General Education Draft Vision

Education Group – General

Vision for 2020

Our vision is conceived in terms of collective knowledge, skills and values; of processes of generating and transmitting these; and of levels of individual and collective creativity and ingenuity. The vision refers to the population of the bioregion of Nelson and Tasman.

Collective knowledge, skills and values

People in this region have a firm grasp of fundamental ecological principles – the importance of living within the biocapacity of this region, of preserving diversity of species, of protecting ecosystems and restoring them in balance with human needs, of avoiding introducing mined or human-made substances to natural systems.

People have collectively recovered the skills needed to live frugally but well, within biocapacity limits, with a strong sense of community and with equitable sharing of resources.

People understand and participate in a system of participatory governance and conflict management to maximize both the application of collective intelligence to community issues and of decision-making power to each member of a community.

People understand and value Nature; and understand and value living together as a community.

The knowledge, skills and values of people in this region is not solely focussed on local issues. Knowledgeable and skilful people in this area contribute to shared knowledge globally and apply themselves to problems outside this region. All people in this region have some awareness of important global issues.

People share well-developed knowledge of important threats to human well-being from resource depletion, climate change, economic and governance systems, militarism, global pandemics and they share knowledge on how to continue building resilience to these threats.

People share knowledge of the many human groups that make up our population and value the diversity of the population and the maintenance of the highest level of human rights for everyone.

Processes of knowledge transmission

The 12 years between now and 2020 are likely to be ones that demand rapid adaptation  to new conditions, and therefore rapid learning. The need for learning will be felt at every age level. Principles that might guide systems of learning at all ages could be:

·        Curiosity and need-driven learning

·        High participation of learners in learning

·        Application of learning whenever possible.

·        Emphasis on group and cooperative learning processes

·        Encouragement of questioning, creativity, ingenuity in problem-solving.

·        Dissolving the status difference between highly abstract knowledge and concrete, applied knowledge.

For the young, whose main task is learning, our vision is that these principles will be incorporated into appropriate combinations of home learning and school learning. This aspect of the vision will be further developed by the Working Group on Education – Children.

For older learners, the vision includes high school and adult education courses in ecological principles, permaculture, skills of self-sufficiency, Nature restoration and conservation.

Processes of knowledge generation

Knowledge development needs to be more systematic than trial and error. The vision includes a Bioregional Institute where research on questions important to the well-being of humans and Nature in this region can be carried out. Exchanges of scholars and students from other regions could take place.

‘Back-casting’

Vehicles for sustainability education

Transition Town Show on Fresh FM

Motueka Mentoring Programme (Alistair's, for young people)

Homegrown Motueka (Grant's, 12 families, 6 months)

Sustainable Living Program (www.sustainableliving.org.nz , sponsored by TDC and other NZ councils)

Permaculture Design Course

Adult Community Education (ACE, administered by Motueka High)

stall at school fairs

monthly sustainability films

(Thanks to Cheryl for thislist.)

Suggestion from Harideva: Learning about cooperatives – cooperative enterprise, housing, agriculture, etc.

Siuggestions from others: Modules of learning eg political understanding, so we’re less manipulable.

Authority vs freedom; purity vs diversity.