<<Biblioteca Digital del Portal<<INTERAMER<<Serie Educativa<<Education for a Sustainable Future in the Americas
Colección: INTERAMER
Número: 67
Año: 1999
Autor: Eloísa Trellez Solís and Gustavo Wilches Chaux
Título: Education for a Sustainable Future in the Americas
Education for Wonder, Reflection, Commitment and Action
To the degree that education can encourage concern and wonder in reaction
to the surrounding social and natural environment and, in particular, to the
miracle of life, an educated population can acquire the conceptual and methodological
tools to construct a coherent vision of the world. This is a first step toward
identifying our stance, our role and our responsibility within that world. Education,
therefore, can awaken a sense of participation in the world, a sense of belonging
and an awareness of our ability to change our surroundings. Once this is understood,
it becomes possible to develop the attitudes and skills needed to transform
the Americas into a sustainable region, bearing in mind that sustainability
depends on human decisions, and not only on natural mechanisms.
In contrast, an education that, through misdirection or omission, generates
feelings of cultural anomie, powerlessness, fatalism and resignation will produce
human beings unable to assume responsibility for sustainability. By the same
token, education that can compete, (or empower to compete) with
social pathologies that undermine the quality of life in the Region, serves
to promote sustainability.
Challenge for the Future
- To make education a vital, appealing, positive experience, designed to provide meaning and encourage creativity.
- To transform education into a constructive channel for the energy and rebellion of youth, directed toward a more tolerant, more equitable, more democratic, and more participatory society.