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Ethics is designed to be an introduction to the basic questions and issues of ethical philosophy and relies heavily on discussions in small group settings. Among the topics considered were Utilitarianism, Contractarianism, and altruistic behavior.

The Poquonook Solutions Project is the capstone effort of the broader, year-long ninth grade focus on the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Named after the School’s most significant geographic feature, the mountain, the project is one that engages the students in purposeful, project based learning. During the last month and a half of their time at IMS, small teams of 9th graders use the framework of the SDGs to identify a real world issue, and then work to develop a real world solution to that issue. Employing research, design, and presentation skills, the team members collaborate as they work toward the Poquonook Solutions Symposium, during which they present their efforts to a panel of outside sustainability experts, who assess the solutions’ viability and relevance with an eye toward implementation.

Global Citizenship is a ninth grade course designed to touch on the overall concept of global citizenship and related ideas. During the term the topics explored include the definition of citizenship, what happens to the concept of citizenship when the word “global” is added, and what are human rights and where do they come from. The class also presents some basics about the functioning of the United Nations. In addition to discussions in the classroom, the students followed an online curriculum designed by the Asia-Pacific Centre and UNESCO for the Ban ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. Class trips have included a visit to the headquarters of both the UN and of UNICEF.

Introduction to the SDGs class is centered on providing a basic understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These seventeen objectives, unanimously adopted by the UN member states in 2015, are designed to address social justice issues such as the reduction of poverty and equity, to environmental concerns, such as climate change and the protection of species and biomes. As course content, we make use of video lessons from a course offered by Columbia University’s Earth Institute in conjunction with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), as well as teacher generated lessons. In addition, the students gain some insight into the importance of data science by exploring the Gapminder website and associated tools. Given that the SDGs are informing the curriculum in a number of the other ninth grade courses and in anticipation of the Poquonook Solutions Project in the spring, the hope is that this class provides useful background information, allowed students to practice certain skills they will use during the project, and helped students see the connections between their academic work and issues in the world beyond Indian Mountain.