Folder 12

Revitalizing the Commons  Page 3

“This transformation alters the communal practices where work is reciprocated and where much of daily life is based on a barter or mutual exchange system.  The process of enclosure meant that communal access is restricted in ways the benefited, generally on a monetized basis, the owner of the land, water, and so forth.”

It continues to talk about how enclosure also expands to relate to the way that the world is teaching people to care only about themselves and become more independent instead of turning to others to forma relationships and ask for help.  This means that now most transactions between people, looking for help, etc. are based off of money and payment. Many years ago, before our economy became as dominant as it is and money started controlling our lives, people had real relationships with others and could look to each other for help and advice.  Today, everything like that costs money.   People today can’t look to someone else for help or guidance without either having to give something or pay money in return.  This is only making our economy more market based because it makes what used to be friendly transactions between people, now money transactions.  People focus on the money aspect of it instead of on helping someone.  What is this teaching our children?  Is this affecting our school systems?

The False Promises of Constructivist Theories of Learning page 114

“As pointed out earlier, what is made explicit, what is passed on as taken for granted, what is based on cultural assumptions that are never examined, and what is presented in an abstract way that represents it as universally true, will influence the student’s ability to think in ways that take account of the complexity of vital issues and to articulate a point of view that will lead others to reflect more deeply.”

We talked a lot about this topic in class, and in many ways our entire class has been molded around the main idea in this sentence.  Bringing up topics is extremely important in order for people to learn and grow around them.  Thinking critically is one of the most important aspects that are part of making us individuals. If we are never taught to question the “norm” or think critically about topics that should be thought about critically, then how can problems ever be changed or even brought to the surface.  For example, in order for someone to change their racist thoughts, words and actions, they must first be aware of the fact that they are racist by being aware of the social prejudices that have become a normal part of today’s society.  If no one ever tells them about social prejudices, then no one would ever feel that they are racist.  How can a teacher react to a statement like the quote above?  How does that relate to the job of a teacher?

American Education From a Tribal Perspective page 26

“The orchestrated “bottom-line, real world” chorus sung by many in business and government has become the common refrain of those who announce they lead the world.  Yet, what underlies the crisis of American education is the crisis of modern man’s identity and his cosmological disconnection from the natural world.  Those who identify most with the bottom line often suffer from an image without substance, technique without soul, and knowledge without context.  The cumulative psychological result is usually alienation, loss of community, and a deep sense of incompleteness.”

One of the things that tribal Indians focus on when they teach their children is how to build a community, linking people together so that no one is alone and everyone works together toward a common goal.  They are also more focused on living life in the most natural way possible: off of what the land provides for their survival, etc.  These children grow up learning how to form relationships with people around them, how to love others, how to help and how to count on others.  These children do not grow up wanting to be better than other people, thinking like is a contest to try and be better than anyone else.  However, this is exactly what most of our children are growing up learning.  They are taught to try to climb to the top of the corporate ladder because that is where they will find the most money, or happiness.  Children in our business society don’t know how to rely on family and friends for comfort.  They are not taught to help others unless given money to do so. In today’s world, happiness=money.  How can we change our own society around to get them back to where people, relationships and the world in which we live is more important than being number one and the money that we put into our pockets?  As teachers, how can we teach our children that happiness≠money when everything else in our society is telling them that it does?

A Pedagogy for Ecology page 32

“Rather than contribute to a sense of disconnection from place by writing off the environments around our most urban schools as unsalvageable or not worth knowing, teachers can instill in children an attitude of attention to what exists of the natural world in their neighborhoods.  The sense of care for and connection to place, then, can become the foundation for a critical examination of how that place has been degraded.”

Not only is it important for children to be connected with the people in their community, but it is also important for children to be connected with the environment in which they grow up in.  Children don’t have the same critical eye that people posses as they grow up and go through life.  Children also don’t know the harm in something until someone tells them about it.  So when teaching our children in the classroom, help them to look past the cars, building, concrete and to look at the trees, grass, leaves, sky, etc that surrounds them.  In a busy city filled with honking cars and people yelling, help the children to find the birds, bugs, clouds, etc to help them remain connected with nature.  Helping children to feel this connection helps them to connect to the place that they call home in a positive way.  They can connect with nature and their community in this same way.  In a society where almost everyone looks at the negative of everything, how can we, as teachers, push past our own negativity to help our own students see something that we don’t always see in our lives?

http://www.ecojusticeeducation.org/index.php?option=com_rd_glossary&Itemid=35

Culture

The practices, beliefs, traditions, moral norms that give the people a common sense of identity and way of understanding their relationship to the environment and to each other;

By looking at this definition, how can we teach the children in our classroom without teaching in respect to the cultures in which they live?  Someone’s individual culture defines who they are as a person, how they witness life, how they grow up, how they learn, etc.  What we are being taught is to teach to each individual child’s need.  We are being taught about Multiple Intelligences so that we can recognize each child’s different learning style and teach to that child’s needs.  However, in order for us to learn about what intelligence that each child uses most, or learns the best using, we must know about each child’s background (how they were raised, how they grew up, etc.)  Not only will it help us to teach each child in the way that they need to be taught, but it will help us to connect with each child on a more personal level.  How can we, as teachers, find the time to learn about each child’s individual culture if we have to spend so much time teaching for the test?

http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/pages/Read-the-Charter.html

The mission of the Earth Charter Initiative is to promote the transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace.

This has been the main topic of conversation so far in our EDF class.  In order for everything to be ok in the world of education, there needs to be equality and a bigger focus on the commons.  We recently learned about the pedagogies and philosophies of teaching, and the most important ones, in my point of view, were the ones regarding teaching concepts in a way that teaches about the community, environment, compassion, etc in a hands-on approach.  A successful community needs these things to happen because it would help people to care about each other and care about the natural resources that are provided for us to sustain the lives that we live.  How do we teach children about the more natural aspect of our lives when so much weight is being pushed on the test scores?