri-science Advisory Council Meeting

Hey Guy's:

Although you were missed............you were not forgotten and were well represented by Mrs. Torony among others. I'm sure she will be sharing her thoughts with you ASAP as regards the discussions, determinations, etc.

You may also be interetesd in taking this on as a project as was discussed in the meeting.

Oakland Press Article / Check it out and talk to Mrs. Torony
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/011305/loc_20050113025.shtml

Next mmeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 10, 2005 at 2:00PM at OSTC/NW.

Hope all finds you well.

Best,

Jim

At the request of Katelyn / Short & Brief

Guy's:

Innovation & Biology
http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/innovation/watson/080904.html

National Education Technology Plan 2005
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/01/01072005.html

VoIP / Video over Internet Protocol
http://www.campus-technology.com/article.asp?id=10406

SMART MONSTER
http://www.campus-technology.com/article.asp?id=10412

Videoconferencing? Sol Summer Camp Academy 2005?

Hey Guy's:

Check this out and determine if/how we could utilize this "technological enabler" to improve our outreach during this summers activities originating at the observatory and/or other places around the globe.

Videoconferencing in Education

A videoconferencing initiative at Eastview Middle School has students interacting with people from all over the world right from their classrooms.

By Jody Howard-KennedyJan 1, 2005 5:00
AMURL: www.global-leap.com) is a site developed by teacher Mike Griffith, who is devoted to helping other teachers make natural curricular connections with resources throughout the world. Mike Griffith states, "Incorporating an awareness of global issues into the curriculum, and developing innovative classroom resources and strategies, encourages an understanding of world issues and interdependence. We hope to provide a framework from which our students can become active and effective world citizens. By making the curriculum more topical and global, it becomes more relevant to the lives, experiences and interests of pupils, now and in the future. A global dimension can help to demystify the unfamiliar and to enrich the learning process in linguistic, subject specific and cross-curricular ways."

The Youth Summits for Global Harmony project, founded by teachers from the St. Wilfrid’s School in England and teachers from Eastview Middle School is a good example. During the 2003- 2004 school year, 12 schools from 10 countries have participated in collaborative projects. The goal was to guide our students in pondering universal essential questions, and these questions have guided our international work. This work will encourage students to participate in dialogues, debates, presentations and performances as schools from around the world share their knowledge, experiences and ideas with each other. Students become their own experts and each other’s audiences. Examples of these collaborative partnerships include foreign language exchanges with classrooms in Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada, cultural exchange presentations including dance performances with partner schools in New Zealand and Argentina, and dialogues about personal challenges, world perceptions and discrimination with students from Kosovo, Afghanistan and South Africa.

The sheer power of this kind of communication medium was demonstrated when our eighth grade Health Studies students, learning about HIV and preventative awareness, were able to interview HIV-positive students in South Africa. Students were able to hear first-hand about the severity of this global issue as they ‘put a face’ on this epidemic that before was simply a distant abstraction. Students were moved from apathy into empathy as they began to form an emotional connection to the people on the other side of the world. So connected were these students that they took action and conducted a fundraiser for the Growing South Africa Foundation to sponsor a vegetable garden for a school in Johannesburg, South Africa. As educators these are the learning opportunities that we must strive to provide for our students. Careful planning and research will enable us to teach the child as a whole, and as an intellectual and emotional human being.

As with any new initiative we were faced with many challenges. Teachers needed training, we needed to gain district and community support and develop teaching materials that reflected curriculum. Patience and perseverance became our mantra throughout the last few years as we slowly began to address our needs. We developed turn-key training courses for our teachers. A committee of 13 teachers met frequently to discuss concerns and the development of our initiative, and we invited administrators, parents and board members in order to gain the support of our district. We even created several videos documenting our conferences for training and public relations purposes. The concept of videoconferencing in a classroom was difficult for many to imagine .We needed, therefore, to create a resource to help people visualize how it could be used as a teaching tool that added value to units of study.

Additional Uses of Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing saves time and money. Through the use of this technology, professional development opportunities that might otherwise be unaffordable for a school district became available to teachers and administrators. Ties with colleges and universities to take advantage of their resources such as trainings, certifications and career development opportunities, can enrich existing programs. Interviewing potential candidates, parent support workshops, sharing teachers between schools, and presenting at conferences are all other possibilities to explore.

