I Can Do It! | Cornell Garden-Based Learning

Overview

In this activity we aim to bring about a sense of where young people feel they have influence. We encourage lively discourse and in particular, the ability to influence and inspire one another. Rather than focus on “right and wrong” we want to focus on personal agency.

Skill Level

Intermediate/Advanced

Learner Outcomes, Youth will:

Distinguish differences in opinions and identify how to accept and learn from diverse voices.
Illustrate ways one can make a difference or feel they do not have any influence to do so.
Demonstrate/dramatize creativity and imagination in responses.
Share ideas and influence each other in positive ways.

Education Standards

5-8.6 Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal health, Benefits, Science in society
9-12.6 Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal and community health, Environmental quality, Natural and human-induced hazards, Science in local challenges

Success Indicators

Identify how to bridge differences and seek a common ground on issues we care most about.

Life Skills

Self-responsibility, character, self-discipline, relating to others

Time Needed

50 minutes

Materials List: Two Posters, one stating “I can do it!” and the other stating “I don’t think I have any influence”

Space

A room or outdoor space where you can hang 2 posters and room for group to move about.

Suggested Group Size

12-15 or more

Acknowledgements

Adapted by Cornell Garden-Based Youth Grow; Habits of the Heart, by Parker Palmer

Introduction

The food system and how it is affected by global warming might be viewed as a microcosm of our democracy! There are issues related to how food is grown, by whom, how far it goes to get to where it’s going, how much fuel that requires, how people are treated as farmworkers, who does not have enough to eat – and that can get overwhelming pretty quickly. And yet, as with many things in our lives, the more we learn and the more we genuinely engage with one another, the greater the sense of personal voice and agency, and the greater the capacity to create community – and make positive changes in our food system, environment, and our lives.

Opening Questions: Is this something you believe you can impact? If so, how? If not, what more do you need?

Background Information

Before the Activity

Prepare the two posters and review the background information on “Habits of the Heart” by Parker Palmer, and how you will relate this information to the group and the statements that go along with this exercise, using sustainable food systems as our goal. Place posters on the wall at opposite ends of a room or space.

Habits of the Heart, by Parker Palmer

An understanding that we are all in this together. Biologists, ecologists, economists, ethicists and leaders of the great wisdom traditions have all given voice to this theme. Despite our illusions of individualism and national superiority, we humans are a profoundly interconnected species—entwined with one another and with all forms of life, as the global economic and ecological crises reveal in vivid and frightening detail. We must embrace the simple fact that we are dependent upon and accountable to one another, and that includes the stranger, the “alien other.” At the same time, we must save the notion of interdependence from the idealistic excesses that make it an impossible dream. Exhorting people to hold a continual awareness of global, national, or even local interconnectedness is a counsel of perfection that is achievable (if at all) only by the rare saint, one that can only result in self-delusion or defeat. Which leads to a second key habit of the heart…

An appreciation of the value of “otherness.” It is true that we are all in this together. It is equally true that we spend most of our lives in “tribes” or lifestyle enclaves—and that thinking of the world in terms of “us” and “them” is one of the many limitations of the human mind. The good news is that “us and them” does not have to mean “us versus them.” Instead, it can remind us of the ancient tradition of hospitality to the stranger and give us a chance to translate it into twenty-first century terms. Hospitality rightly understood is premised on the notion that the stranger has much to teach us. It actively invites “otherness” into our lives to make them more expansive, including forms of otherness that seem utterly alien to us. Of course, we will not practice deep hospitality if we do not embrace the creative possibilities inherent in our differences. Which leads to a third key habit of the heart…

An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways. Our lives are filled with contradictions— from the gap between our aspirations and our behavior, to observations and insights we cannot abide because they run counter to our convictions. If we fail to hold them creatively, these contradictions will shut us down and take us out of the action. But when we allow their tensions to expand our hearts, they can open us to new understandings of ourselves and our world, enhancing our lives and allowing us to enhance the lives of others. We are imperfect and broken beings who inhabit an imperfect and broken world. The genius of the human heart lies in its capacity to use these tensions to generate insight, energy, and new life. Making the most of those gifts requires a fourth key habit of the heart…

