Connections, Addictions and Solutions! By Sami McLaughlin

“You want connections, I can make connections: they call me The Connector,” says Zargar. Over the past week, I closely observed class and found that what we are learning in each subject really connects, even though it may be taught in different ways. 

One of the main ideas that we tackled over the past week in MSEL was overpopulation. In World Geography, we learned that if the growth rate continues to progress, then not only will areas become more crowded, but we will accumulate more waste, and start to run out of non renewable resources such as fossil fuels. This then lead to a debate regarding China’s one-child policy, an attempt to reduce the population by creating a law only allowing one child per family. This may only be in China for now, but if it becomes an issue in the future, do we want the government getting that deep into our personal lives? While this law will help decrease the population growth, it also brings up issues: families want boys who can carry on the family name, or a child that will become a doctor or a lawyer, not a factory worker. But fewer people making our stuff, means the price of things go up. What if we had a decreased number of just skilled workers, only making essential items? This idea is very unlikely, because we seem to be addicted to consuming and buying more and more stuff. John made the analogy, “When you feed wild animals people food, they’ll always want more.” It seems that the more we buy, the more we want, but what do we actually need?

This leads us to the main focus in English: our addictions. What’s in your box? Do we really need everything we have? In a section of Andrew Weil’s article, Why We Are All Addicted, he says, “Addiction is a part of our core being. It’s a part of who we are. Given that, what can we do about addictive behavior?” There was an idea that caught my attention from the TED video about editing our lives, in Seminar as well. The presenter was talking about how by owning less stuff you are being environmentally conscious, saving more money, and are all around, a much happier person. Yet, we still chose to consume! It is true, there is no point in trying to deny that we are obsessed with certain actions. In Ms. Leonhart’s class, we have been trying to decipher what addiction means, and how we can replace those obsessions with something else. 

As a group, we came up with some alternatives to addictions. Some short term solutions are to simply take a break, slow down, and really think about your options before making a decision. Also, a good strategy is to replace that craving with something healthier, more eco-friendly, or even try to cut it off at the roots. To gather insight on our own consumptions, we collected our trash for 24 hours, to see how much waste we produce each day. Then, we came up with solutions to each item we collected. For example, I buy a soup that comes dried, in a plastic bag. The next step could be to buy a soup that comes in a can, or even make my own with organic vegetables, which is in fact much healthier. Then, we are planning to tie all our thoughts together on our addictions to consuming in an essay over the next week, and submit the final draft in by email, a great way to save over 100 pieces of paper. 

Speaking of saving paper, in Seminar, we are working on graphing where the garbage cans are around the school. Therefore, we can see how much waste we would reduce with a recycling system. It may be a long process, but in the end, it will help save money, resources and of course the environment. We also got a sneak peek on our next unit, Water, both in Seminar and Biology. Because of the CO2 from cars, and SO2 from coal plants, acid is being created in the air causing the H+ ions get in the water, making PH levels go down, which eventually leads to ocean acidification, no longer allowing organisms to survive. That isn’t only bad for the oceans, but for the economy and our needs as well.

In between all the work we accomplished throughout the past week, we also had time for fun. For example, we got to hear about Ms. Leonhart’s coffee addiction (*slurp*), and of course Mr. Madsen’s daily classic, jazz song on his record player. A fun experience was when we found a device that shoots air in the back of the biology classroom, and Mael, Dylan, Ethan and others went around blasting air at everyone. Also, something that will definitely not be forgotten: when Zargar was convinced that he was the Persian Airbender. To impress us, he even set hand sanitizer on fire, turning the flames blue! It is amazing how after only a couple of months, our class works together like we have been a group for a years. Last week was an exhilarating journey in Marin SEL, and I am looking forward to another week full of more learning, as well as fun memories shared within our class.