EDUCATION BEYOND THE HUMAN

Posted bySteve MartinPosted inConsciousness, Education, Lifestyle, Sustainability

We live in a moment of epochal precarity, amidst irreversible environmental catastrophe that is impacting all life on Earth. Signaling the end of human exceptionalism, this era calls for an urgent redefinition of what it is to be human and a reconfiguration of the relationship between human and Earth. How should education respond to a world of shifting planetary boundaries and collapsing ecosystems? What education policies, practices, and pedagogies can help re-situate the human within the relational flow of life where everyone and everything – both human and non-human – are deeply interconnected? How can we learn to responsibly encounter and fully engage with a more than human world?

This is the opening statement from a recent virtual conference, hosted by the COMPARATIVE & INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SOCIETY in Miami: Education Beyond the Human
And, this is the powerful opening video from its president-Professor Iveta Silova, Arizona State University: https://cies2020.org/


This is the reality of our relationship with our planet. It asks the fundamental question:what does this mean for our global education and learning systems. Collectively and cooperatively we need to reflect and urgently act on its message

Published by Steve Martin

Steve is a passionate advocate for learning for sustainability and has spent nearly 40 years facilitating and supporting organisations and governments in ways they can contribute towards a more sustainable future. Over the past 15 years he has been a sustainability change consultant for some of the largest FTSE100 companies and Government Agencies such as the Environment Agency and the Learning and Skills Council. He was formerly Director of Learning at Forum for the Future and has served as a trustee for WWF(UK). He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Worcester and President of the sustainability charity Change Agents UK. He is currently a member of the Access Forum for the Peak District National Park and is supporting the local district council on its Climate emergency programme.

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