Turning Green - with Optimism

There is no dearth of reasons for having a negative outlook these days, with a crisis around every corner. But there is one reason for this writer to have an optimistic outlook going forward.

I teach at a private liberal arts college, and once the spring term gets over I don't hear from students until classes start at the end of August. This summer I have had quite a few students email me and update me on their summer activities. I had taught a first year seminar course last Fall titled 'Local Choices, Global Effects' that dealt with sustainability before the word 'Green' entered the vocabulary of the media. Students who took that course have been regularly emailing me about products or services they have encountered that are 'green' or that promote sustainability. Others have emailed me to let me know about some economic developments and how they found relevance in what they learnt in my courses. Some have updated me on the wonderful stuff they have been learning in their internships and how that relates to their 'academic' knowledge of the world.

This is the first time in my teaching career that I am seeing this level of engagement, from freshmen to juniors and seniors. Clearly, with thinking and engagement, progress lies ahead.
Makes me 'green' in many ways- I wish I was a lot younger so that I could do new product development with these kids!