Could people please provide information about curriculum that has been developed to prepare students K-12 to live in a world beset with problems/opportunities? caused by global warming and rising costs and shortages of oil? As a policy wonk, I haven't given any thought about the folly of teaching kids the same information we learned, which is certainly not going to prepare them for the carbon-challenged world that is coming and they will be living in. I did a google search on "sustainability curriculum" and am reading through the "hits". The ones I've read so far don't really address how we're going to cope in a carbon-challenged world.
Thanks for whatever help you can give.
Nancy Adams
Curriculum for Living in a Carbon-Challenged World
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Didn't see the first email that this is a response to, but I could suggest looking at www.participant.net/educators - this is materials for educators based on Al Gore's film, An Incovenient Truth. Another interesting effort - more for communities - is the Low Carbon Diet Program from the Empowerment Institute. http://www.empowermentinstitute.net/lcd/index.html. This is more community based, and focused on families.
For the Planet!
George F. Hoguet
Director, Mid-Atlantic Operations
NativeEnergy, LLC
P.O. Box 1463 Media, PA 19063
(610)566-1332
www.nativeenergy.com
Not sure where you are from but my understanding of education here in Vic Australia is that we teach kids the tools of how to work out the answers not give them the answers. I don't think anyone really has the answer to your question, if we did, may be the politicians would be putting it all into place already and all groups in society would be working towards the same goal. I think the best you can do is to encourage them to research widely, all sides of the argument, think creatively and be confident enough to follow their convictions and open enough to new ideas.
Good Luck
Prudence
Prudence Frost
Education and Community Awareness Manager
The Packaging Council of Australia Inc.
Level 3 15-17 Park St South
Melbourne Vic 3205
T: 03 9690 1955
F: 03 9690 3514
E: [email protected]
W: www.packcoun.com.au/education.htm
The difficulty in developing curriculum for a carbon-challenged world is that we don't really know what that world is going to look like (esp. given the range of predictions). The best thing we can do is to encourage kids to become resilient and resourceful in their attitude and thinking and encourage them to be proactive in identifying and resolving the problems that emerge over the coming years. It is important to realise that the world has always been beset with problems/opportunities and, while the problems associated with global warming, fossil fuel use and poor environmental management, are extremely serious, we should remain positive and optimistic. There are solutions, many may not be popular or easy, but there are solutions.
Cheers
MOC