Original Post by Danette Jewell:
“With education and sustainability in mind, during this course, I would like to explore how to expand education and resources for sustainability in communities. As someone that grew up in Appalachia, I often think about how poor my education was around environmental, economic, and social issues. There are so many communities like the one I grew up in across the United States that do not have access to good education for children or community members. By expanding educational opportunities for community members, it is possible to change behaviors and viewpoints that could lead to a more sustainable future.”
What do you now understand that you didn’t when you first wrote this?
I understand now that developing an educational program for communities can be complicated. At the same time, I have found several sources that have shown how sustainability education be of benefit to communities and especially school-aged children. The majority of studies have looked at the benefits of moving from Environmental Education to Education for Sustainable Development which includes the environment, economics, and social issues. Students that had an Education for Sustainable Development program were able to think about issues with more complexity and also develop greater problem-solving skills.
How does this new understanding change things?
My new understanding has made me want to primarily focus on developing sustainable education programs for school-aged children. Although I think community education is still beneficial I think that a sustainability education program for students could have a greater impact on future generations.
What guidance do you need from your peers so that you can revise your Reflection?
It would be helpful to have feedback about how I present my solutions and if they would be well-received by my audience.
What is your way forward?
My way forward is to focus on sustainability education for students and to use the studies I have found on implementing the programs to develop a good strategy for my community.
“My largest goal throughout my career has been to work for organizations that are focused on improving communities in a sustainable way.”
What do you now understand that you didn’t when you first wrote this?
Something that has been difficult for me throughout my studies is the lack of solutions for sustainability issues. It seems like there is never an easy answer and very few solutions offer enough of an impact to fix the problems that our world faces. For example, we still have communities around the world that don’t have access to clean water. At the same time, we are facing climate change, losing biodiversity, and have major social justice issues. As a result, I never feel like the work I’m doing is never making a big enough impact. I’m not sure that any organization is doing enough.
How does this new understanding change things?
My new understanding makes me realize that I have to be ok with making small changes where I can. It’s better to focus on improving sustainability on a smaller scale in communities than to become overwhelmed by our global issues and do nothing.
What guidance do you need from your peers so that you can revise your Reflection?
I would love to hear if anyone else has experienced similar struggles and how they have coped with not being able to do enough for sustainability issues.
What is your way forward?
To continue to volunteer and work on issues in my community whenever possible. I also try to donate to organizations working on sustainability, write letters to policymakers, and vote.
My Comment:
Hey Danette,
“With education and sustainability in mind, during this course, I would like to explore how to expand education and resources for sustainability in communities. As someone that grew up in Appalachia, I often think about how poor my education was around environmental, economic, and social issues. There are so many communities like the one I grew up in across the United States that do not have access to good education for children or community members. By expanding educational opportunities for community members, it is possible to change behaviors and viewpoints that could lead to a more sustainable future.”
It is awesome to hear the new understanding brought focus to the solution. I see you’re having a lot of passion for the values of education and sustainability which is going to shine through in your writing voice. I too agree that my education did not encompass environmental, economic and social issues even in the suburbs of Chicago (different from the Appalachia region).
I went back to the week 2 discussion to see that the audience is Sustainable Hudson Valley. I recommend tying in the organization’s value of self-reliance in communities to your argument. Insofar as the report is focused on youth, it is teaching kids to have beliefs that are less so based on their parents which is key in supporting them being change-makers in communities. Providing youth with insight on economic and social issues will support them in being resilient which is another one of Sustainable Hudson Valley’s key pillars. The kids will have the knowledge to take care of themselves financially for the long term and have a strong sense of self identity after learning about social issues. Financial knowledge and a strong sense of self are useful to help kids overcome adversity. In week 2, you mentioned the organization already has several projects focused on promoting renewable energy and helping communities prepare for resilience. Given so, perhaps there’s a way to explain how some of the projects can be adjusted to be a good match for school-aged children. Since a major difficulty would be that the organization is run by just a few staff and they wouldn’t want to take on new projects, it may be useful to show how to revise projects that already exist. Finally, considering that most of the board and staff are middle-aged to older adults, many of them may have kids. So, I would explore ways to cultivate pathos throughout the report in order to help ideas resonate with those parents.
“My largest goal throughout my career has been to work for organizations that are focused on improving communities in a sustainable way.”
Great reflection. Yes, I have definitely experienced a similar change in understanding. It is difficult to start with such a massive a drive to change the world and then see how sizable the pursuit actually is in reality. I have also noticed it stems from my tendency to want to fix things and be a persistent problem solver. It is important to not let go of the massive passion. I channel the passion into gratitude which may come in the form of hiking to a beautiful overlook and soaking it in a lot or reading about successful community initiative projects. Another way to cope with it is to create a specific vision of a high impact project and put all of your focus into making it happen. That way, you’re able to channel the passion for sustainability into a project and see awesome outcomes. Degree of impact is also relative. So, I would focus on the strides I did make instead of the shortcomings.