Sustainability Education Handbook

Teaching Tools:

"Our future and the planet’s rest on learning to question all our everyday actions and their impacts –openly and in public." ----Harold Glasser

How to integrate sustainability topics in your classroom

Through feedback from teachers and K-12 teacher focus groups, we have discovered that sustainability concepts become more relevant and accessible by framing a discussion around three key questions. Please use the Teaching Sustainability: 3 Basic Questions framework below to assist you in introducing the subject and narrowing the discussion with your students to produce fruitful, lively and relevant dialogue.

The Framework: 3 basic questions for introducing sustainability concepts to your students

Background:

Fundamentally, sustainability refers to our potential for sustaining---supporting, maintaining, upholding---beneficial aspects of society or the environment.

This framework is a strategy for helping your students focus their dialogue and viewpoints so they can begin connecting their understanding of the world, their values, and their hopes, dreams, and expectations for the future.

Asking the following three questions can help give structure and meaning to a sometimes vague and abstract concept where multiple perspectives and disagreements are the norm.

Sustainability of what?

"I believe we should sustain ______. "

Possible Answers: Fossil fuel consumption, modern technology, open space, evolutionary process, natural habitats, educational freedom, standard of living, the American way of life, ecosystems.

Sustainability for whom?

"I believe we should sustain (an answer from above) for _______."

Possible Answers: All people, some people, our neighbors, our friends, non-humans, some species, future generations.

Sustainability for how long?

" I believe we should sustain (the above answers) _______."

Possible Answers: Months, years, forever, during the course of this class.

Follow Up:

Our answers to the 3 Questions represent a window to open dialogue. They are by no means a representation of every possibility. Please use this framework to guide discussion within your classroom as well as initiate discussions on sustainable lifestyles.

Once students answer the three initial questions, you can begin to raise questions such as: How do we connect our hopes and dreams for the future to our everyday actions? What is ethical decision-making? What are our individual and global priorities?

This framework has been developed by Dr. Harold Glasser, Environmental Studies Program and Environmental Institute, Western Michigan University, 1999. Copyright Sustainable Futures Group, 2000.

Click here to continue to the next section: "The Benefits"

Sustainable Education Handbook Table of Contents:

List of Contributors, Acknowledgments, Terms of Use
Introduction
Sample Activities
Teaching Tools
The Benefits
The Approach
Customize Your Curriculum
Evaluation Criteria Chart
Sustainability Topics
Web Sites
Curriculum
Sustainability / State Standards
Standards Quick Guide
Renewable Energy and Efficiency Success Stories