All summer Principal Katumm had been considering various themes for the coming school year. He finally settled on one to share with his staff on the first day of in-service – “Don’t Take Things for Granted.”
Reading about a couple of ominous developments - one hopefully temporary and the other long-term prompted this idea. They both reminded him to appreciate each new morning and to embrace the blessings that it brings because there are no guarantees about tomorrow.
Recent “saber rattling” between nuclear powers could lead to the disruption of the stability of our world in a matter of minutes. And equally concerning in the long-term is that Earth is likely entering the “Sixth Extinction” with the potential of losing three-quarters of all living species. It’s not an asteroid, ice age, or excessive volcanic activity causing this; it’s the explosion of human population. As we 7.4 billion humans expand our geographic footprint and increasingly extract resources we crowd out other species. Scary stuff, but also the kind of “teachable opportunity” that Principal Ed U. Katumm relishes.
“The world is changing rapidly. It’s our responsibility to help our students understand these challenges and opportunities. Consider the dramatic changes in our own lifetimes like cell phones instead of landlines and LED lights that use 1/6 the electricity of old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. Just think, this morning my plug-in hybrid car transported me to school powered only by the solar panels on my own home. This is stuff my dear departed dad would have considered science fiction,” Principal Katumm continued.
He went on to list a few of the promising opportunities he predicted their students would help develop. “Imagine, by 2040 Hawaii plans to be powered 100% by renewable energy. That’s also the year Britain will ban the sale of new gas and diesel-powered vehicles. Our students will be the ones developing and benefitting from a whole new clean energy revolution. The future is already here!
“Our charge is to not just teach our students the technical skills needed to participate in the development of these new opportunities. Even more important, they must understand the peril in taking for granted the beautifully complex web of life that supports us. Without vigilance and stewardship we may lose much that is dear to us all here on the only home we’ll ever know where we’re forever… Earthbound.”
Reading about a couple of ominous developments - one hopefully temporary and the other long-term prompted this idea. They both reminded him to appreciate each new morning and to embrace the blessings that it brings because there are no guarantees about tomorrow.
Recent “saber rattling” between nuclear powers could lead to the disruption of the stability of our world in a matter of minutes. And equally concerning in the long-term is that Earth is likely entering the “Sixth Extinction” with the potential of losing three-quarters of all living species. It’s not an asteroid, ice age, or excessive volcanic activity causing this; it’s the explosion of human population. As we 7.4 billion humans expand our geographic footprint and increasingly extract resources we crowd out other species. Scary stuff, but also the kind of “teachable opportunity” that Principal Ed U. Katumm relishes.
“The world is changing rapidly. It’s our responsibility to help our students understand these challenges and opportunities. Consider the dramatic changes in our own lifetimes like cell phones instead of landlines and LED lights that use 1/6 the electricity of old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. Just think, this morning my plug-in hybrid car transported me to school powered only by the solar panels on my own home. This is stuff my dear departed dad would have considered science fiction,” Principal Katumm continued.
He went on to list a few of the promising opportunities he predicted their students would help develop. “Imagine, by 2040 Hawaii plans to be powered 100% by renewable energy. That’s also the year Britain will ban the sale of new gas and diesel-powered vehicles. Our students will be the ones developing and benefitting from a whole new clean energy revolution. The future is already here!
“Our charge is to not just teach our students the technical skills needed to participate in the development of these new opportunities. Even more important, they must understand the peril in taking for granted the beautifully complex web of life that supports us. Without vigilance and stewardship we may lose much that is dear to us all here on the only home we’ll ever know where we’re forever… Earthbound.”
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