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Practicing Tikkun Olam

Sing Loud for the Sunshine

While superintendent, I was introduced to Amir Yechieli, founder of Jerusalem-based Rain Harvest Water Systems through a former parent of students in the district and a person I would eventually form a strong friendship with, Rob Rubin. I learned firsthand from Amir Yechieli about the rainwater harvesting system he designed that is now in use in over 150 schools in Israel, several in Kenya, but only five in the United States.

 

As I learned about the process of rainwater harvesting and the potential, multidisciplinary opportunities such a program would afford my district’s students, I knew this was a program I wanted in at least one of my schools. I was also surprised that only five schools in the United States had embraced such a wonderful authentic community-based STEAM learning opportunity and wanted to make sure we could take part.

As a superintendent and former principal and coordinator for STEAM curricular development, I consistently designed and sought interdisciplinary curricular programs to provide all learners with multiple pathways for acquiring knowledge. While leading, I have also employed distributive leadership for delegating opportunities for the administrators I have led to empower them to lead and take charge of programmatic vision. I believe enabling others to lead is imperative and strengthens team dynamics and ownership of initiatives and responsibilities.

The Process of florescence 
I began my teaching career as a biology teacher in Chicago’s North Austin and Hanson Park neighborhoods. However, prior to teaching, and while still in college, I spent my summers traveling by backpack and seeing as much of the world as possible on what I called, a “broken” shoestring budget. I traveled Western Europe using the Eurail system, as well as hitchhiking along with many other young travelers. I stayed in hostels, dormitories, and was able to eventually cross into Asia via Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge. I was also fortunate to travel through Eastern Europe during a time following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and was able to experience life, firsthand, by renting a room for myself in homes in both Prague and Budapest with people that had never experienced capitalism. 

After graduating college, I began exploring the world further and was able to travel across parts of North Africa, the Middle East, and the Southern Pacific. In 1997, I was able to spend time visiting Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. While in Israel, I learned from a local guide about efforts to conserve water, deliver water, and the general scarcity of consumable water as a resource for a majority of the world. I would have never guessed that I would be working on such a system two decades in the future. 

Jerusalem, Israel

As a traveler, I immersed myself in the cultures I encountered and absorbed practical knowledge concerning customs, rituals, song, dance, cuisine, and everything in between. As a biologist and a new teacher, I reflected on my travels and incorporated as many of my own experiences for delivering relevant content in an interdisciplinary manner. My practical experiences facilitated lifelong learning for lifelong teaching and leading. Life’s lessons taught me to celebrate the likeness of people, rather than merely recognizing differences.   

Chris Rainwater Harvestig Quote 1

The Universal Solvent
Ten years later, I began designing interdisciplinary programs as an assistant principal in 2007 through an “Alpha-Science, English, Math, and Art” construct. I initially renamed the program I was leading “Alpha” for a program that had existed within the school years earlier but had been abandoned due to lack of administrative leadership and support (students were also dropping out of the program after just one year). I branded our new program “Alpha tEAMS,” for “Tech” English, Art, Math, and Science with interdisciplinary course planning.

Alpha STEM

This interdisciplinary design was prior to STEM becoming a widely embraced philosophy within the school district. We were a school of almost 4,500 students and our new interdisciplinary Alpha offering would essentially create pods of 28 students each for a small school within the school teaching and learning opportunity. We were also able to expand the size of our science department over the course of several years through the collaborative efforts of an incredibly tented, newly hired department chair, Kevin Kopek. As the number of our diverse science elective offerings increased, we renamed the program Alpha-STEM.

In 2009 and 2010, my science department chair, Kevin Kopack, and I also started looking into Aquaponics as a possible course offering in an effort to incorporate economics, art, math, engineering, and special education into an expansive STEAM, interdisciplinary program. I was also interested in incorporating science, music, and special education for Sound Engineering (and Music Therapy), computer science programming, engineering, math, physics, and special education for Robotics (and Adaptive Robotics), and creating a computer science course for a fully functional Makerspace.

LT Aquaponics

These plans had to remain on hold, however, as space was required in the building for these four programs and I was not yet principal or able to make facility infrastructure decisions. Our staff was hungry for such innovative, creative programs but getting these ideas approved as merely funded clubs was not an option, as the principal I was working under stated at the time there would be no such investment in technology “because technology changes.”

Just two years later, after becoming principal myself, this would all begin to change. For the time being, we framed curricular plans and spaces for such revitalization of 21st century learning (although we were already 10 years into the 21st century!) for a tech school with essentially little tech to offer.

