I’ve just done a load of laundry and about to hang it out on an unseasonal hot day when I turned to my computer to write about green washing.
The washing will dry in a jiff.
The term was used at the Social Good Summit held in Sydney last weekend. Among a gathering of stakeholders who were involved in bringing shared value to business were Professor Greg Whitwell and Ranjit Voola from the University of Sydney Business School. They spoke of conscious capital; profit that has a purpose, business involving social impact. Greg believes the United Nations Sustainable Goals for Development can be achieved with a shift in direction. He is leading the way by focussing his business school on building strategies for social conscience in business leadership. Ranjit spoke on markets, poverty alleviation and social justice.
Sometimes highly politicised issues need another platform to allow us ordinary folk to digest the nitty gritty, the base elements that affect us all.
Coral Bleach, on behalf of the Billionaires United Mining Service, writes for those who know that climate change is real and affects people, not just ordinary people but those in the 1% of the world’s population who garner most of the world’s wealth.
“This is a paradigm example of coal investile dysfunction”
With the patience of saints, these angels are watching over us, their wings spread to envelop all who care about our planet. The Climate Guardians have been charged and will appear in Court on Monday 30 May. Their honesty, determination and peaceful protesting is obviously a reason to take up the court’s time and resources. Angels, with your day in court, stand proud and be heard.
...does not exist without strong interplay from other important influences, economic, social, political, cultural and or ethical
UNESCO.org
Some researchers interchange political with ethical or cultural pillars
Together these influences form Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is a moral precept as well as a scientific concept. It is as closely linked to peace, human rights and equity as much as to ecology or global warming. A shared vision and commitment to values that will provide a foundation for a global, sustainable future and equitable resource distribution
The Pillars
Environmental Sustainable use of resources, actions that will preserve and enrich the environment and enhance the quality of life of all species
Economic Improvements in people’s lifestyles, reduction of poverty and economic growth without being detrimental to the lives of future occupants of the planet
Social Recognition of humanity’s global interdependence and responsibility for a peaceful, equitable sustainable future
Whilst I was guiding groups of home owners through my friends’ sustainable house on Open Day I was privy to a rather telling situation. I had many things to mention; the removal of down-lights, the blocking up of all gaps in the house, lights and power usage. My spiel included mentioning the number of watts various home appliances consumed when plugged into power but not being used.
Me: “We took some readings on this meter before you arrived and this is the data we got”.
Before I got to the figures SHE looked at HIM and her eyes spoke, “I told you there’s energy use when the power’s on at the wall.” HIS eyes rolled in complete surrender as
if SHE’D won another round. There’d obviously been some discussion around this point. I went on. “Computers sap 15 watts lying idle but plugged in. Washing machines-6 watts….”
Have you wondered about the appliances around your house and how you could reduce your environmental footprint?
Life sucks sometimes.
Reading is the ultimate escape. A short vacation to a new reality. A place where you can find the kind of acceptance, understanding, devotion, friendships, and love that not everyone always feels like they have in this reality. Jamie C
Remember when you had the time to lounge around devouring books, comics and magazines. No pressure, just pure relaxation and time well spent. Teachers at Glen Waverley primary school had ‘sandpit’ time recently as part of a professional learning session. Sharing books that might be used for provocations, discussion points, eliciting ideas and developing thinking they used the time to relax, unwind and be in the moment.
The possibility of living a thousand lives in one lifetime . . . . . Emily S
Global education is a concept with a diverse number of understandings. Even the term ‘global education’ has different viewing platforms from global learning to global competencies from global citizenship to education for sustainable development.
In some parts of the world, global education is viewed as learning by connecting with others using technology. According to my experience, this is, by far, the perspective assigned to the term in the United States of America. It falls short of the vision and framework required to understand and act on issues of global significance.
With a deeper synthesis of theory and practice, global education is a response to engage learners in issues critical to understanding their communities, their world and their future. This cannot be done by simply (or with technological difficulty) connecting learners across the globe. There must be purpose for the technology connection.
I want to take this concept further, offering Australian and international examples.
In Global Perspectives: A framework for global education in Australian Schools Commonwealth of Australia, 2008, Global Education “promotes open-mindedness leading to new thinking about the world and a predisposition to take action for change. Students learn to take responsibility for their actions, respect and value diversity, and see themselves as global citizens who can contribute to a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. Enabling young people to participate in a better shared future for all is at the heart of global education.”
In Australia, the Curriculum sets out the core knowledge, understanding, skills and general capabilities important for all Australian students. It describes what all young Australians are to be taught as a foundation for their future learning, growth and active participation in the Australian community. There is congruence between global education and the Curriculum although it could be enhanced with more explicit activities to allow learning outcomes to be more easily identifiable.
The Melbourne Declaration of 2008 stated, “All young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens who are responsible global and local citizens”
The Asia Society and Council of Chief State School Officers talk about Global Competencies to improve the education of children by better supporting the development of their higher order thinking skills and their ability to apply these skills effectively to a broad range of problems. It is, in part, these skills that will enable children to invent and contribute to the new world.
