So today I found out that it is the decade (2005-2014) for the 'United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development' and its goal’s is as follows;'...to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. This educational effort will encourage changes in behaviour that will create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations.'So to what extent do I believe that education for sustainable development is valuable? And also do I agree with Haigh (2005) that Geography is best placed to deliver this curriculum? Well my short answer would be that both points are very valid and I agree with each of them but there are always going to be others that wouldn’t agree with the statements. The picture above is the official emblem of this decade which was passed into official channels in 2002 and as part of this there are special topics for each year and this year is the year of the gorilla (I kid you not). So is it a good idea to try and get kids involved in all of this then? I think that it is of crucial importance that we hammer the message home to kids early what the world is becoming and what part they can play in its possible saving. I know some people would say that they are too young but you have to start early before negative media turns them against the idea in countries like America and others. It has been proven time and time again that education works best when they are as young as possible and education for sustainable development is a key issue for the future. Whether knowledge of geography or world events are more import than history and others is up to debate as of course Haigh is biased towards geography as a writer on the topic but I believe it will more likely a combination of several combining of ideas would work best and allow them the formulate the best ideas.http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27234&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
I have also been asked to write about my feelings about this module.
I believe that this module has been a very interesting one as actively searching for data has been a very interesting challenge. Having to produce blogs on the spot like some sort of entertainer has been a bit annoying but I have managed to make sure fury has not been vented in the blogs! I have found the topics covered very interesting as they are very diverse and different and writing about them has been a very interesting and rewarding experience.
4 comments:
You argue that Education for Sustainable Development should start at a young age. Are there particular topics/issues that you think would be most appropriate for primary school age children? Which? Why?
I believe that if you started with the basics like where there are problems such as recycling and fuel issues then build up the knowledge over the years so that as adults they had a competant knowledge of the subject.
Very interesting views. I do agree that is best to teach children from an early age how to be more sustainable and that their actions impact their lives.
However, being as they are just kids, sustaiabble development maaay not be the most interesting subject compared to, say, learning to paint only to realise you are wearing the paint. What methods would you use to keep their attention focused on the subject and make educating children for sustainable development more interesting?
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