http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-education-blog.html GreenHearted Blog provides links to the latest updates to the site. It will also offer links to interesting articles and blog posts about environmental and sustainability education. en-us education for sustainability Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:58:40 GMT Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:58:40 GMT greenhearted.org http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-education-blog.html#Hollywood-Schlock-and-the-Demise-of-the-Future I made the mistake of going to see Iron Man last night. It was a warm summer night and the movie was being shown outdoors on a big screen set up beside our community hall. Living near the ocean, we don't get many warm summer nights, so I couldn't resist the excuse to sit outside on a Saturday evening, eating popcorn al fresco while being eaten by mosquitoes. Before going, I made another mistake: reading only half the New York Times review of this "summer blockbuster" of a movie. "[A]n unusually good superhero picture," it said. "[A] script ... that generally chooses clever dialogue over manufactured catchphrases and lumbering exposition." "[A] crackerjack cast." Sure sounds like an adult's superhero movie, I thought, just like a 10-year-old friend had described it. This will be fun. I forgot to read about the plot. I started squirming only a few minutes in. Violence, sex, gambling, dismissive and disrespectful relationships ... and some of my students were sitting on the grass, watching this. The inherent "it's okay if we kill them but not if they kill us" message had me seething under my breath. But when a scene menacing torture began, I packed up my lawn chair and left. Luckily, the friend I'd carpooled with felt the same way. Here's the thing. Just yesterday, I received by email a WorldChanging article (one I'd read months ago) about the perils of trying to get people to go green through social marketing. To make a short story even shorter, according to Dr. Tom Crompton, to create lasting change, groups working for environmental change should be targeting the intrinsic set of values that motivates the public, rather than tantalizing their extrinsic desires. Well, Dr. Crompton fails to notice that our "intrinsic set of values" has been manipulated by Hollywood, Madison Avenue and Big Money interests who benefit every time we're made to want things we don't have. Our society's new default values are greed, selfishness, get-the-other-guy-first, and bigger is way better. These "new" values (which used to be called sins) are drummed into our heads and hearts, both consciously and subliminally, every time we watch TV or sit through a Hollywood movie. Wondering how you can help save the Earth, the future, and the children? Turn off the TV and boycott Hollywood schlock. Create your own entertainment (human beings did that for thousands and thousands of years!), and determine your own intrinsic values. You know, stuff like Thou shalt not kill (even on screen), the Golden Rule, and reverence for all life. And if you've seen some movies that promote Earth-friendly and life-affirming values, please send me their titles. I'm thinking of making a new webpage to help parents and teachers choose books and movies that are part of the solution instead of promulgating the problem. Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:35:53 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-health.html Environmental health and ecosystem health serve as the backdrop of the green curriculum model because everything we do as educators should contribute to the health of our students. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:32:24 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/arts.html Art holds the power to transform. Where do music, theatre, dance and the visual arts intersect with environmental education? How can they contribute to a future that sustains life? Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:34:42 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/sustainable-family-development.html So many environmental efforts are aimed at individuals, but isn't the family a primary unit of change in our society? Sustainable family development helps families develop "green" competencies. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:57:51 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/about-us.html GreenHeart Education is Julie Johnston and Peter Carter, a teacher and a doctor, who together have over 35 years experience in the environmental / sustainability field. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:07:52 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/future-generations.html Educational solutions to the sustainability crisis are important, but not enough. Our economic system needs transforming, and our political systems need to be reminded that future generations matter. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:00:58 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/references.html A list of the references for a literature review on barriers and enticements to environmental learning and action, as part of a master's degree in (environmental) adult education. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:48:01 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/enticements.html Enticements to sustainability are the cultural, psychosocial and educational ways to inspire and motivate environmental learning and action. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:29:28 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-education-enticements.html Environmental education enticements are the ways we teach about the Earth that lead to deeper, transformative learning and action. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:20:59 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/learning-enticements.html How we teach our students, both children and adults, can serve as learning enticements that motivate them to embrace sustainability and take environmental action. Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:13:37 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/integration.html Integration of sustainability learning into the rest of the curriculum is an ecological teaching tool that counters the dangers of reductionism. Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:07:18 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/psychosocial-enticements.html Psychosocial enticements to sustainability are those internal and personal enticements that stem from an individual's beliefs, attitudes, values, motivations, and rewards. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:19:18 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/cultural-enticements.html Cultural enticements are collective, society-level invitations and motivators to sustainability and environmental learning and action, such as a transformative shift in our Western worldview. Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:35:18 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/global-warming.html Global warming must become the focus of curriculum. In order to prepare students for their carbon-constrained future, they must learn about climate change and renewable energy technologies. Sun, 25 May 2008 22:21:06 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-education-blog.html#Do-Ostriches-Really-Stick-Their-Heads-in-the-Sand----Like-Humans-Do? Just wrapped up our community's Earth Day activities, which were postponed a month ago due to a freak snow storm in April! The twentieth anniversary of our annual beach clean up was held this morning (run by a wonderful friend of mine), then Earth music (by some great local musicians) and a round table discussion on local solutions to global climate change, all on the "green" at our little island plaza. We invited reps from several different community groups/sectors to present their ideas. There was a good crowd at the plaza -- until we started talking about climate change, that is. People just drifted away then. So sad. Both climate change and our aversion to hearing about it, learning about it, solving it. How do ostriches breathe with their heads stuck in the sand? I remember hearing that they don't really do that. But we humans sure do. As you'll see in my section on Barriers (and specifically Psychosocial Barriers), the human brain shuts down if it can't conceive a positive future. So what does that mean for mitigating global warming and climate change? It seems to mean that most people see the situation as hopeless. (They're not conceiving a positive future, so they deny the problem or simply turn away from it.) Here's the irony. All the solutions we need already exist. We just have to implement them. (Renewable energy technologies, a new economic system that internalizes environmental and social costs, stopping the burning of all fossil fuels, a 21st century curriculum for sustainability ....) But it's hard to even get people to attend an event like the one we held today, let alone stay and listen to the solutions (after they've listened to the music). But maybe, just maybe, if we keep talking, keep sharing these solutions, we'll hear those popping sounds of people pulling their heads out of the sand, ready to listen. They'll rejoice that the solutions exist, and get on with saving the future for their children and grandchildren. Sat, 17 May 2008 23:56:56 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/nature-deficit.html Nature deficit disorder is rampant. Children need nature, like they need sleep and healthy food. Mon, 12 May 2008 05:41:38 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/reasons-for-greening.html Educators who want to green their teaching need a transformative rationale to help them get "outside the curriculum box." Here are several reasons for greening your teaching. Sun, 11 May 2008 16:32:32 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-education-barriers.html Some attributes of environmental education act as barriers to transformative sustainability learning and action. Thu, 08 May 2008 05:28:12 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/barriers.html The many barriers that keep adults from environmental learning and action can be categorized as cultural, psychosocial, adult learning, and environmental adult education barriers. Thu, 08 May 2008 05:26:53 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/psychosocial-barriers.html Psychosocial barriers to sustainability are those internal and personal barriers that stem from an individual's beliefs, attitudes, values, hang-ups, and inhibitions. Sun, 04 May 2008 15:12:10 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/learning-barriers.html Adult learning barriers to sustainability (such as missing elements in adult education curriculum and lack of motivation-focused teaching) can be applied to pedagogy as well. Sat, 03 May 2008 21:44:16 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/cultural-barriers.html Cultural barriers are those external and collective barriers that stem from a society's historical, religious, scientific, technological, economic, and political foundations and parameters. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:35:34 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/outside-the-curriculum-box.html Educators need courage to teach outside the curriculum box of learning that is outdated and irrelevant in a climate changed world. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:08:10 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/three-hats.html The Three Hats Strategy is a roundtable facilitation technique to ensure the most harmony during a sustainable development multistakeholder meeting. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:11:27 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/sustainable-development.html The only alternative to sustainable development is UNsustainable development, so senior students must graduate knowing the principles and processes of sustainable development. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:25:16 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-solutions.html Intermediate students can learn the state of their planet by exploring sustainability and environmental solutions. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:28:14 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/ecological-principles.html As students start to explore and become curious about the bigger world around them, this is the time to give them a solid grounding in ecological principles and the laws of the universe. