COURSE TITLE:
NO. OF CREDITS:
3 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 2.00 credits]
| WA CLOCK HRS: OREGON PDUs: PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48: |
30 30 30 |
INSTRUCTOR:
Mike Seymour
mike@hol.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Humanity is on a consumption binge. It’s not going well and it’s not sustainable. We Americans are leading this binge followed closely by China and India, two countries that constitute almost 1/3 of the world population. We all need to slow down, take a breath, and ask ourselves what’s really important.
At our current rate we will see continued environmental and societal decline. The poorest in the world are paying the price for our over-consumption. Poor nations are burdened by parched earth in which nothing can be planted, others by rivers that are overflowing and destroying villages. In developed countries the rates of anxiety and depression in children and adults continue to rise creating huge stress on national health systems.
In this course, teachers will learn strategies and access resources that help them convey to students at all levels K-12 what it means to be a conscientious and healthy member of the global community. We need to look at what it means to be a citizen of the world, by taking responsibility for the impact of our actions on people near and far as we develop healthy lifestyles, and healthy social networks.
This course is appropriate for teachers K through 12. Our text, The Minimalist Way, is available on Amazon in paperback for about $15, also available in Kindle, CD and audiobook.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:
1. Understood what a minimal lifestyle is and why it’s important.
2. Examined one's own lifestyle, habits, and attitudes, as well as his/her family’s, to decide on what needs to change to become more sustainable.
3. Become conversant with all the implications of over-consumption.
4. Designed, implemented and received reports back from students assigned to examine their lifestyle and that of their families as it pertains to consumption.
5. Produced a written, video, or other form of report on what they discovered from their investigation.
6. Developed a hypothetical case study of a typical family’s over-consumption, and created a written, video, or other form of report on what they see as the probable effects of the over-consumption on both family members and on the environment.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit.
The use of artificial intelligence is not permitted. Assignment responses found to be generated by AI will not be accepted.
HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participants their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.
UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.
CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.
AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering, determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.
ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION
REQUIRED TEXT
None. All reading is online.
MATERIALS FEE
None.
ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR HOURS OR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
A. INFORMATION ACQUISITION
Assignments done in a course forum will show responses from all educators who have or are taking the course independently. Feel free to read and respond to others' comments.
Group participants can only view and respond to their group members in the Forum.
Assignment #1: Introduce Yourself
Introduce yourself, where and what you teach. Read the Introduction to The Minimalist Way, and in several paragraphs, explain why you are interested in this course.
Assignment #2:
1. Find a time and place to be quiet each day where you can sit without distraction. The simplest way to reduce mental chatter is through simple contemplation.
2. Observe the breath in and out. Don’t change how you are breathing; just breathe. Try this for one minute. Gradually extend the amount of time to 20 minutes.
3. Your thoughts will arise like clouds. You don’t have to go with them. Simply let them pass.
4. Do this for several days.
In 500 words, describe the challenges and successes you experienced.
Assignment #3:
Read Chapter 2. In American Society, we are burdened by expectations. The litany of expectations on us is a foundation for illness, mental distress, anxiety, or depression. As you discover your expectations, write each down. Then try these following exercises.
1. Create a fire somewhere and ceremoniously burn each expectation in the fire. Saying, “You no longer are a part of me.”
2. Stand up, take a deep breath, raise your arms above your head and then, for each negative thought, blow your breath out, swoop your arms down and say, “Be gone.” (Both of these techniques can bring great success.)
3. In 500 words or less, describe how these exercises may or may not have helped you.
Assignment #4:
Read Chapter 3. It’s important to align your life with your values.
1. Take a moment to relax, and using pen and paper, make a list of what you consider to be your most important values.
2. Then using a scale of one to 10, one meaning “not at all,” and 10 meaning “a lot,"
score each value and desire.
3. Take an average of all of those. What is the average?
4. Share your average and whether or not you are happy with it.
5. In several paragraphs, share your thoughts about what you learned in this exercise.
Assignment #5:
Do you live from the outside-in or the inside-out? What do I mean by that? Outside in means that all the stuff that goes on in the world is what occupies your time and attention, and they place demands upon you. Living from the inside out, on the other hand, means that you are listening to your inner self and its needs.
1. Identify something that you feel may be a drain on your life.
2. Reflect on it and decide if you want to change that in some way and what that would look like.
3. Demonstrate what it would be like to live from the inside out, in either a 250 word paper, or drawing a picture or some other art form of self-expression.
Assignment #6:
Read Chapter 4 The best way to have less clutter in your surroundings is to find a way to organize your stuff. That could be plastic bins or other kinds of containers. It may also involve just getting rid of stuff. If the stuff you get rid of is serviceable, take it to a local Goodwill store. Or you might be able to sell some of your things to friends and neighbors.
