from Pinwheels to Politics - Friends' Central School

Upper School: Campus Log
Friends’ Central
Contemplates Climate
Change
On Thursday, October 4, Friends’ Central
tenth and eleventh graders observed Climate
Change Day, devoting themselves to the
exploration of some of the numerous facets
of global climate change. Grant Calder, one
of the primary organizers of the day,
explained that it allowed students, faculty,
and administrators to “share ideas and concerns,
and perhaps more importantly to talk
about what we can do to live sustainably on
our planet.”
Students, faculty, and administrators
alike paid tribute to the day in the early
morning by using alternative means of
transportation to get to school. In all, science
teacher John Gruber calculates that over 225
miles were not driven by FCS commuters
who walked, rode bikes, took public transit and carpooled to
campus that morning. The day continued with a screening of Al
Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth. After the film, students
split into discussion groups to cover a range of topics. In
one, a Septa engineer spoke to students about public transportation
and Septa’s efforts to produce cleaner emissions. In other
groups, students went outside to explore the climate of their
Directions Fall 2007
own campus: one group analyzed soil samples outside the language
building, while another used a telescope to view spots on
the sun. Still others took a more political stance, researching
local environmental issues and writing letters to various government
officials. The successful day was followed up by an assembly
on Friday, serendipitously the day Al Gore received the
Nobel Peace Prize, where students gave short but thoughtful
presentations of their groups’ activities to the rest of the school.
The students’ enthusiasm was mirrored by faculty: Biology
teacher Melinda Yin, who came up with the idea for Climate
Change Day, wrote “I was warmly encouraged by the student
response to these issues, and the work they did in small groups
to address particular concerns….Our students rose to the challenge
of an overwhelming and
disheartening subject and considered
it thoughtfully and passionately.
Rather than becoming
defeated by the enormity of climate
change, they embraced
their ability to make a difference
and inspired me.”
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