How Do We Make Decisions as a Community?

In this project, students studied government and, more broadly, how decisions are made and how power operates in both human systems and ecological systems. They were motivated by a desire to improve the HIS Town Hall and bring forward new ideas that would better serve the community. By exploring different types of government, the ways laws are created, and how organizations make decisions, students developed proposals for improving Town Hall so that the community could not only pass better initiatives but also engage more fully in the decision-making process. Along the way, they worked on strengthening their paragraph writing skills and learned how to craft more engaging presentations.

On the science side of the project, students examined ecology and biology through the lens of understanding “the government in the environment.” Through frequent forest visits and riverside explorations, they learned about the ecological niches of various organisms and considered how these natural roles could parallel their own roles within the school community.