Role reversal on sustainability education
Trying to get a meaningful view on anything seems to be getting harder as the fight for clicks on mainstream and social media platforms, drives headline hysteria. Are we at risk of creating a culture of fear, disillusion, distrust and confusion? Well, only if we allow it to I guess. There is little doubt though that today, we are all suffering from a bout of disaster fatigue.
As adults, we can of course choose who and what to trust based on our previous experiences but what about the lasting impressions this can leave on children and young people? Unfortunately they don`t have the luxury of experience and rely on others (parents, teachers, family, friends, social media etc.) to guide, inform and mentor them. Who we get as parents and family is part of life`s lottery of course but it will have a profound effect on our journey into adulthood nevertheless.
Young people have always challenged orthodoxy sometimes in a good and sometimes in a not-so-good way. Challenging or critisizing established ideas and practices is an easy shot if no solutions are offered but this is often a result of not having lived through an experience or not seeing a wider picture. We need to give leeway and mitigate for inexperience in these circumstances but that doesn`t mean we can`t listen or learn from them. Today, there are occasions where the roles are reversed and young people are better equipped to play the role of mentor.
A topic that strikes a chord with many young people is the environment and current climate crisis. Talk to a class of teenagers on these subjects and you will see a mix of interest, anger and blame with the latter aimed squarely at previous generations. In a slight twist, updated curriculums now mean many young people are better equipped than their parents and grand-parents to understand the challenges facing our planet. There is a sense among many young people that previous generations have plundered natural resources to an extent that threatens their futures and they are pushing us to put it right.
Massive media exposure fuels the passion even more and Greta`s message resonates with many young people who now take on the role of teacher and enforcer in their own household on all things green and sustainable. But are their views based on just fanciful ideas, social brainwashing, unworkable ideologies or seizing on an opportunity to push back on parental control and the establishment, just like previous generations of young people have before them?
Just like any information source, it depends on what they are telling us and how much of it we believe. But they are absolutely right for calling us out on one thing. If we fail to acknowledge that there is a problem in how we currently integrate sustainable thinking into commercial practices and economic measures of success, it is future generations that will suffer the consequences.
More disaster fatigue? No, because we have it in our power to avoid it. All we need is the will, committment and on a personal level, some reliable sources to help us to make informed decisions and to protect their futures.
Gary Griffin: Founder of Zoophoria
