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Ways to take Action (other than fundraising)

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Every morning I take the dog for a walk. On these walks, I pick up trash. I pick up things like this:

And this:

And these:

Perhaps you have those in your neighborhood, too. Those are individually wrapped, sweetened cigars marketed to children. Look, they even have grape flavor!

Sometimes I find oddball items such as wigs, dismembered Barbies, car transmissions and the like. Once I found a switchblade. Who throws a switchblade out a car window, if not to discard evidence?

If I picked it up, would I be accomplice to a stabbing? Is a switchblade recyclable? In the end, I threw it in the nearest dumpster and tried not to read the paper for a few days.

But most of the garbage I collect is food related. Apparently, no one eats hamburgers at home anymore. They order from McDonald's and then throw a tornado of wrappers on the ground. Fast-food wrappers are at least biodegradable, but what about the ketchup packets? The Frappuccino straws? The Mountain Dew bottles? Do those things ever end up in a recycling bin?

My hunch is that virtually all of it ends up on the sidewalk, washed down a storm drain and flushed out to sea to swirl eternally in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating mass of plastic trash bigger than Mexico. National Geographic reported in July that 91 percent of the world's plastic isn't recycled, and that seems a modest estimate if my neighborhood is any indication.

For a long time, as I filled bag after bag of garbage, I cursed my fellow humans. What kind of heathens think it's OK to toss a bag of Styrofoam take-out containers on someone's front lawn? Who raised these people? Don't they know birds choke on this stuff?

Clearly there's a gross failure in our educational system if this many people are content to live amid filth and pollution. We have excellent trash, recycling and composting service in the Bay Area. Why not use it?

Then one day, after the dog and I had spent an hour picking up vodka mini-bottles and dental floss picks, I rounded the corner onto a major thoroughfare to find a newly dumped pile of trash I can only describe as mountainous. It stretched for 100 yards. Millions of random scraps of garbage - diapers, foam packing peanuts, empty motor oil containers - had accumulated in great drifts along the sidewalk, creating geologic features like the dunes at Point Reyes.

Some of it rustled in the breeze from passing cars, wafting into the street or up into tree branches. Other pieces already had embedded into the dirt embankment, where they'll no doubt remain for millennia.

It truly was like a garbage truck exploded.

Like the Native American man in the 1970s TV ad, I silently wept. My folly was clear: How vain to think that picking up a few bags of trash a day would make any difference on this planet. The gods mock me. Garbage is everywhere, people are slobs, we are doomed.

Then I had another flash: It's not my littering neighbors who are to blame - after all, humanity has always had a certain percentage of trash-tossers, and that will never change. Besides, who am I to cast stones? Some might say my house is, well, less than tidy.

The real blame lies with the plastic industry and the companies that rely on it.

Starbucks, for example, is well aware that millions of its latte lids end up in the ocean. Shouldn't Starbucks take some responsibility for that? Like, say, pay for the cleanup? Or better yet, stop using plastic altogether? I would be happy to pay an extra 5 cents for my coffee if it meant fewer dead pelicans and cleaner streets.

California, as well as many cities around the United States, has banned plastic bags. According to Scientific American, such a ban instituted in Ireland in 2002 led to a 95 percent reduction in plastic bag litter. San Jose saw an 89 percent reduction after passing its ban. So why not ban more non-biodegradable material? Why not ban plastic water bottles, for starters? Who thought those were a good idea, anyway?

A bill making its way through the Legislature would require plastic bottle caps be attached to bottles, so they're less likely to end up in the ocean. Assembly Bill 319, by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Santa Cruz, is intended to keep the caps out of the water and off the shoreline.

Plastic bottle caps are the third most common item of litter collected on Coastal Cleanup Day, according to the California Coastal Commission.

That's a good start. But why stop there? I say, ban them altogether. Why not sell water in paper cartons, like milk? No cap necessary!

And as for the junk that's lying on our sidewalks, here's an idea: Instead of sending people to jail for trivial offenses, let's make them pick up litter. In fact, let's close prisons entirely, except for the most violent sociopaths, and give everyone a trash bag instead.

Let's replace parking ticket fees with mandatory trash pickup. Let's offer cash rewards for those who collect the most cigar wrappers.