We take a name shift and, in 2004, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation launched its decade for Education for Sustainable Development which has as its focus, the goal of every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. Education for sustainable development…challenges individuals, institutions and societies to view tomorrow as a day that belongs to all of us, or it will not belong to anyone. (UNESCO Education sector). During this period, the United Nations also released The Global Education First Initiative related to education about the Millenium Development goals and, in particular, the goal about education.
After 2015, The Millenium Development Goals will morph into The Sustainable Development Goals giving headway for global learning to take a directional terminology shift to Sustainable Development. I see Sustainable Development as our number one learning priority. I have written about this in my posts Education for Sustainable Development part 1 and Education for Sustainable Development part 2.
Education for sustainable development is not just about using 21st century learning tools to engage learners and engage with learners across the globe. It’s about preparing our learners to take their place as informed, skilled and active global citizens; to think critically about issues of food security, population distribution, water cooperation, ethical consumerism, human rights, social justice, identity, cultural diversity, interdependence, globalisation, environmental sustainability, breaking the poverty cycle, social technology, socially responsible trading, economical sustainability, sustainable farming and agricultural practices, health and human development, peace, conflict resolution and getting on with others. The future of this planet lies with globally educated learners.
We are now challenged because ways to conceive content for Sustainable Development with its broad coverage of learning areas/disciplines are neither traditional nor mainstream. Building a systematic and cohesive program from Early Years to Year 10 requires a whole school overview and focussed leadership. Its importance cannot be overestimated.
Family farming is inextricably linked to national and global food security. As the International Year of Family Farming comes to a close I want to mention climate change and family livelihood from the land.
Did you know that there are 570 million farms around the world and 500 million of them are owned by families?
These families live in both developing and developed countries.
Did you know that floods that occurred every 100 years are predicted to occur every 25 to 50 years?
So it makes sense to not only acknowledge the work these families do, but to also think about the ways we can continue to support them to continue feeding themselves and us.
When you plan a unit of inquiry around food, add a global perspective and look at families, farming, affect of the climate and our connections. In this way we can foster insight, understanding, empathy and the learning needed to find sustainable ways to overcome the challenges that face us.
Take a Virtual Farm Visit linking to the Australian Curriculum Year 4 – 7 Technologies Curriculum and Year 4 and 5 Geography
So our learners aren’t learning Maths. Time and time again I hear learners saying, when asked to respond to solving an equation by adding two numbers, “I plus them,” or when multiplying numbers, “I times them.” When subtraction is required to solve an equation where two numbers are involved, I’d like a dollar for every time a learner says, “You minus them.” An equation is referred to as a ‘sum’. A ‘sum’ is the answer when you add numbers together.
A sense of number and what is done with numbers is difficult for many learners to internalise. The transmission of the language of maths is so poor in many instances that I wonder if intervention is needed in order to not only break the cycle of inadequate language to describe mathematical operations, but to model strategical and block building concepts to teachers. Perhaps maths mentors is the answer.
How can sustainability enhance the learning areas in curricula?
My favourite picture storybook is The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley (Thank you Nuella.) You MUST read it. The message I took away was live simply so others can simple live. (Thank you Gandhi.)
A curriculum that has sustainable futures at its core will be a dynamic and value enriched program of learning. The ways in which we can meet our current needs without diminishing the environment or reducing the capacity of future generations to meet their own needs is what a sustainable future is about.
So as a learner and facilitator, I brainstormed all the concepts of a global curriculum centred around the functions of sustainability – cultural sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability …..so here goes…….needs and wants, human rights, politics, Millenium Development Goals, belief systems, value systems, gender equity, poverty reduction, global cooperation, interconnection, human well being, peace, resolving conflict, partnerships, trade, water, forests, natural hazards and disasters, biodiversity, food security, endangered species, energy, desertification, effects of climate and its change, trading fairly, education, identity, child Rights, Agriculture, ethical consumerism, migration, immigration, refugees, population, intercultural understanding, cultural diversity, connections to the past, indigenous culture, global health…… phwew!! And that’s just for starters.
Write down these learning areas- Civics and Citizenship, Geography, Science, History, Technologies, Maths, The Arts, English, Health and Phys Ed, Languages and Economics.
Now try and fit any one of the concepts above under just one learning area. Can’t choose? That’s because sustainability and global learning cross all areas of the curriculum. A rich curriculum has interconnected learning.
The best way to work out where you can work with these concepts in your curriculum is to do a concept map.
Take a look at your existing curriculum. Could you enhance it and open the eyes of your learners a little wider by including a concept around sustainability?
just done a load of laundry and about to hang it out on an unseasonal hot day when I turned to my computer to write about green washing.
UNESCO.org
bethinkglobal - learning in globalised world 