Equipment
Based on our experience thus far, here are several key factors to consider when buying equipment for your school:
Select equipment you can grow into. There are two ways to make a connection: either IP (Internet) or through ISDN (telephone lines). Buy equipment that is capable of doing both even though your network might not be ready yet or you don’t have ISDN lines. Progress happens fast and you want to be ready.

Select your vendor carefully. When selecting a vendor it is imperative that you investigate their support and help-desk services. Teachers will need support, lots of it. Our vendor, IVCi, has given us impeccable service, advice and on-demand support through their help-desk, and this has been critical to our success. They are also very experienced in this field and share their knowledge readily. They offer products and services for all of the leading manufacturers of videoconferencing units, including Tandberg and Polycom, and will help to supply an affordable unit based on your budgetary requirements.

The Human Connection
Human interaction and communication are basic human needs. Videoconferencing is a powerful communication tool that has the potential to change the way we deliver information to students. As globalization affects more of our society there is an increasing need to be globally aware and tolerant. As tomorrow’s generation, students need to develop an understanding of citizenship on national and international levels and practice exercising their rights and responsibilities as such. Schools are microcosms of the wider world. Videoconferencing is just one of today’s integrative technologies that help educators address these new educational challenges as they offer opportunities that empower students to prepare for their lives as responsible, integral contributors to society.

Email: Jody Howard-Kennedy

TEMPLATE for CREATIVE CONTEMPLATION?

Hi Guy's:

Take a look at this story & template and determine if there is anything we can use as "tentpoles" for our strawman Summer Camp Academy 2005 proposal. Create, add, delete, discover!

A DIFFERENT WAY TO LEARN: At Taylor school, students run stores, hold court, raise grades

BY LORI HIGGINS FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
January 3, 2005

The impeached senator couldn't have been surprised. Just a month before, the president was ousted after a scrape with a younger student in which she slapped the little girl.

THEIR CONSTITUTION
The Myersville Constitution is an eight-page document with this preamble:

"We, the citizens of Myersville, in order to insure the best education possible, a peaceful and safe environment, the promotion of lifelong guidelines and lifeskills and the securing of a better future for Myers students filled with the blessings of freedom, do establish this constitution for Myersville."

WHAT YOU'LL FIND IN MYERSVILLE
Stroll through the community of Myersville and you might encounter some of these businesses and agencies:

• Unique Boutique: Sells recycled goods, such as secondhand clothing, jewelry and shoes.

• Pets R Us: Part of this business is a zoo, where students can look at ant farms, butterflies and egg incubators.

• Arcade City: For the price of admission, kids can play games that subtly test math skills.

• Bureau of Census and Statistics: Employees collect data about the school and conduct opinion polls about such things as lunch menu items. Other Myersville businesses also hire these workers to complete customer-satisfaction surveys.

• Whittico's Workshop: Publishes writing submitted by students and staff.

• JT Corner Station: Produces stories that help younger students with reading.

• Dance and Movement: The employees learn dances and teach them to others. They also put on performances for the school.

• Ocean and Sea Life: Sells marine-related items such as Ziploc bags full of sand and shells and wave bottles, which are clear bottles filled with sand, water and colored oil.

• Plant Place: A greenhouse that grows seeds and plants for sale.

• Microuniversity: Offers classes that help upcoming entrepreneurs learn to be successful in business.

• Taylor Museum: Teaches students about the city in which they live.

• Traffic court: Students come here when they get a ticket for speeding (running in the hallway) or other infractions such as making excessive noise.

• Legislature: This group makes all the laws and approves business plans submitted before companies can get loans from the bank.

So when the senator hit a student who stepped on his coat, of course his fellow lawmakers gave him the boot.

"They were doing the wrong thing. They could have solved it a different way," said fifth-grader Chantiara Morris, 9, the chairperson of the Legislature.

"They wanted to be senators so bad. But they learned what not to do."

This is life in Myersville, where students are the lawmakers, business managers, postal workers, newspaper reporters and university instructors. They create the laws. They punish the lawbreakers. They earn paychecks. And they pay taxes.

Myersville is a community created at Myers Elementary School in Taylor as part of a school reform effort called Microsociety, where schools become microcosms of society. The idea is that students get to apply what they learn in the classroom to every-day, real-life experiences. That way, what they learn in the classroom means more to them.

And at Myers, where hallways have street names, where student cops patrol the hallways as peacekeepers and where anyone who works for the court system must pass a "bar" exam, the Legislature is all powerful. In this body, integrity reigns.

