Thinking Like a Mountain

Several years ago, I used Aldo Leopold’s essay “Thinking Like a Mountain” to broaden my students’ perspective-taking skills in matters relating to the natural environment. In this essay, Leopold explains how he and others with him shot and killed a wolf on a mountain just for the excitement of doing so. As he watched the wolf die, Leopold suddenly realized that “there was something in those [the wolf’s] eyes known only to the wolf and the mountain.” Leopold explains how, without wolves, deer proliferate and eat the vegetation that grows on the side of the mountain. Once this vegetation is gone, other plants and animals disappear as well. Without the vegetation to provide stability on the slopes, even the mountain itself becomes at risk for destructive landslides. The entire ecosystem of a mountain changes when wolves are no longer present. The mountain, Leopold suggests, lives in mortal fear of deer and depends on wolves to keep the population of deer in check. 

I paired the discussion of this essay with a “Council of All Beings” group activity. This exercise calls for participants to “step aside from their human identity” and take the perspective of another life-form such as a wolf. (Students could also take on the perspective of a mountain, river, forest and so on.) This exercise was originally created by John Seed and Joanna Macy to help people feel deep empathy for the myriad species and landscapes of the earth.

The response from the students was exactly what I was hoping for: enthusiasm and positive comments about new insights they’d gained. Several students commented on how this activity reminded them to consider more than themselves when deciding on a course of action. While the focus of both Leopold’s essay and the Council of All Beings exercise was on considering how our actions impact the natural world, some students commented on how we should also think about other people before we act.

I was teaching college students at the time but have since worked with elementary teachers who used this same idea with their students, some as young as third grade. The teachers’ responses were overwhelmingly positive. Several teachers noted how all the students loved this activity—even the hard-to-motivate students. In working with the teachers, I suggested these six steps:

1. Introduce Leopold’s story in a way that’s appropriate to the level of your students. Invite students to comment on why “Thinking Like a Mountain” is a good title for this essay.
2. Introduce the Council of All Beings activity by briefly discussing the meaning and purpose of a council. If applicable, you might relate this to a student council where students can express their concerns about what happens at their school. Explain that the purpose of a Council of All Beings is to give other creatures a chance to express their concerns about what is happening to them because of human activity. Tell the students that they will each take on the role of an animal and speak for that animal at the council. 
3. Have each student choose an animal and research how human activity might be impacting that animal. Students should also make a mask of their animal and write a script for what it will say at the council meeting.
4. On the day of the council, have students sit in a circle and then, one by one, speak for their animals.  
5. After all the “animals” have spoken, allow some time for a sharing of feelings and thoughts. Encourage group problem solving around the concerns expressed by the animals. Include a discussion about what we could do as humans to help the animals. If possible, identify several specific steps that could be taken at school and at home.

After the council, the students’ masks could be displayed under a “Thinking Like a Mountain” heading.  Some schools, after initial Council of All Beings exercises, have prepared theatrical productions of the council to share with others. One teacher had her students mentor their peers in another class through the steps of preparing for a Council of all Beings.

I found that the Council of All Beings can be used as an effective cross-disciplinary exercise at any level of education. This exercise not only fosters imaginative and critical thinking but also addresses a number of language arts, science and social studies goals. Most important, however, is the way this exercise helps students think outside of themselves and develop a sense of compassion and caring for all living things.

Wilson is an educational consultant and curriculum writer.