IN THE SCHOOLS
"Part of the community" in Montana means a literal immersion in the place and with those who live here. The school system is one area where we include ourselves and instill our passion for good decision making.
We have for several years taught elementary school children a decision making process based on holistic management principles, helping them become more adept local and global citizens.
We integrate with a curriculum that teaches students to gather and process material, to think critically and to become responsible for their own learning. The students develop values for themselves as a classroom community; organize information defining their natural, social and financial wealth; select a particular problem they wish to solve within that context; then test, implement and monitor their solutions.
We ask them to solve a problem within their actual situation, then to solve the same problem as a different eight or nine year old in another country, in a completely different situation. The exercise becomes more realistic by inviting guests knowledgeable in the foreign situation, or completing letter exchanges with foreign students.
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The Global Citizenship/Holistic Thinking lesson plan was created following graduate study at Montana State University, through the Bioregions Program. This program instigated letter exchanges with students in Uvs, Mongolia as part of ongoing work within Mongolian communities.
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