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:03:03 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-education-blog.html#Where-Have-All-the-Children-Gone? It's spring break where I live, a time of year for getting outside. When I was a kid, spring break was non-stop fun and exploration ... puddles and tadpoles, pussy willows and the first forts of the year. The streets and woods and meadows rang with the sounds of our playing and laughter. But this year, all I can hear is an occasional birdsong. (Thank goodness for that, at least!) Where are the kids? Why aren't they reveling outdoors during their freedom from school? Have they all flown the coop, burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases to spend their holiday somewhere far away? They're missing the buds on the trees! Are they all indoors, stuck in front of screens? TV screens and computer screens and cell phone screens? They're missing the turning of the seasons, the world coming alive again! They're missing the return of the hummingbird. The cherry blossoms. The smell of spring, and the earth warming. Even though I'm sitting at my computer to write this, it's only because I've been out for a walk, crunkled my nose at the bright yellow skunk cabbage, felt the warmth of the sunshine, and can now sit looking out the window while my fingers type. I feel so sad for the children who are missing the birth of springtime. What spirit will fill their hearts and keep them resilient as they grow older and face hardships? I have a foreboding feeling that all the money we've injected into our educational systems for the sake of technology has been at the cost of our students' souls. Nature has lost the love of the children. Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:08:12 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/nature-bonding.html Nature bonding experiences are vital for preschool and primary-aged children if they are to grow up to be people who take care of the Earth. Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:16:00 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/mobilize-to-fight-climate-change.html Our education system can (and must) mobilize to fight climate change, just as urgently and rapidly as if we were entering the Third World War. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:56:43 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/greening-the-curriculum.html Greening the curriculum (using this green curriculum model) creates graduates for the 21st century Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:29:38 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/ecological-ethics-as-foundation.html Ecological ethics (respect, compassion and the ethic of sustainability) serve as the foundation for transformative sustainability education. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:06:14 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/green-curriculum-map.html Here is GreenHeart's Green Curriculum Model mapped out to include ecological ethics as foundation, global warming and renewable energy as overarching focus, and ecosystem health as backdrop. Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:16:34 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/decade-of-education-for-sustainable-development.html The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development is a time for educators everywhere to learn and pass on the history, goals, story, principles, processes, and promise of sustainable development. Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:31:43 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/state-of-their-planet.html Students have the right to learn about the state of their planet - it's a vital aspect of transformative education for sustainability Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:28:40 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/nature-friendly-language.html As teachers, we can examine the language choices we make and use more nature-friendly language and metaphors. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:48:10 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/nature-bonding-experiences.html Nature-bonding experiences, letting children 'be' in Nature, are vital if we want an entire generation to care about, and care for, the natural world. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:38:16 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/ecological-ethics.html Other cultures and eras can help environmental educators teach ecological ethics. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:33:04 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/sustainable-development-learning.html Sustainable development is ethics in action, which leads to equity, peace and sustainability. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:30:09 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/scientific-literacy.html Ecologically inclusive scientific literacy is required teaching if we expect students to be able to make wise judgements. This includes causality, weight of evidence and exponential growth. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:29:12 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/great-story.html We have a choice - the "life as great story" worldview, where we are connected to the Earth, or the currently dominant EuroAmerican worldview that separates us from nature. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:27:34 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-mathematics.html Environmental mathematics and ecological economics use the natural world to teach children about the numerical and financial aspects of life on our planet. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:26:41 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/environmental-history.html Environmental history helps us understand how we have affected, and have been affected by, the natural environment. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:25:39 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/ecosystem-services.html Ecosystem services are part of an integrated continuum, which begins with understanding evolution, then ecology, and then biodiversity, and ends with appreciation for nature's gifts. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:24:42 GMT http://www.greenhearted.org/transformative-tools-for-sustainability-education.html A paper on transformative tools for sustainability education, presented by Julie Johnston at the World Environmental Education Congress in Durban, South Africa, July 2007 Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:04:29 GMT