"The last place you want to be judged is in front of these kids. They are very serious," said Karen Hickmott, the Microsociety coordinator at Myers.

As for the impeachments, "what really cooked their bacon was the fact that in both instances, the students refused to accept responsibility or acknowledge that what they did was wrong," said Hickmott, a former teacher.

Microsociety is a complete redesign of a school, rather than a program, because "it creates a different kind of school," principal Suzanne Downing said. It's among many steps Myers Elementary has taken in its quest to improve student performance.

With about 550 students, Myers is one of nearly 70 Michigan schools forced to restructure because it has failed to meet state and federal academic goals for five years.

But while many of the other schools are replacing principals and offering more teacher training, Myers is taking a comprehensive approach. Part of that is the addition of Microsociety, a program that is being used in at least 250 schools nationwide. There are five in Michigan, including one in Detroit. There is evidence, both at Myers and at other Microsociety schools, that it's making a difference.

Myers is in its third full year with the program, and student performance on the MEAP has improved significantly. In fourth-grade math, for instance, the percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards improved from 20 percent in the 2001-02 school year to 56 percent in 2003-04.

Similar gains on separate standardized tests have been seen in Microsociety schools nationwide.
Philip Hawkins, senior vice president of the Microsociety program, which is based in Philadelphia, said part of the reason is that "kids become really engaged in the educational process. And because they're engaged, they come to school."

Students learn in traditional classes much of the day, and from 2 to 3 p.m. daily, they report to work. The duties vary from day to day. Mondays are business days, and are spent preparing for the week. Tuesdays are production days. And Wednesdays through Fridays are consumer days, when the stores and agencies are open for business. For example, the post office is responsible for sorting mail within the school and delivering it to the citizens. Each student has an address (their desk).

To make the program work, teachers receive extensive training. Hickmott said two national trainers visit five times a year to work with teachers. Some Myers staff members also have attended national conferences.

Fourth-grader Tamya Evans, 9, sought a job as assistant postmaster for the community post office because "I work real hard and I believe that I can help students do things," she said.
Microsociety, Tamya said, "gets you ready for the future. If you have a job here, you can have a job when you grow up and you'll already have experience," she said during a break in the workday recently, which saw postal employees voting on which stamps they'll use.

Across the hall at the Art Institute, the floor was lined with murals the students were commissioned to create for various businesses and other art projects. Comanager Ashleah Burns, a fourth-grader, is in charge of making sure employees get their work done.

Chantiara, the senator who chairs the Legislature, is among the most experienced at Microsociety because a previous elementary school she attended, Davison Elementary in Detroit, also used the program. Her duties extend beyond the Legislature, housed in teacher Ursula Sliwka's fourth-grade portable classroom.

Chantiara also is a leader and role model in the classroom.
"When she leaves the classroom, I'll help control the class and stuff," Chantiara said of her teacher.

In Myersville, everyone must hold a job, and the minimum wage is 5 micros an hour. Each micro -- green bills made from construction paper -- is equivalent to a U.S. dollar. Salaries can start at 5 micros an hour and go up to 20 micros an hour. Students use the micros to shop at the community's stores, to pay fines and to pay taxes.

And just like in the real world, Myersville has a Chamber of Commerce, made up of managers of all the businesses.

There is a university, where students teach popular classes on bookkeeping and financial management. There is a large warehouse, where every business must purchase its materials.

And there is a court system in which all Myersville residents -- including teachers -- must serve on juries.

A Myersville Constitution governs the land, and like the U.S. Constitution, it has been amended many times to keep up with the times. A recent addition was an amendment outlawing panhandling. Why? Some older students were observed begging younger students for money in the hallways.

"It is really amazing. It is a real world in miniature," Hickmott said.

It's a real world in which students pay fines if they're caught speeding (running in the hallways). Or, they perform community service, which can include reading to a kindergarten student. The fines and community service are a typical way of punishing students who have violated the rules.

You name it, it's probably happened in Myersville. One student couldn't resist the temptation of stealing from the bank. He was charged with bank robbery. Another student was charged with forgery after she created her own version of the micro money. Her caper would have worked were it not for one major flaw.

"The only problem was her green paper was white on the other side," Hickmott said.

A few words to ponder in 2005

Hi guy's:

FAST COMPANY

Celebrating the Extraordinary
This month's letter from the editor.

