Encourage Students to Share Their Wisdom With the Next President

Soon we'll have a new President of the United States. Of course, almost everyone has his/her preferred candidate, but regardless of who wins, if our country (and the world) is going to become a healthy, sustainable, peaceful one, there are going to have to be some major positive changes.

In the last couple weeks, notables in their fields have been giving advice and sharing expectations for the next president. Michael Pollan published his famous “Farmer in Chief” letter in the New York Times about the importance of redesigning our food policy. And now, the folks at Worldchanging have gathered the words of wisdom from “the smartest, most interesting people” they know to answer the following question:

In 100 words or less, what should the next president do in his first 100 days to address the planet’s most pressing problems?

There are responses from 48 leaders in their fields.

Many students in classrooms around the country have been following, and even participating in, this year's election. Encourage them to share their own insights, needs and wisdom with the next President by creating their own 100-word response to the Worldchanging question and sharing it with the next President.

For older students (grades 6 and up) you can delve into such issues more deeply with activities like our Executive Commission activity, in which students divide into two groups, research the pros and cons of different viewpoints on an important issue, and then express their views to elected officials.

When such major changes are occurring around them, students can sometimes feel overwhelmed and powerless. We have several humane education activities that can help students realize and tap into their own power to change the world. Give them a try.

~ Marsha