A LETTER

My good friend RBG who used to live in Plainfield emailed me this letter from her grandson to the principle of his high school. With permission I share it with you because it not only shows a degree of maturity that we do not give credit to our youngsters, but illustrates an alternative great learning experience and exposure to a real world.

I don't think that I would recommend such independence as this young man had for most in his peer group but I am sure that many could handle a controlled experience perhaps in a group setting. This is similar to the Grand European Tour that became obligatory to the aristocracy of England and the States in the late 19th Century. The accumulation of knowledge is not limited to books and didactic teaching.

Dear Mr. Griffith,

As you might know, I have been taking a gap year abroad before enrolling at Georgetown next year. I want to let you know that taking a gap year has been the best decision of my life, and I think that the guidance department should do more to promote it. Universities are obviously great places to learn, but they are devoted almost entirely to academic education. There is so much more to learn than can be learned in a classroom! I blame the competitive system that makes higher education a race to accumulate degrees, the same system that encourages high school students to stuff résumés in preparation for university applications. In other countries, such as Germany, nine months of civil service is required, and they have one of the most highly recognized education systems in the world. As far as I’m aware, there were only four 2009 graduates who elected to take gap years, while more than 300 students went straight to university. As friends, family, and advisors questioned my initial decision to take a gap year, it took a lot of determination and courage to follow through with it. I don’t think gap years should be presented as a risky decision. While there are risky ways to take a gap year (I have chosen to take some risks myself) there are many incredible opportunities that provide more experiential learning than any year of university could. Here are a few more reasons why gap years are attractive:

• Most gap years are significantly less expensive than a year of university
• Many universities will recognize credits obtained throughout a gap year (Georgetown doesn’t)
• Depending on what students choose to do, they will gain real-life experiences that will help them mature
• A gap year gives students another year to apply to universities, often with the advantage of compelling, mature, and unusual experiences
• A gap year gives students a much-needed break from traditional classroom learning
• Gap year students have the opportunity to give back to the local or global communities by volunteering
• Having a full year without academic obligations allows students to travel and experience parts of the world they have never experienced before
• There is no better time to take a break from the traditional American education system than after high school (most students have too much debt to take time off after graduating university)

I have kept in touch with many of my classmates, and I don’t mean to be condescending, but the majority of their experiences at university are simply inferior to the experiences I have had. I ask them what’s new, and they tell me they went to a crazy party last night but have to write an essay hung-over the today. They ask me what’s new, and I tell them that I’m teaching English to Palestinian refugees in a city that is under military curfew.

On that note, here is a brief summary of my activities since I left home:

Most of my classmates left for university orientation at the end of August or beginning of September, so I continued my summer activity—interning for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. I flew to Israel in mid-September to participate in the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) on Kibbutz Ketura in the Negev Desert. Although the program is entirely in English, a 3 week Ulpan (intensive Hebrew and Israeli culture class) was offered beforehand to the American students. My Hebrew is pretty good and the Ulpan was very beginner, so I had to study on my own, which was difficult. After the Ulpan, the other students arrived, which is the most unique aspect of the AIES. Students from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and the US come together to study the environment and learn about each other. The slogan of AIES is "the environment knows no borders." The purpose is to cooperate on solving environmental problems that affect everyone without regard to nationality, religion, or language. Part of the program was studying, but it was largely focused on peace-building and dialogue. I took five classes: Society and the Environment, Alternative Energy Policy and Management, Archaeology of the Arava and Southern Negev, and Sustainable Agriculture. In addition, there was a PELS course (Peace-building and Environmental Leadership) and many informal opportunities for dialogue throughout the semester. Beyond what I learned at AIES, I also learned what life is like on a kibbutz (an Israeli commune), how to travel in Israel, and much more. When I had time off, I was also able to travel all around Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.

