147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability
by Beth Gray
Written by educators for educators, 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching sustainability. In his forward to the work, David W. Orr, Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College, notes that colleges and universities must equip young people “with the analytical skills and wherewithal to become change agents beyond the years of formal education.” Anthony Cortese, President of Second Nature, also provides a forward in which he notes “We are the first generation capable of determining the habitability of the planet for humans and other species.” Cortese continues by quoting Albert Einstein who said, “’We can’t solve today’s problems at the same level of thinking at which they were created.’” For all of these reasons, 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability is a resource that can help college and university educators to engage their students in gaining a full and thorough understanding of the current state of the environment and what must happen in order to improve the quality of life within it for generations to come.
Encouraging colleges and universities to “break down the silos” that often do plague the university system, this resource provides helpful tips for all professors, not just those who focus on or specialize in environmental studies, to integrate concepts of sustainability into their curriculums. In general, the book encourages a whole systems approach to teaching sustainability so that the concept reaches every single college and university student, regardless of program of study. Throughout the work, the authors cite various additional texts that may also prove helpful to any educator wishing to integrate sustainability into the classroom.
Several of the specific tips provided in the book are worth sharing here but I encourage any educator interested in integrating topics of sustainability into any curriculum to review this resource in depth.
- “Introduce the Notion that We Are Nature” – The authors note that students may gain a more thorough and appreciative understanding of the fragility of the environment if they can grasp the concept that “’humans are one member of a complex, interconnected system.’”
- “Connect Capitalism and Sustainability” – Making the connection between capitalism, democratic ideals, and sustainable practices can help students gain a more full understanding of the many ways in which these concepts seem to work at cross purposes and how they can begin affecting meaningful change.
- “Rethink Basic Rights” – The premise of this tip is that few students realize the most fundamental right that is currently being denied to nearly every citizen on earth: a clean and sustainable environment.
- “Conduct an Ecological Footprint Audit” – The authors point out that conducting such an audit within a classroom or encouraging students to conduct a personal audit as part of a class project may lead to a larger institutionalized commitment from the college or university leadership.
- “Tie Classes and Programs Together” – By providing, for example, a case study that clearly illustrates implications for environmental, economic, and societal health, on which students focus, they may be able to gain a more focused and holistic understanding of the integrative nature of issues related to the environment.
Tags: 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability, Albert Einstein, Anthony Cortese, David W. Orr, Environmental Studies Program, Oberlin College, Second Nature