Clearly our cities' public works departments don't have the staff to keep up with the avalanche of garbage. Some cities can afford to hire more people, but for those that can't (i.e., my city) let's offer cash payments to freelance garbage collectors. We pay people to turn in aluminum cans and glass bottles - why not expand it to all trash? The great piles of trash at homeless camps might disappear a lot faster if there was a cash incentive to clean them up.

And for those who aren't motivated by money, let's expand volunteer opportunities. Why do we host these community cleanup events - Earth Day, Creek to Bay Day, etc. - only a few times a year? These should be every weekend, and the signup rigmarole needs to be waived. You shouldn't have to fill out a bunch of forms: You should be able to just show up, get your free bagel and pick up cigarette butts for a few hours. No questions asked.

I see the future, and it is sparkling. Although the dog and I might get a little bored on our morning walks.

Carolyn Jones is an East Bay freelance writer. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.

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How to move mountains of plastic from our sidewalks

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Every morning I take the dog for a walk. On these walks, I pick up trash. I pick up things like this: And this: And these: Perhaps you have those in your neighborhood, too. Those are individually wrapped, sweetened cigars marketed to children. Look, they even have grape flavor!

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Celebr8 Presentations:
Thursday, April 26th

Work Completed  By:
Friday, April 20th

Celebr8 Practice Panels:
First panel: Thursday March 1st
Second panel: Wednesday, April 18

Work Weeks:
(Work weeks will be a regular schedule with the addition of one Celebr8 period per day)

January 22-February 2nd
February 26-March 9
April 2-April 20

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Girl Scout cookies: An environmental threat?

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Girl Scouts and activists Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen are crusading to eliminate palm oil from Girl Scout cookie production, a contributor to deforestation and orangutan endangerment. Marysol Castro reports.

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Still figuring it out | Tavi Gevinson | TEDxTeen

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Tavi Gevinson is editor-in-chief and founder of RookieMag.com and writes thestylerookie.com. Rookie, a site for teenage girls, broke 1 million page views within 5 days of launching in September of 2011, and contributors have included Miranda July, Dan Savage, Joss Whedon, JD Samson, Zooey Deschanel, Sady Doyle, Lesley Arfin, and Cindy Gallop.

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Award-winning teen-age science in action

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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

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1. Read the Celebr8 goals below.
2. Add at least 1 paragraph (reflection) to your Google Doc (shared with your advisors and Mr. Herrick, Ms. Landis and Ms. Douglass) on what these goals mean for you.

GOALS
(1 sentence)
In reflection of your time at SF Day, each of you will use or develop a passion to address a positive change you’d like to make in your world.

(bullets)
- Develop or explore a passion
- Creative problem solving/practice empathy
- Connect to/reflect/give back to your SFDS experience

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Title of Google Doc: YourFirstNameLastInitial - Advisor Last Name - Celebr8 2018 (e.g. BritneyS - Landis - Celebr8 2018)

Repeat title in document - first line

Share with: Advisor (s), Mr. Herrick, Ms. Landis, Ms. Douglass

Each new posting includes a title, date and content. Add new post to bottom of Google Doc

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Title of Entry
Date of Entry
Text/Video/Content

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https://docs.google.com/a/sfds.net/document/d/1GTzlkD-OrFSri4dOM5ssKjurXGTpQRf2-Yn1lmSJlqg/edit?usp=sharing

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How my invention helped my friend with a brain injury communicate again | Jacob Smilg | TEDxVienna

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Inspired by a friend who suffered a life-altering brain injury, 14-year-old inventor Jacob Smilg developed a groundbreaking communication device that has captured worldwide attention. More information on http://www.tedxvienna.at Inspired by a friend who suffered a brain injury, 14-year-old inventor Jacob Smilg has captivated the world with the creation of a groundbreaking communication device to help people with disabilities gain their voice.

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Melati and Isabel Wijsen Our campaign to ban plastic bags in Bali.

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Uploaded by Maikel Akkermans on 2016-01-30.

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Natalie Warne: Being young and making an impact

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At 18, Natalie Warne's work with the Invisible Children movement made her a hero for young activists. She uses her inspiring story to remind us that no one is too young to change the world.