1. Once you assemble all the stuff to be rid of, put it in a pile and take a picture of it.
2. In several paragraphs, explain what the stuff is and how you feel now that you unburdened yourself a little bit.
Assignment #7:
Read Chapter 5. The author lists seven strategies to create a simpler, more minimalist lifestyle.
1. Discuss at least three that you have or are prepared to adopt.
2. In 500 words, tell when and how you plan to do so.
Assignment #8:
Read Chapter 6, which addresses the values and motivations that we live by.
1. In a 250 word paper, a Venn diagram, or a collage of photographs that you have taken display or discuss your values that express what is most important to you.
Assignment #9:
Read Chapter 7 and explain what goals you have or are willing to set for the future to motivate you to have a more simple and uncluttered life.
1. Discuss your goals in 250 words or more.
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
B. LEARNING APPLICATION
In this section, you will apply your learning to your professional situation. This course assumes that most participants are classroom teachers who have access to students. If you do not have a classroom available to you, please contact the instructor for course modifications. Assignments done in a course forum will show responses from all educators who have or are taking the course independently. Feel free to read and respond to others' comments. Group participants can only view and respond to their group members in the Forum.
Assignment #10: Lesson Plans
View the two videos below which address the issue of having too much stuff:
1. View https://youtu.be/9GorqroigqM?si=zG9X0C9f3M5xXzTp by Annie Leonard
2. Ted Talk https://youtu.be/L8YJtvHGeUU?si=zG8bv-jGmbfBr68x by Graham Hill
3. Using these and any other resources and materials that you’ve learned about in this course, develop five original lessons which reflect the ideas and activities of this course. Share with your instructor
4. If you can, implement at least one of the lessons and describe how it was received by your students, OR ask a colleague for a peer review and about what you learned from the review. Share both with your instructor.
Assignment #11: (500 Level ONLY)
Complete both of the following:
A)
1. Create a PowerPoint presentation which you can present to a group of teachers in your school or district, friends and neighbors, or a social group of some kind.
2. After your presentation, solicit some reactions and, in 250 words, relate how your presentation went and was received.
AND
B)
1. Research books, YouTube videos, community speakers, and other material, that would assist in making a presentation about “Having the Life You Want.”
2. Create an annotated bibliography and a copy of your presentation in whatever form you choose.
C. INTEGRATION PAPER
Assignment #12: (Required for 400 and 500 level)
SELF REFLECTION & INTEGRATION PAPER
(Please do not write this paper until you've completed all of your other assignments)
Write a 400-500 word Integration Paper answering these 5 questions:
INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS ON YOUR WORK:
Instructors will comment on each assignment. If you do not hear from the instructor within a few days of posting your assignment, please get in touch with them immediately.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:
Mike Seymour, M.S., has been associated with K-12 education since 1990, most recently in his role as President and Co-Director of The Heritage Institute. Mike is also the founder and Director of a non-profit sponsored by The Heritage Institute, Youth for a New World, which engages youth in global issues and local solutions. Earlier Mike was a consultant and trainer to schools, school districts and Educational Service Districts on such diverse subjects as leadership, visioning and planning and at-risk students. Mike has been board member, Chairman of the Board and volunteer Executive Director of Community for Youth, a highly innovative and successful mentoring program for disadvantaged students in three of Seattle’s most low-performing high schools. Mike authored a text—Educating for Humanity: Rethinking the Purposes of Education—calling on a new vision for education, showing how important the stakes are today for an integral education realizing the interconnectedness of the world. Mike’s Awakening Self blog speaks about the important historic shift humanity is going through in our times, and how awakening into a new consciousness is a global phenomenon. Mike also authored a book about his work in Burundi, East Central Africa with a peacemaker, Priosper Ndabishuriye,
As part of Mike’s dedication to environmental causes he attended in 2013 the Climate Reality training given by Al Gore and his organization, and subsequently created an online course titlede CLIMATE CHANGE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, instructed by Charity Staudenraus.
Mike has a special interest in open, democratic forms of education that allow students to engage in real world issues. Mike has a B.S. in Comparative Literature from Columbia University and a M.S. in Marriage & Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific University.
Mike has created or contributed to the development of many Heritage Institute courses, the latest of which is a course instructed by Brenda McKinney on Mindfulness. Mike has over 40 years of experience in Buddhist and Christian meditation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HAVING THE LIFE YOU WANT
Grant, Carl III, 2023. How To Live The Abundant Life; Leaders Press.
Headlee, Celeste, 2020. Do Nothing, How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving; Harmony Books.
Lange, Erica, 2019. The Minimalist Way, Callisto Publishing.
Leonard, Annie, The Story of Stuff.
On YouTube: https://youtu.be/WinDaa-0Yd4?si=Tn2P3mckGFpCa2Gm
Malick, Justin, 2011. Minimalism, Live a Meaningful Life; Asymmetrical Press.
Newport, Cal, 2019. Digital Minimalism; Portfolio Publishing