Michael Duffin and Casey

Last week was a new week in the Casey Design Club, with I believe six students this time, including one new student and several returning from previous times. We were glad to work with a larger number of students finally, and we all found the week to be a success, as opposed to the previous weeks. Thursday night, following the club meeting, I attended Michael Duffin’s lecture about place-based education. This speech happened to pertain very much to our class and its current activities, making it a relevant talk to attend. One of the major overriding themes that I felt permeated throughout his speech was one of social mobilization beginning with a small group of students, spreading outward and upward like wildfire. In his speech, Duffin explained about how numerous example groups that he was involved in started as a small group of young students learning some concepts, who then would spread the ideas out to other students at different levels, eventually branching out of the school completely. Likewise, Casey’s Design Club can be just like this, because the students in the club can learn all about sustainability in a fun way, while ingraining the knowledge in them. Through good habits and word of mouth, the students can help teach their family and friends, who can in turn spread the word further outward. Michael Duffin clearly believes in grassroots education, and with either place-based design or sustainability, a small group of students can educate the people around them.

~Austin~