What kind of politics am I doing in the classroom?

This post has been made for providing my answers to the assignment given from VOC2 Sustainable Development learning environment: http://interdisciplinaryappraoach.blogspot.fi/

5. Read through the information on sustainable development on this blog. Use it to help you answer the questions below, along with your own experiences and expertise

 

c.      How should one direct, govern and teach sustainable development in schools?

                    

Image retrieved from UNESCO Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future

 

“What kind of politics am I doing in the classroom? That is, in favor of whom am I being a teacher? …The teacher works in favor of something and against something.”

Paulo Freire in Shor (1987) A Pedagogy for Liberation, p. 46.

I think it should be followed by the national guidelines regarding teaching sustainable development (SD) in schools. What are the most critical issues in the global, national and regional level? The priorities and contents of SD issues should be well defined by the national level of guidelines, so that teachers have a common understanding on the direction of SD goals that are well aligned with different levels of societies.  As prerequisites of SD teaching, teachers should develop own knowledges, skills and attitudes and values for SD topics, because teachers’ own values and belief will affect students’ learning outcomes.   

Education for Sustainable Development should be integrated across all aspects of the school. The teacher should guide students to develop the wide range of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of Sustainable Development. Student-centered interactive approaches can help students feel responsible for their own learning, developing thinking skills, and foster independent social and group processes. Recommended teaching methods are for example:

·        Experiential learning

·        Storytelling

·        Enquiry learning

·        Problem Solving

·        Learning outside the classroom

More about SD related my reflective writings can be found from here:

·        The vales of Sustainable Development to be integrated: http://pathofnorthernlights.blogspot.fi/2014/01/the-vales-of-sustainable-development.html

·        Global Education in Vocational Teacher Education: http://pathofnorthernlights.blogspot.fi/search/label/Global

 

References:

• UNESCO Teaching and Learning for a sustainable Future: http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/

• 교사가 실천하는 지속가능발전교육 : 미래세대와 동행하기: http://www.unesco.or.kr/data_center/sub_02_view.asp?articleid=658&page=3&cate=data02&SearchItem=&SearchStr