Last night I read a post from Chris Lehmann (principal in PA) about considering a new economic model that gets away from the “growth” based economy and tries to rework the great features about our present system but is based on “sustainability”. Chris concludes his post with:

“Because I am concerned that without a new model, the macro-level rapaciousness of a corporate capitalism as that legal organism is currently constructed will lead us into a need for more and more where we must hope that technological innovations stretch ever-dwindling resources and increase the efficiency with which humans interact with their environment outpace the need for the market to grow. And that is a frightening end-game that, to me, we are destined some day to lose.”

This morning I just finished reading Mr. Doyle’s (science teacher in NJ) reflection on the action on Wall Street and the placement or misplacement of value. Pointing out that his basil in the garden still has the same value that it had before the Dow dropped 500 points. (The frost got mine this weekend so there was some depreciation on the crop here in Appleton) He concludes with

“If children truly learned what’s worth anything, I fear expect our economy would collapse.”

These two readings point out some fairly clear limitations in the “value” system of our society. Can we plan on always getting more from the environment even if our technological progress makes our “environmental interaction more efficient”? And if as educators we educated on value and what is really worth something would it move us towards a “more sustainable” economy from the ground up? I would like to think that yes, the American system does need some reworking and that these students that we have are the ones who are going to have to get it! (We did not!) They need to be realizing that “Ultimately everything of value is connected to the ground, the sun, the air, the water.”

My 8th grade class just finished up harvesting corn from that garden that they planted last May. They had a choice of what they wanted to do with it and interestingly they did not choose the money route they did not give it away to a needy organization. The value for them in that corn was to cook it up and eat it as a class, sharing the experience with each other. Now there was some value! (and a good thing in their life)

The visit to the Fair was an annual pilgrimage that many Mainers make every year. Is it to be reminded of what is really valuable! I think it is. We go not to shop, not for entertainment, (not that it does not have either of these) but for that reminder of the important things of real value. We can see and hear about the connections to the ground, the sun, the air and the water. That is what it is about! On an individual basis we tend to get so caught up in the “Wall Street” value and marketing of things of little value that this annual gathering is a great way for us to educate ourselves and reflect about things of real value.

And remember that the good things in life are not always things!!