Posted on behalf of Environment Support Group
Weaving Environmental Education into the Fabric of Teaching
ESG Teachers Workshop
13-14 Aug 2010, Bangalore
Greetings from Environment Support Group. As with every year, the beginning of the new academic year gets Environment Support Group active in organising a workshop for teachers to help raise environmental literacy and weave this concept into their everyday teaching.
Over the years we have had overwhelming response to our Teachers workshop. Past workshops have seen excellent participation from a variety of schools including Bishop Cottons, Clarence, Auden Public School, JSS Public School, BGS International School, Sri. Aurobindo Memorial School, Prakriya and Indus International many others. This year too many have expressed interest in attending and learning from such a workshop. A new workshop is the outcome of this request.
BackgroundEnvironmental literacy is a multidisciplinary area of knowledge with local, national and global importance. It is vital for societies to understand their environment and the associated problems of the environment. It requires building knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitments, individually and collectively, so we can respond to the environmental crisis and help prevent new ones. Teachers are important agents in imparting this understanding to the community and future generations.
In recent years the number of environmental disasters has steeply increased. They range in variety from local illegal garbage dumps to massive catastrophes like Bhopal Gas Tragedy and BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile the intent to promote high risk nuclear power plants has the Indian Government pushing for the Nuclear Liability Bill. A competing issue of risk is the aggressive promotion of GMO crops in India without in any manner addressing the significant economic, health and environmental risks. But people are kept in the dark about such implications and thus their due role in prevention and management of environmental impacts is marginal.
In such a situation, all forms of educational programmes advocating sensitivity to our environment is greatly required. In a society that fails to prepare its people with adequate knowledge of such outcomes, the responsibility to prevent such disasters is easily shifted around. The only guarantee we have against widespread environmental and social impact of the many high risk approaches currently adopted is to prepare people fully in dealing with their impacts. Simply stated, there is a emergent need to enhance public awareness through formal and informal education.
Teachers play an important role in society in helping raise such awareness, especially through the many subjects they teach. It is the need of the hour for teachers to weave environmental education into the fabric of the different subjects they teach - be it math, arts, history, or biology. This is possible only when schools, colleges and all educational institutions help teachers increase their knowledge about the current problems and debates about the environment. Incorporating environmental education and integrating it into every subject that is taught will help raise an environmentally literate society. Such an investment will surely turn into building responsiveness among students which amounts to preparing future societies.
It is critical to understand the structural causes of environmental issues, and their implications on the health, society, economy, culture and human well-being. Environmental education is a process of acquiring information and building the right attitudes in championing appropriate responses to such environmental concerns. While understanding environmental issues is a complex exercise, with appropriate methodologies of interpretation, this task can become a constant partner in education. As a result it can be appreciated through interpretations of history, culture and economic development. It is this kind of education that will best serve developing societies like ours where there is now an acute need to learn from the mistakes of the world and choose balanced approach to development, that would help protect our environment, lives and livelihoods.
Approach of the WorkshopThe two day workshop will engage the teaching community in appreciating basic and complex questions about emerging environmental challenges through a variety of innovative learning techniques. The participants will learn to appreciate how to contextualise predominant environmental concerns such as global warming and climate change, habitat conservation, biodiversity loss, agricultural crisis, toxic waste, water insecurity, development induced dislocation and dispossession, etc. in their everyday teaching and thus help students engage enthusiastically in responding to environmental crises.
It will help participants open their minds to unlearn stereotypical forms of understanding of our environmental problems, and engage critically with emerging problems with the intent of helping students make conscious choices that mitigate social and environmental injustices. The workshop will also help educational institutions reshape environmental education approaches and enable exploration of practical ways to engage in environmentally sensitive living. Most importantly, the workshop will help step away from rote textbook oriented teaching in classrooms to a more reality based and experiential form of learning and teaching.
Methodology:
Workshop sessions will involve be a good mix of interactive talks and discussions with individuals proficient in the field, educative short documentary films, theme based games, field visits, self learning and group learning techniques. The idea is to immerse in learning techniques that could easily be adapted as teaching techniques. All learning will be adequately supported by background reading material which will be provided to every participant.
Who should attend?
The workshop is intended for teachers, learning facilitators, lecturers, and administrative staff in educational institutions.
Basic Criteria for participants
Working knowledge of English and/or Kannada
Teaching/work experience of two years
Workshop Dates: 13-14 August 2010
Course fee: Rs.2500/- inclusive of meals, course material and group travel.
Venue
Environment Support Group
1572, Sapthagiri, Outer Ring road,
Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore-560070
Telephone: 91-80-26713559-3561
Email:
bhargavi@esgindia.org /
sruthi@esgindia.orgRegistration DeadlineKindly register before 5th August by sending the completely filled in Application Form (enclosed) with relevant annexures by email or post. 50% of the course fee must be paid in advance, either by cash, cheque or DD in favour of Environment Support Group.
Feel free to forward this mail to teacher friends.
Warm Regards,
Bhargavi S. Rao
Coordinator (Education and Training)
Environment Support Group
1572, Sapthagiri, Outer Ring road,
Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore-70
Telephone: 91-80-26713559-3561
Email:
esg@esgindia.org Web:
www.esgindia.org
APPLICATION FORM
A. The Applicant:
Name: ____________________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________ Fax: _________________________
Email: ____________________________________________________________
Gender: M/F _____________________ Age: ____________________ years
Name of School/Institution/Organization: _______________________________________________
Designation in Organization: __________________________________________
Applicant’s expectations from participation in the Workshop:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
B. Please enclose the following along with this application form:
A copy of the latest CV of participant which outlines, details of work experience and subjects taught
One page description on how learning from this workshop is expected to assist the participant’s own work and the Institution he/she works for.
Please email the completed Application form and enclosures to
Environment Support Group, 1572,
Sapthagiri, Outer Ring Road,
Banashankari 2nd Stage,
Bangalore-70
Telephone: 91-80-26713559-3561.
Email: bhargavi@esgindia.org/sruthi@esgindia.org
--
Environment, Social Justice and Governance Initiatives Environment Support Group Trust 1572, 36th Cross, Banashankari II Stage Bangalore 560070 Tel: 91-80-26713559-61 Voice/Fax: 91-80-26713316 Email:
leo@esgindia.org Web:
www.esgindia.org 
