I think education for sustainable development is extremely valuable. The threat of problems such as climate change, running out of renewable sources and over consumption are modern problems and this needs to be addressed. By teaching people it makes them more informed and therefore enabling them to make informed decisions and help us to become sustainable.
A United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development was developed for the years 2005-2014. This was created to start getting people to have respect for their planet and the environment around them. Also for us to be challenged in respect of the way we behave and how to change our behaviour for the future. This is by doing things such as thinking ‘holistically’ or looking at the whole picture and not just certain elements. Also to begin to be critical and not just memorise information all the time.
I will be the first to admit I had never heard the terminology sustainable development till I started studying geography and maybe that is the problem. We have been slow to get off the mark in teaching others just look at the fact that our university didn’t even have a sustainability officer until a few years ago.
I am kind of down the middle of whether geography is the best subject to deliver the curriculum. I think it should not be focused in only one subject but across several such as the sciences. When I was at school I do not have any recollection (bear with me it was five years ago) of learning about anything that we have covered this term. So in that respect I neither agree or disagree with Haigh (2005) as there are obvious advantages and disadvantages to both arguments.
I have enjoyed this module considerable so far, in particularly the fact how it looks at the present and the future. A lot of the other geography modules concentrate on theories and things in the past. I think it is a good change to look at how we as “future geographers” can make a difference to the environment in the near future. In regards to assessment I am happy with the alternative approaches such as in the use of blogs and debates. I feel that this module has stretched me in using different assessments rather than just doing time constrained tests and assignments.
References
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23279&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
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2 comments:
Things are changing...Geography should be central to the environmental/economic/social overlap that is sustainable development!
I agree that geographers are in a good position to be able to consider the environmental/economic/social overlap of 'sustainable development' because of our subject knowledge and skills. However, I think that issues of sustainability apply to all subject areas. If geographers hold on to 'sustainable development' too tightly we risk slowing down the process of increasing public knowledge and appreciation of these important issues.
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