Rationale Behind Teaching Education For Sustainability

Sustainability education is futures oriented, children must have systematized their ideas, then reflects the essential knowledge, understandings and skills for the priority (AusVELS 2015). By using the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum we must integrated into student’s education such as:

The environment is among some of the top issues to be looked upon by the human population in the world today. Sustainability is a word often times used when speaking of this subject. This is a concept represented in the articles “Sustainability” by Christian R. Weisser and “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” by Robert Paarlberg. Each author addresses the issue in different ways; one giving examples of this issue and the other clearly defining it. Each author is writing to spread awareness of this issue. As overlapping topics, each article has similarities and differences to the other.

To engage the children in taking responsibility for the environment we could first talk about a specific recycled material we will be using, for example paper rolls, where they come from, what are they made of and what sort of things we can use them for (making puppets, pencil holders). We would talk about why is recycling, why is it important, and ask the children what other household items they thing could be recycled and reused to make something else. We could show the children how, in the centre, we have two types of rubbish bins, one with green lid that has general rubbish, and one with yellow lid, that is for all those material that can be recycled

The UK Parliament has made considerable movement towards helping schools in Britain to become kinder to the planet. The Scottish government has introduced an eco-schools programme into the British school system. These eco-schools and the government hold close links with Education for sustainable development (ESD).

The site’s learning focus and goal is to promote sustainable practices. The site staff believe that it will help the children to create spiritual connections and will assist in their wellbeing. The child may develop a disposition from this belief about sustainability being taught to them. This could be a really good quality for the child to have, for them to continuously be conscious about the way they are using things and if it is a sustainable practice. For this quality to continue as they transition into their early years of schooling, the use and belief of sustainable practices will have to be nurtured in their home environment (Dowling,

The environment has been put in a dangerous position of not having sufficient amount of resources for current residents and the future generations that are to come. Many things such as personal needs put the environment in this position, but most of time we use these products because they are needed. Earth has become reliant on the resources, therefore we use up our resources way too fast. Our current obstacle to obtaining sustainability is we don't manage our resources, and they are used too often when there is not enough to begin with. Individually we are responsible for ourselves and the actions that are used to take care of the environment. To reach sustainability, there needs to be a limit of how much is used.

At the foundation of every issue in the broad scope of sustainability is a fundamental lack of proper environmental education as an individual, which ultimately permeates into all of society. The education referred to here is not simply the standardized tests, memorizing and essays of the modern day classroom but the education, which takes place at home. As children, there is a universal myth that has been passed down since the golden age of the industrial revolution. This idea of the American dream informs virtually every decision Americans make and how society is structured. Simply put: “Get an education, get a Job, have children, acquire wealth, capital and leave a legacy before you die.” The fundamental problem with this is that there is no mention of our most basic responsibility, as environmental stewards. In short this anthropocentric paradigm acts a rearguard for sustainable development and begins as early as the conception of language in a child’s life.

The hyper-connected world we live in is rapidly changing. It is through EfS, a transformative learning process equipping learners, teachers, and education systems with the knowledge required to achieve economic prosperity and responsible citizenship, which will prepare people of all ages to assume responsibly for creating a more sustainable future (Department of Environment and Heritage [DEH], 2005). Taking into consideration the range, complexity and immediacy of issues such as climate change, pollution and water security, an improved coordinated national effort on EfS is now needed (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts [DEWHA], 2009). Ecologising education and incorporating sustainability into the curriculum, encourages students to view the world holistically and think systematically about the contexts and interconnections involved in the challenges of meeting future requirements (DEWHA, 2009). It is more than

The ethical perspectives of whether to teach children and students about environmental sustainability needs to be explored. Argument can be made that because of the environmental problems faced by the world today it is not fair to be placing the burden of repairing and managing this problem upon them. McFarlane and Ogazon state “challenges to sustainability education are both natural and socially-imposed because of our nature as individuals. On a collective or societal level, we are hampered by political economy and governmental policies and actions. On an individual level, we feel helpless when we think about the possibility of taking on problems at the global level” (2011,

Educating children on sustainability through the curriculum is about contemporary approaches to early childhood education and not about additional content. It is through experiential play-based approached and transformative learning that occurs in a early childhood settings enables educators to understand the links between their philosophies and pedagogies and the principles of education for sustainability (Elliott, 2014). As a future educator, it is important to ensure the interpretation and implementations of all outcomes, principles and practices of the EYLF promote sustainability and the environment. Education for sustainability is, transformative, empowering and a participative approach to education with the engagement of sustainability issues, topics and experiences (Elliott, 2014). This allows children to build their knowledge, dispositions and skills towards making a difference now and for the future. Having gained an understanding on education for sustainability within early childhood, I now realise the vital importance of implementing sustainability throughout the curriculum to promote children’s awareness and knowledge on the importance of building a sustainable future. Throughout everyday activities there are multiple ways we can incorporate sustainable

There are different types of waste which result from over production, unnecessary motion, and wasted inventory, production of defective components, transportation and also over processing. The main aim is to eliminate all these kinds of waste.

Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)

Sustainability development has three components: environment, society, and economy. If you consider the three to be overlapping circles of the same size, the area of overlap in the center is human well-being. As the environment, society, and economy become more aligned, the area of overlap increases, and so does human well-being. Therefore, education for sustainable development (ESD) is the use of education as a tool to achieve sustainability. Simply put, ESD is a way to make the world a safer, healthier, and more livable place for us and future generations (McKeown, 2002, pgs 7-9).

This essay will review two significant environmental experiences I have encountered exploring the influences of these my life and how these have altered my view on what is environmental sustainability. An examination into these two experiences will follow into reviewing my perspectives on environmental sustainability and how these two experiences influenced this. To conclude a discussion on my role as a teacher and how this will impact myself when in the classroom.

Children learning about sustainability and how to practice being sustainable will understand how nature works and they will be able to feel a close connection to the earth in doing so. As everything around us is continually evolving children are able to become resilient and flexible to adaptability.