Sustainable Development Initiative

In a recent interview on National Public Radio, Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador for the United Nations said, “The nature of the challenges we face is ultimately global.” Both the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association support UNESCO, the lead agency of United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

 Last month we highlighted Facing the Future (www.facingthefuture.org/), an organization dedicated to “the transformative power of widespread, systemic education to improve lives and communities, both locally and globally.” Amy Spies, a Florida teacher, was part of a team that led an interactive session, Education for the Future, at last summer’s AFT QuEST conference. The session highlighted the broad reach of Sustainability Education across the education landscape. Sustainability Education (SE)

• Provides the context for global issues, international education global education, world studies, greening the curricula, environmental sustainability and 21st century skills.
• Builds essential 21st century skills, including: critical and creative thinking, systems thinking, collaboration and communication. It also engages all student – all ethnicities from all walks of life, including rural and urban, affluent and poor
• Connects students to their community and inspires active citizenship
• Gives a real world context for all school subjects
• Increases student engagement and achievement
  
  

According to Amy, SE is not an add-on to the already over-burdened teacher. SE helps teachers and motivates learners by giving students the real world context for their studies. For example, Real World Math: Engaging Students through Global Issues, a curriculum resource available at the Facing the Future website, implements foundational algebra and geometry, aligns the lessons with 15 NCTM standards, includes popular materials, contains 21st century skills, and provides multiple implementation points.

Here are some examples of SE engaging lessons:

• Introduction to Algebra: Poverty and Microcredit
• Rational Numbers: Financial Decisions
• Spatial Thinking: Solar Power

Helping students think about the world and their place in it. Building young peoples’ knowledge and skills to take care of themselves, their planet and their future are noble and worthwhile goals.

If you are interested in learning more about Sustainable Development and Sustainability Education, please access these links and/or contact Danielle Montes at danielle.montes@floridaea.org.

Facing the Future – www.facingthefuture.com
AFT Partnership for a Green Economy – www.aft.org/news/2009/bg-alliance.htm