When I left AIES at the beginning of February, I took a two-week vacation with my father in Italy. When I returned to Israel, I moved into an apartment in Nablus (the West Bank, Palestine) in order to volunteer at Project HOPE (Humanitarian Opportunities for Peace and Education). Project Hope mainly offers English classes for underprivileged Palestinians in refugee camps surrounding Nablus. In order to prepare, I took an online TEFL course. Teaching was incredible. I taught all ages and levels. Sometimes it was difficult because students didn't have discipline or they just wouldn't show up, but for the most part, everyone was so welcoming and kind. I also taught music and helped coach a youth basketball team. The situation overall in Nablus was pretty intense. Nablus is known as the center of Palestinian resistance, so emotions are pretty high. I was there a few weeks ago when four teenagers were killed by the Israeli army within one day, and there was a lot of anger throughout the city. I also attended protests in Hebron and Bil'in, which were met by violence from the Israeli army. Even on ordinary days, there are Israeli fighter jets flying overhead, checkpoints to pass, closures, blackouts, and water shortages. Despite the hardships and dangers (especially of being a Jew in Palestine), I was determined to live in the West Bank for a significant time because there is only one way to truly understand a perspective and that is to live it. I understand both the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives much more thoroughly now than I did before.

I finished volunteering at the end of March and flew to Paris on my birthday (April 1) to celebrate with my mother and sister, who were already on vacation in Europe. They flew home to the US a few days later, and I am spending the next two months on a Eurotrip. I have a Eurail pass and will couchsurf or camp out everywhere I need accommodation. Since Paris, I have been to Amsterdam, Heidelberg, Berlin, Prague, and Krakow. After my Eurotrip, I'll be in Egypt and Israel for a couple weeks at the end of May and beginning of June before finally flying home.

That brings me to the next subject, and believe it or not, the main purpose of this email is yet to come! Here it is: I want to plant a garden on the roof of the Shaker Heights High School. Sounds revolutionary, doesn’t it? Well, one of the things I learned at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is the difference a garden can make, and I want to bring that difference back to my community. In cities, roof gardens are gaining popularity because they make efficient use of otherwise unexploited space. Cuyahoga County wrote a “Greenspace Plan” which states its ultimate goal as “a balanced pattern of development which accommodates both urbanization and land conservation.” Well, what a better way to make use of unused space than a garden? And the City of Shaker Heights says: “Shaker Heights is a regional leader in the growing Green Building/Sustainable Community practices movement. It is one of the only communities in the midwest to have adopted legislation supporting green building.” CSU recently established a 7,000 square foot garden (read and watch video: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/two_women_bring_250000_rooftop.html, but on a smaller scale). I believe that a roof garden would provide an incredible functional and educational resource to SHHS. Functionally, healthy and organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs could be grown for the cafeteria, even if only in small quantities. A gray water system could be installed to recycle used water to irrigate the garden (gray water is used water, except for sewage water, aka black water), or a simpler solution would be to use rain collectors. Organic waste from the cafeteria could be composted for fresh and nutritious soil. In addition, roof gardens act as insulators and can cut heating and cooling costs by 26% and can extend the life of a roof by as many as 4 times! Educationally, what better resource to the environmental science classes than a garden? It’s even possible to create a new class or club about sustainable organic gardening that manages the garden. And the effect it would have on students’ awareness of the origins of their food would be enormous.

I know this is slightly idealistic. Ok maybe it’s very idealistic. I understand that there is a ton of bureaucracy to go through, and that parts of the roof of the high school have structural issues. That’s why I wanted to propose this idea to you first. How can I make this work? I have done a lot of research about roof gardening, but I have no idea on which section of the roof the garden could be placed, or what approval is needed to make this work. If you can set me on the right track, I’m willing to campaign for the garden, make presentations to the School Board, City Council, PTO, or whatever else the project needs. In fact, I already have a presentation nearly prepared and am in contact with a well-known green architect in Cleveland.

I would love for the project to be fulfilled in its entirety, but I acknowledge that it is more likely to get approved if it’s taken step by step. The first step is to establish the garden infrastructure and the garden itself. Basically, that means that I need some space on the roof and access to the garden. To get that approved, I assume I need a more exact feasibility plan, which means I need to know where the roof is strong enough to support a garden and how much space is available. I am relatively certain I can get startup funding from outside organizations, and I think I have some people who are willing to help me plant. It would be amazing if a basic garden could be in place before the end of the summer. Eventually, it could expand and the other aspects of the project could take effect too.

Obviously, I’m not in Shaker right now, so it will be difficult to achieve too much long distance. However, I want to get this project going as soon as possible. I’m trying to get the wheels moving now so that I can make more progress when I return to the US. I would also love to help develop a stronger gap year initiative with the guidance department. I hope all is well in Shaker, and I miss it very much.

Sincerely,