Simply providing more education, however, is not the answer for creating a sustainable society. Current global consumption patterns show that the most educated societies leave the deepest ecological footprints. An appropriate basic education, therefore, should be reoriented to include more knowledge, skills, perspectives and values related to sustainability than are currently included in most of the today’s schools.
During the past decade, the definition of basic education has expanded to mean more than the ability to read write and cipher. At one time, mere literacy assured economic prosperity. Today’s more complex international milieu, however, calls for a broader understanding of society, economics, and the environment, as well as the interconnections among the three.
This broader definition of basic education requires that people acquire the skills and curiosity that will support lifelong learning. In short, people must learn how to learn. As a result, they will be able to think about these issues from several points, ask questions, and analyze information from various sources, including the media, labor, industry, and government agencies. Basic education will support community decision making and planning. As people become better educated, such community based activities could and should become more democratic.
Ultimately, reorienting education toward sustainability will enable people to use environmentally responsible behaviors in everyday life, to become actively involved in political and democratic processes, to question whether public authorities are incorporating environmental protection in resource management and development plans, and to recognize biases in media and other sources of information.
Participants in program that have been reoriented will also learn to practice a sustainable lifestyle by gaining skills tailored to the conditions of the community. For example, in communities that rely on wood for fuel, people may learn about sustainable harvesting, replanting and other productive techniques. In an area of shrinking water supply pupils may learn to use new agricultural techniques and to plant crops that require less water. In affluent communities, pupils may be taught media literacy and awareness of the influence of advertisers in promoting a level of consumerism that leads to increased resource use. Reorienting education will give people skills to make lifestyle changes and will enable a society to become more sustainable.
One of the major benefits of appropriate education is that the learners will learn to think beyond the economic, societal, and environmental horizons of their immediate families and communities. They can learn about other lifestyles, careers, and life conditions. This exposure may even ignite a passion to bring sustainable change to any community in which they choose to live.
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