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Choices & Consequences
A dialog on issues and challenges we face in our
communities
and as a nation
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| Urban Growth &
Land Use |
Water & the Environment | Living with Wildlife |
Farming & Ranching |
This project allows for dialog between students, scientists, experts, producers and professionals working to solve real life dilemmas. Through these exercises students see how difficult choices are made and gain a better understanding of complex issues.
Lack of understanding of complex issues and lack of communication between urban and rural residents produces poor solutions to problems. Better communication based on factual information and understanding of the consequences of action will result in better solutions for managing resources.
As our society becomes increasingly busy, people who would like to work with students find it difficult to have the time to come to the classroom and talk with the students. But with the aid of the Internet we bring your students into contact with working professionals.
The Audience:
The audience for the pilot project is middle school students (grades 6-9) from a limited number of schools from across Colorado. The audience will be students, their teachers and families throughout the state of Colorado and the general public. The final phase will be to provide Choices and Consequences to schools across the country.
During the pilot period access to the Choices and Consequences site will be limited to participating schools. The web site is a structured question and answer format with dilemmas and questions exchanged periodically. The students will have an opportunity to pose a solution to the dilemma. The producers, extension agents, agency professionals and others selected to participate in this project will have an opportunity to discuss the consequences of the choices made by students and to answer questions. A list of questions/dilemmas is determined ahead of time by the advisory team or advisory teams.
Several different advisory teams are currently needed to be developed various dilemmas so that we continue to have the expertise to develop dilemmas on critical issues.
Project Description:
This pilot project will develop a series of real life dilemmas facing agriculture, wildlife, water and the food system. Students will be asked to solve the dilemmas. A network of agricultural producers, urban managers, wildlife biologists, water specialists, extension agents and other scientists and experts will dialog with students, answering their questions about issues and the consequences of their choices.
Choices and Consequences exercises will be divided into three or four areas for this project: agriculture, food system, wildlife and water. This is a three year project. The first year will be spent developing the dilemmas, with one to two schools working on dilemmas, second year 10-25 schools from across the state will fine tune dilemmas. Third year, selected dilemmas will be open to any Colorado classroom. The program could then be expanded to be used nation wide.
This pilot program was developed based upon national and Colorado's model content standards for science, social studies and geography.
Additional information is available by contacting:
Bette Blinde
bblinde@growingyourfuture.com
Executive Director
Colorado Foundation for Agriculture
Cooperating Advisors and Partners:
- Colorado Farm Bureau
- Colorado Department of Agriculture
- Colorado Division of Wildlife
- Colorado Department of Education
- University of Northern Colorado
- Poudre School District
- Colorado Wildlife Federation
- Colorado State University
- Colorado Foundation for Agriculture Colorado
- Wool Growers
- Colorado Cattlemen's Association
- USDA Wildlife Services