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The Future of Sustainability: Have Your Say! Week Four - “Shaping the Future”
---- I find it interesting we discuss environmental education in a forum dedicated to sustainability. We all agree, and have reiterated this week, that sustianability has numerous facets. The social, environmental and economic pillars of sustainable development are inseparable. Thus, the concentration on environmental education is interesting. Environmental education is of course an urgent need. But closer to the topic of sustainable development is the development and education of global citizens. Merging social, environmental and economic issues and justice into the education system leads to greater awareness of the human-environment system we create, reproduce and often damage. There is a need for holistic thinking. Of Citizenship on multiple scales and levels. Perhaps we need to rethink education by tearing down the walls dividing subjects and disciplines. History and geography class are intertwined with each other, as well as with biology and chemistry. Fostering interdisciplinary teaching at younger levels of education would lead to enhanced interdisciplinary discussion and cooperation at higher education facilities. If we recognize the world is (metaphorically) shrinking, why do we first try to convince children it is so big? The slogan often used lately "think globally and act locally" really must include more than environmental issues and be used at a young age. When I worked as an intern with a local Canadian Red Cross branch, I taught children about the lives of children in developing countries - about scarce resource, lacking education and hunger. We played games from African countries, sang songs from various Southeast Asian coutnries. These children, grades 3-7, understood. We imparted a message of hope - that something could be done. Again, the children exceeded expectations and drew up lists of everyday actions they could do to help various environmental, economic and social plights. |