From: Issue 90 January 2005, Page 14 By: John A. Byrne Photographs by: Dennis KleimanURL: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/90/open_edlet.html

In his 80th year of life, the famous English sculptor Henry Moore was asked a fascinating question by literary critic Donald Hall.

"Now that you are 80, you must know the secret of life. What is it?"

Moore paused ever so slightly, with just enough time to smile before answering.
"The secret of life," he mused, "is to have a task, something you do your entire life, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. And the most important thing is: It must be something you cannot possibly do."

The sculptor's remarks represent a nicely packaged theory of a productive life: Throw yourself into something big that you believe in. Dedicate your life's work to it. And make damn sure it's ambitious enough to stretch you to the limits.

It's a philosophy that guides the 25 social entrepreneurs honored in this issue with our second annual Social Capitalist Awards. Turn to "The Change Masters," starting on page 47. Each of these extraordinary individuals has tackled a seemingly impossible task: "something you cannot possibly do." And each of them has triumphed in bringing creativity, passion, and smarts to that task to make a meaningful difference.

The Social Capitalists package, produced in partnership with the consulting firm Monitor Group, not only recognizes the accomplishments of these remarkable entrepreneurs. It also explains the how behind what they have achieved, describing creative ideas and lessons helpful to all of us, no matter what we do or how we do it. And behind every initiative -- from helping underprivileged children go to college or exporting entrepreneurship to solve Latin America's most daunting social problems -- is a tale that truly inspires.

Consider the story of Jonathan Schnur, who leads New York-based organization New Leaders for New Schools. The group helps to recruit and train entrepreneurs to become principals in inner-city schools. It was while working on education policy in the Clinton administration that Schnur became unsettled by the shockingly low reading and math scores among low-income and black children. He came to believe those low scores were the result of a dearth of quality teachers and principals in inner-city schools. Schnur went to Harvard Business School to learn how to do something about the problem, and with four fellow grads founded NLNS in 2000.

So far, his "leadership factory" has turned out 152 principals serving 75,000 children. "The proudest moment for me will be when we can say we've got 2,000 schools serving a million kids," he says.

New Leaders for New Schools is an extraordinary enterprise -- but then, so is the Social Capitalist Awards project itself. Our team began work on this year's awards almost as soon as last year's package was complete, rethinking the methodology that guides our selection of the best social entrepreneurs and gathering the top experts who help make our analysis smarter and more rigorous. The standards we apply are high. After all, we're essentially trying to create a new system of accounting for the not-for-profit sector. So we measure organizations by their social impact, aspiration and growth, entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability.

This year, we began accepting nominations in June, and our assessment lasted most of the summer and into October. In all, it took nine Monitor consultants and an equal number of Fast Company editors and writers, led by deputy editor Keith H. Hammonds and contributing writer Cheryl Dahle, to make this package happen. No fewer than 48 experts from education, community development, health care, and other fields worked with us to identify promising organizations, refine our criteria and metrics, and assess the performance of our finalists. And the participating organizations themselves invested countless hours in preparing and defending their applications.

Why would a business magazine invest so much time and energy in a project that isn't, in the end, about traditional business? Because these Social Capitalists bring commitment and innovation to their work. Because increasingly, they are engaging with for-profit companies to realize their goals. And because ultimately, they may be a bit closer to Henry Moore's secret of life than the rest of us.

The Makings of a Social Innovator

In its selection of Fellows, Ashoka measures social entrepreneurs against five essential criteria.
From: Issue 90 January 2005, Page 63 By: Keith H. Hammonds URL: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/90/open_ashoka-fasttake.html

1. Is there a new idea?
If there isn't, the rest doesn't matter. If it's new, is the idea going to fly? And will it be big enough to truly change society?

2. Is this person creative?
What is the quality of thinking? What is the history of her creativity? Experiences early in life are the best indicators.

3. Is this person an entrepreneur?
True social innovators need to change a pattern across society. They are drawn to problems, constantly searching for the next advance.

4. What's the impact? Will it spread?
Most entrepreneurs can easily seed their idea in one place. It's another thing to come up with a solution that will get traction elsewhere.

5. Is there ethical fiber?
To be effective, leaders have to be on the up and up. They must change relationships -- and that won't happen if there's no trust.

Hope the New Year finds everyone impassioned.

Best,

Jim