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Jack Andraka: A promising test for pancreatic cancer ... from a teenager

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Over 85 percent of all pancreatic cancers are diagnosed late, when someone has less than two percent chance of survival. How could this be? Jack Andraka talks about how he developed a promising early detection test for pancreatic cancer that's super cheap, effective and non-invasive -- all before his 16th birthday.

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After more than 13 years of research convinced him that children have the ability to learn almost anything on their own, 2013 TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra aspires to shape the future of learning by building a School in the Cloud, helping kids "tap into their innate sense of wonder."

In the spirit of Mitra's invitation to the world to "ask kids big questions, and find big answers," we asked four brilliant young people to tell us: What do you think is the future of learning?

Here, their answers.
Adora Svitak, 15-year-old writer, teacher and activist Watch Adora's talk to discover "What adults can learn from kids" "Kid President, 10-year-old inspiration machine Watch Kid President's inspiring "pep talk" for the world "Ying Ying Shang, 16-year-old blogger, teen advisor to the UN Foundation, and SPARK Movement activist
"One of the most powerful shifts in the future of education will come from not only the tools at our disposal, but from an underutilized resource:the students whose voices have for too long been silent. We're pushing for seats at the decision-making tables, empowering ourselves by shaping our own learning, and taking on activist roles both online and off. To me, this signals one of the most hopeful signs of the future of education - the shift from a top-down, learning-everything-from-the-authority-figure approach to an approach characterized by peer-to-peer learning, empowerment and grassroots change."
Read Ying Ying's blogs about creating healthy media and ending the sexualization of women and girls "Thomas Suarez,13-year-old app developer and founder of Carrot Corp, Inc. Watch Thomas's talk and learn about how he taught himself to build iPhone apps "
"My older brother and I believe kids and grown ups can change the world. We're on a mission with our web series, Kid President, to do just that. If every classroom in the world could be full of grownups and kids working together, we'd live in a happier world. Kids want to know about the world and about how they can make an impact. Kids also have ideas. It'd be awesome if teachers and students could work together and put these ideas into action. There should be lessons in things like compassion and creativity. If those two things were taught more in schools we'd see some really cool things happen."

"For most of my life, the media has been a constant presence, whether it's in the form of a TV droning in the background or the billboards that whiz by on the highway or the never-ending barrage of sounds and images on social media. That's why I know the importance of learning media literacy early. It's so important that the power of the media be recognized, both in its capacity for sexualization and distortion of reality, as well as its capacity to be harnessed for good.

Also, it seems inevitable that future educators will turn to online learning tools, replacing blackboards with smartboards and note packets with YouTube videos. In the wake of this shift, analysis and critical thinking skills should be taught more than ever in classrooms."

"The future of education should include programming as a major subject. The class will allow students to collaborate on code, teach each other, and communicate outside of the classroom using services such as Google+. This way, students will think more during other classes, be much more likely to get a job and, most important, have fun."

Join the conversation! What do you think is the future of learning? Tell us in the comment section below.

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4 inspiring kids imagine the future of learning

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After more than 13 years of research convinced him that children have the ability to learn almost anything on their own, 2013 TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra aspires to shape the future of learning by building a School in the Cloud, helping kids "tap into their innate sense of wonder."

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Take a look at the “Let’s Get Inspired” column.  Watch 2-3 of the changemaker videos.
Answer these questions in a new post on your google doc. (Add it to the bottom of your doc!)

1. What scope of change (small, medium, large) are you interested in at this point?
2. What is resonating with you?

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Students will develop a passion to address a positive change they would like to make in their world.

Students will:
-Develop or explore a passion.
-Use creative problem solving and empathy to create a Celebr8 project.
-Reflect, connect and give back as a  response to their SFDS experience.

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Write a paragraph (add it to the bottom of your doc on the following topic:
What might you want to now give back to SF Day through Celebr8?

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List answer to #9 (Focus your Topic) in your blog and discuss with your parents over the break. Report back in the blog about ways that your thinking has changed or deepened after your conversation(s) at home.

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Hello 8th graders,

To complete your work from our Celebr8 class yesterday (1/8), please write up your answers to questions 11 and 12 from the "Focusing Your Topic Worksheet" in your google doc. Your advisors will review and comment.

