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Teachers' revitalizing the 'culture commons': An ecological imperative for the 21 st century curriculum
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Dentith, Audrey M. Root, Debra |
| Copyright Year | 2012 |
| Abstract | Environmental scientists and activists have voiced increasing alarm over the impending ecological crisis brought on by Western techno-scientific, market-driven practices. These practices threaten the quality of life on earth for all species. Many Western practices have eroded intergenerational knowledge and led to losses in linguistic/cultural diversity among the world's people. Nonconsumer exchanges have been reduced, natural systems (e.g., water, farmland, forests, and fisheries) are being rapidly privatized, and the earth's resources are depleting precipitously (Croitoru & Sarraf, 2010; Griffith, Fulton, & Richardson, 2011; Luo et al., 2008). Bowers (2004, 2006) and others (Mies & Shiva, 1993; O'Sullivan & Taylor, 2004) are urging a revitalization of the commons or an extolling of the indigenous practices--those forms of knowledge and skills that have constantly been renewed over multiple generations. These spaces and activities known for centuries, as the "commons" consist of the life-sustaining physical spaces, intergenerational traditions and nonmonetized exchanges that include the responsible use of the natural environment and its elements (e.g. air, water, vegetation) as well as the cultural aspects of everyday life (e.g., language, crafts, values, norms and social structures). The natural and the cultural commons are the practices that initially forged communities and sustained life for thousands of years ("Whose common future?", 1993). These practices are ecologically viable today as they do not involve forms of dependency on consumerism nor do they require life-time employment as the only means to sustaining a high quality of life (Bowers, 2011). The cultural commons, although not consistently lauded in sites of formal learning, are certainly evident today. These are the actions that have been upheld through local systems of meaning and decision-making processes over many generations. The movement to revitalize the commons requires active and purposeful consideration of those traditions and practices. The identification of these practices and actions includes a focus on the potential within each of us to sustain and encourage such activities as part of our efforts to curtail the further degradation of the environment, reduce consumption, (re)establish the honor of local linguistic/cultural diversity, encourage wider public involvement and foster responsible access and to our natural systems (Bowers, 2006, 2012) The dire threat posed by the enclosure (the depletion or privatization) of the commons globally can be halted if we actively interrupt these detrimental practices through relevant education and a reconceptualization of the curriculum at all levels of education. Educators can take the lead by integrating this knowledge and these practices into the broad school curriculum (Bowers, 2006). The need, therefore, for teachers to learn about the cultural and natural commons, their importance in the processes of education, and the ways these might revitalize communities today is paramount. Educators should learn how to promote understandings of the commons in schools, universities, and community educational programs through curriculum redesign, new pedagogies, and an active engagement with the community. Such work supports the cultivation of "ecological intelligence" (Rengifo, Bowers, Jucker, & Ishizawa, 2011, p. 1) among adults, young people, and children. The purpose of this paper is to report on a summer program for educators that sought to prepare them to teach in and through the cultural commons. The 5-day Academy for the Critical Inquiry of the Cultural Commons set out to foster knowledge of the cultural commons and the forging of ecological intelligence among contemporary educators. In this article, we describe the academy and the work of the participants within it. We define the cultural commons and the relevance of this concept in contemporary education. … |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 15 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED538332.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