Aquaponics Lab

When Springtime Turns to Summer
As Alpha-STEM matured and I was named principal in 2012, we began planning in the late winter and early spring 2012 for a full-fledged Aquaponics facility/program and next-door multipurpose STEM Labs. There were eleven enormous, empty classrooms in the building that used to house shop classes that were either now filled to the brim with garbage or being used as one person’s office (most shop classes were phased out beginning in 2000).

Kevin and I also began collaborating with parents, alumni, students, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and 312-Aquaponics in designing curriculum and space in the building. Lastly, later that summer, I was able to hire a new assistant principal over computer science, art, and technology and together we completed implementing the Aquaponics program and began offering the course during the 2012-2013 school year.

Aquaponics Animation

That summer I was also able to hire a number of other new administrators and assistant principals to take on the academic (teaching and learning) directorial responsibilities I once held as an assistant principal. I specifically hired the other assistant principals for overseeing content areas, such as science, which had grown to 44 teachers.

I employed distributive leadership for nurturing our growing AP program and other core and elective content areas and provided mentorship for my new team. I was leading a school of 4,500 students and had six assistant principal positions with five positions to fill. I hired one assistant principal with a very strong background in special education to lead the special education department. We had approximately 375 special education students and historically, special education had been treated like a separate entity from the rest of the school. I had other assistant principals overseeing English, world languages, history, physical education, and counseling.

Chris Rainwater Quote 2

Pray Hard for the Rain
A year later I was able to hire my final assistant principal to oversee mathematics. This worked out nicely because we were able to triangulate responsibilities among three of the assistant principals for supervising and leading STEAM. With one AP overseeing math, another overseeing computer science, art, and tech, and the third overseeing science, we were able to coordinate our strategic plan for creating an innovative 21st century STEAM program.

Redesigning and redeploying responsibilities for each team member and creating a strategic plan for collaborating with one another enabled us to create a shared vision for a school wide, inclusive STEAM program that included all departments beyond the acronym “STEAM.” Our goal was to include the humanities, world languages, library, special education, physical education, etc. with STEAM under the umbrella of innovative academic curricular offerings.

Show your Love for Lady Nature
Years later, Amir Yechieli’s Rainwater Harvesting Systems served as a “vehicle” for expanding interdisciplinary teaching and learning beyond the acronym of STEAM. I created a platform called STEAM Engine for expanding learning “Beyond the Acronym” to involve all content areas for interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Amir Yechieli’s Rainwater Harvesting program enabled us to incorporate economics, humanities, mathematics, engineering, science, etc. far beyond the acronym of STEAM. Students in our new Mindful Movement course also got involved and created a Danceumentary to celebrate the new program, thus contributing to an expansive vision for multidisciplinary, innovative teaching and learning.

I was fortunate to be able to have Israeli Consul General to the Midwest Aviv Ezra attend our opening ceremony for rainwater harvesting at DHS as testament to this wonderful program. Conserving water is a vital need in many parts of the world and educating students through hands-on, interdisciplinary learning opportunities is as critical to conserving learning itself.

Israeli Consul General Aviv Ezra stated rainwater harvesting is, “Tikkun Olam,” which is a Hebrew phrase for fixing the world. Employing educational leadership, embracing shared leadership, and initiating interdisciplinary, innovative programs such as Aquaponics, Makerspace, and Rainwater Harvesting is practicing Tikkun Olam.

Chris

Referenced links and documents:
Deerfield High School Gets Rainwater Harvesting System, Chicago Tribune

DHS Water Project Installs Rainwater Harvesting System, Deerfield, Illinois Patch

Down by the Seaside by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant

I Cry 4U by Chris Dignam

Peacebuilding across Israeli/Palestinian Borders through Environmental Education, Malcolm Siegel

Rainwater Harvesting, Practical Action: Technology Challenging Poverty 

Rainwater Harvesting, Project Wet Foundation and UN Habitat

Rainwater Harvesting in San Francisco Schools, UC Berkley Hydrology 

Rainwater Harvesting: More Than Just a Drop in the Bucket, Sarah Lawson

Rainwater Harvesting Potential in Educational Institution, Tarikul Islam, Yasir Arif, and Sheikh Nomaan

Saving Rainwater Turns Schools Into Conservation Models, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Water Conservation Dance Video

CANE Dubh Publishing

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