I will be giving your worksheets to your advisors to distribute to you. If you are looking for your worksheet please ask your advisor.You might even get lucky and have time in advisory to work on this tomorrow (Wednesday), so bring your iPads :) Enjoy!Ms. Landis and Mr. Herrick

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Celebr8 Project Proposal: Make a copy and title it with your first and last name!

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Celebr8 Project Proposal: Make a copy and title it with your first and last name!

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Copy down your detailed, updated work plan from your approved Proposal (your advisor approves the proposal) into your shared google doc.

You will be using this work plan to direct your work in Celebr8 and you will update the work plan as you discover new tasks you must complete.

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Which organizations/people have worked on the same issue you are researching?

What have others done to address this issue? What has gone well? What has not gone well?

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Wikipedia is fine for an overview or background, but should not be used as a source that you cite as fact.

Always look at:
Who is providing information?
What is their intention in providing this information?
What sources are they citing?

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Gathering Empathy starter conversations:

Let the interviewee choose one question from below that they want to answer.

1.) Tell me about a time at school that something didn’t work well and you had to improvise?

2.) Talk about an aspect of school that you struggle to succeed at. Tell me a specific story about a time that you struggled.

3.) Think of a time when you failed a test, quiz or homework assignment.  What happened?

Prompts to use as you dive deep:

-Tell me more/ tell me more about that

-What happened next?

-And how did that feel?

-Why did you do that?

-What did you mean by that?

-Retell the story in your own words

-Use silence

Pay attention!  Don’t give up!  Be interested!

NOW.  FOR HOMEWORK:
Create three questions that you can use for gathering Empathy related to your Celebr8 porject.  Make sure they are related to your project and the person you are interviewing.

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Assignment 8 - Google Doc Check (due end of class Friday)

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Assignment 8 - Google Doc Check (due end of class Friday)

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Make sure your Google Doc is complete:
- all assignments are thoroughly and thoughtfully completed
- research notes and citations are listed
- empathy questions are listed and checked against Steve Inskeep Tips (from video)
- End users (Interviewees) are listed

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Assignment 9 - Status Report to Advisor (due end of class Friday)

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Assignment 9 - Status Report to Advisor (due end of class Friday)

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Email your advisor(s) with the following information AND paste it into your Google Doc:

On a scale of 1-5 how are you doing with your research?
1= I have no notes or sources
5 = I have completed thorough and thoughtful research according to guidelines on Padlet.
If you answered anything other than 5, please explain:
- What do you need to do to complete the research?
- What is your work plan for completing the research (calendar or list of dates/assignments for self)

On a scale of 1-5 how are you doing with your empathy interviews?
1= I have no questions or end users identified
5 = I have completed thorough and thoughtful interviews according to guidelines on Padlet.
If you answered anything other than 5, please explain:
- What do you need to do to complete the interviews?
- What is your work plan for completing the interviews (calendar or list of dates/assignments for self)

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Permission to make change to school property

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Permission to make change to school property

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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1. Begin by looking over the large poster of feedback post-its.  See if you can organize the post-its into themes. Group post-its into similar categories to see if there were certain ideas that came up more than once. What themes turned up often? List categories here:

2. What did you learn from the panel presentation?

3. What part of your project feels strong?

4. What part of your project do you feel you need to change at this point?

5. How will you need to change your plan at this point? Do you need to change your timeline? Take a minute to address your plan to date, making changes that are now necessary.  Make sure to add changes to your overall work plan and google site.

6. What was the overall take away from your panel presentation?

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Celebr8 Panel Review Process

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Use Peer Review: Research and Empathy Interviews Worksheet to keep track of your conversation.

HW:
Paste suggestions and plan of action into Google Doc as assignment 10

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Post the answers to questions 5 and 6 from Panel Reflection into Google Doc.
5. How will you need to change your plan at this point? Do you need to change your timeline? Take a minute to address your plan to date, making changes that are now necessary.  Make sure to add changes to your overall work plan and google doc.
6. What was the overall take away from your panel presentation?

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Google Docs - create and edit documents online, for free.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Three paragraph writing response on your google doc:

1. What are you doing that's amazing with your project? Name the positives.
2. What can you be working on that you are not? List the things that need work.
3.  Where do you need help? List 3 people and/or resources that can  support you right now.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.