A sense of personal voice and agency. Insight and energy give rise to new life as we speak out and act out our own version of truth, while checking and correcting it against the truths of others. But many of us lack confidence in our own voices and in our power to make a difference. We grow up in educational and religious institutions that treat us as members of an audience instead of actors in a drama, and as a result we become adults who treat politics as a spectator sport. And yet it remains possible for us, young and old alike, to find our voices, learn how to speak them, and know the satisfaction that comes from contributing to positive change—if we have the support of a community. Which leads to a fifth and final habit of the heart…

A capacity to create community. Without a community, it is nearly impossible to achieve voice: it takes a village to raise a Rosa Parks. Without a community, it is nearly impossible to exercise the “power of one” in a way that allows power to multiply: it took a village to translate Parks’ act of personal integrity into social change. In a mass society like ours, community rarely comes ready-made. But creating community in the places where we live and work does not mean abandoning other parts of our lives to become full-time organizers. The steady companionship of two or three kindred spirits can help us find the courage we need to speak and act as citizens. There are many ways to plant and cultivate the seeds of community in our personal and local lives. We must all become gardeners of community if we want democracy to flourish.

Let’s Do It!

Introduce the activity

Welcome everyone, introduce the activity and explain that we will be discussing way we can sustain our food system, and what we need to do promote sustainability. We will learn about Parker Palmer’s “Habits of the Heart” and reflect on our opinions, come together to better understand other’s points of view, and how we can work together to create positive change as a community.

Explain that a sustainable food system is a system that cares for the earth and produces food in a way that supports economic, environmental, social and nutritional well-being. It is a very important part in our actions against climate change. As young people, you play multiple and important roles in the cultivation of sustainable food systems: as consumers, as community leaders, and as agents of change.
Ask opening questions: Is this something you believe you can impact? If so, how? If not, what more do you need?

Share perspectives by Parker Palmer, from the book Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit. (2011, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA). According to Palmer, we must find ways to bridge our differences and we must seek patches of common ground on the issues we care most about. He emphasizes ‘habits of the heart’ which are necessary for public discourse. These are…

An understanding that we are all in this together.
An appreciation of the value of “otherness.”
An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
A sense of personal voice and agency.
A capacity to create community.

Begin the activity

Point out the two posters on the wall (or place) at opposite ends of your space.

Explain that you are going to read out a series of statements.
Point out the posters, one stating “I Can Do It!” and the other “I don’t think I have any influence.”
Explain that the group will be asked to stand along an imaginary line that runs between these two statements and that everyone should try to position themselves along that imaginary line based on their own sense of their personal agency.
Explain “The Power of Two Feet.” This means participants are encouraged to influence and encourage one another by offering their ideas and help move others along the spectrum from having no influence, to believing that they could have an impact.
Encourage specific examples. For example, with “I can live well while reducing my impact on the environment” – what are specific ways? Growing organically in a home garden or helping a grandparent by picking up something at the farmer’s market ‘count!’ Inspire creativity and imagination in responses.
Read out the statements one at a time. Do not rush! Allow for back and forth discussion and emphasize positive discourse.

Statements

“I can live well while reducing my impact on the environment.”
“I have the ability to feed people on the planet.”
“I have important influence through my food choices.”
“My choices impact people around the world.”
“I have influence in my own community.”
“I could play a small part in acting against climate change.”
“I could play a small part in influencing how people grow or obtain food.”
“I could play a large part in modeling what food system leadership looks like.”

Talk It Over

When you have gone through the statements, bring the group back together to debrief.

Reflect

Begin by reviewing the activity itself and then go on to discuss how people felt. Did some feel as if they had more personal agency than they thought? Were there any surprises?

Stimulate reflection and discussion. Ask those at the endpoints of the room to explain why they have chosen those places. Ask someone near the center to explain why they are neutral.

Apply

What do you need, if anything, for you to make an impact? Ask youth to come up with their own statements and then one at a time, say them out loud to encourage discourse and positive influence.

References

Parker Palmer, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit. (2011, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA).

Learn More

Visit Cornell Garden-Based Learning Youth Grow Links for a list of organizations that have programs that engage youth in creating sustainable food systems. If you live near one of these organizations, get in touch and find out how you can get involved!