----- Original Message -----
From: D.Niwa
To: USPEIN
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 7:20 AM
Subject: Educating for Sustainability . . .

Be sure to look at "Table 2" from the article (excerpts after my note) -- it contains the same old failed school reforms that have been degrading U.S. education for decades. But in the "Educating for Sustainability. . ." article they are marketed as "Sustainability Education" and "Transformative Action."

While not stated outright, "sustainability education" promotes United Nations' sustainable development agendas in the classroom. (Note: International Baccalaureate programs peddle similar goals via the "IB Learner Profile"; ethnic studies types of programs promote similar objectives through use of "Transformative Education."

Those opposing Common Core standards, take note that Sustainability Education Professional Development Courses include (emphasis added):

-- Sustainability Education (SE) Teaching Methods — This course showcases the core themes of Sustainability Education (SE), with an emphasis on its role as an ecological, economic and social teaching platform, and will provide teachers with the knowledge and resources necessary to integrate sustainability into their core disciplines.

-- Grade-Specific Courses — These courses develop 21st century critical assessment strategies for measuring standards-based competencies in sustainability, and approach Sustainability Education (SE) as a multi-disciplinary framework for Common Core standards-based instruction. Grade levels targeted: Elementary, Middle and High School

-- Sustainability Education (SE) Content Electives:
- Green Energy and Green Technology
- Populations and Global Citizenship
- Green Building
- Sustainable Agriculture
- The Economics of Sustainability

Source: GEF announces teacher K-12 professional development courses and certification program in Sustainability Education, Green Education Foundation (GEF) website. http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/newsroom/1156-gef-building-momentum-in-sustainability-education.html

Debbie


Educating for Sustainability: Competencies & Practices for Transformative Action
Erin Frisk and Kelli L. Larson, Arizona State University
Journal of Sustainability Education Vol. 2, March 2011 ISSN: 2151-7452
(PDF attached)


Abstract
Achieving a sustainable future requires that individuals adopt different values, attitudes, habits, and behaviors, which are often learned and cemented at a young age. Unfortunately, current educational efforts are inadequate for achieving transformative action. Even programs whose primary goal is to promote responsible, pro-environmental behaviors have largely failed at creating change among students. The lack of efficacy in sustainability-related educational programs is at least partly due to faulty assumptions about knowledge automatically leading to action, and by extension, the information-intensive methods that focus largely on declarative knowledge regarding how environmental systems work. Meanwhile, social science literature clearly highlights the need to go beyond ecological and technical knowledge when educating for transformative action, since sustainable behaviors are motivated by much more than declarative information. In order to effectively educate for sustainability, alternative forms of knowledge (i.e., procedural, effectiveness, and social knowledge) are essential, as is the consideration of various barriers and motivators for action. The transition towards sustainability will require action and change that is guided by an understanding of the complexities that arise within an interconnected system, as well as the ability to collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds, while keeping an eye to the future. In formulating our approach to educating for sustainability, we incorporate perspectives from three somewhat disparate fields: (i) behavioral change research, (ii) sustainability scholarship, and (iii) educational pedagogy. While drawing upon diverse knowledge domains, our primary purpose is to integrate behavior change research and sustainability competencies in developing effective educational approaches for transformative actions.

Key Words: sustainability education; sustainability competencies; pedagogy; behavior change; transformative action; pro-environmental behavior


Excerpt from the Introduction:

As the urgency to address environmental, social, and economic challenges increases worldwide, education continues to be seen as a central part of the solutions for sustainability (Sterling, 2001, UNESCO, 1997). In 1997, UNESCO issued a report declaring: “education is the most effective means that society possesses for confronting the challenges of the future. Indeed, education will shape the world of tomorrow” (UNESCO, 1997, pp. 17). The UNESCO report goes on to argue that education should play a pivotal role in bringing about the deep change required to move towards sustainability (UNESCO, 1997). With a focus on educating for sustainability and transformative action, this paper aims to establish effective educational practices needed to achieve key competencies and the behavioral changes required to attain a sustainable future.

Below image from article: Table 2 -- Summary of Key Competencies and Approaches for Sustainability Education
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CATEGORY . Common Core opens a Republican rift over education standards : The Common Core system is meant to unify K-12 education standards in states across the nation. It’s having the opposite effect within the Republican Party, as a rift grows between supporters including high-profile figures such as Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels and other Republicans who had a hand in crafting it and those who fear it’s a well-disguised federal takeover of schools. Concern from conservatives has reached a boiling point, leading the Republican National Committee last week to adopt a resolution condemning the standards.... Republican lawmakers in Alabama this week are introducing legislation to get their state out of Common Core, which has been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia./ The backlash and RNC resolution are major setbacks for what had been, until recently, widely accepted as a significant step forward for the nation’s public schools. It also was seen as a rare bipartisan accomplishment./ “This would be a huge political mistake for the Republican Party to repudiate its long-standing commitment to high standards,” said Michael Petrilli, a Common Core supporter and executive vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative education think tank.... the Obama administration strongly supports Common Core, though it didn’t have a hand in crafting it. The standards which do not establish specific curricula, but instead set English and math benchmarks for students at each grade level were the joint effort of the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers. See ARTICLE

 

 

http://www.crossroad.to/News/archive/education-4.html

Education News
... Compass Curriculum: "NOTE TO TEACHERS.... The electrifying plots and unusual and mysterious characters make these novels excellent choices for reading aloud. Themes of good vs. evil, betrayal, courage, fear, trust, and love raise important questions, offering students a wonderful opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue. This guide offers questions for discussion and includes activities that connect the language arts, social studies, science.... "Philip Pullman's intriguing and haunting trilogy sends fantasy lovers on an incredible journey through other worlds ... and critique the Biblical account from Pullman's anti-biblical perspective-- which totally twists the actual context. See Establishing a Global Spirituality and The upside-down world of Pullman's Golden Compass U.K. Kids Get RFID Chips In School Uniforms: "Ten schoolchildren in the United Kingdom are being tracked by RFID chips in their school uniforms as part of a pilot program. If the program proves successful as a way to hasten registration, simplify data entry for the school's behavioral reporting system, and ensure attendance, Trevor Darnborough, whose company, Darnbro, filed ... This page is very long. You may not want to print it. Education News (2006-2007) See also Mind Control, Seeds of Persecution and Whose Rights? For background information, we suggest you read Brave New Schools. Skip down to the The Moscow Declaration Home News Index Articles December 2007 A degree of insignificance: "U.S. News is telling college graduates to look for jobs that do not require a college diploma. Among the 31 best opportunities for 2008 are the careers of firefighter, hairstylist, cosmetologist, locksmith ...
Terms matched: 4  -  Score: 691  -  24 Jan 2013  -  URL: http://www.crossroad.to/News/archive/education-4.html
 

3. Mind Control

... Malik Hasan for years, the president is doing his best to stop Congress from finding out why these warnings went unheeded." See Legalizing Mind Control October 2009 Assaults on Faith and Family, Part 3: The Ominous "Success" of 'Re-Education':" 'Students do me a favor,' urged author Ellen Gilchrist, a guest speaker at the school. 'Totally ignore your parents. Listen to them, but then forget them. Because you need to start using your own stuff...' Her aim was to ... time and money on psycho-social "research" and the implementation UNESCO's transformational education strategies than any other nation. See The International Agenda Achtung teachers: RFID curriculum has arrived! "Our generation... will never fully embrace a world where everything can be tagged and tracked. It's just too new. But the next generation will. Adolph Hitler understood this dynamic well, saying: 'When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side.' I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already.' What ... This page is very long. You may not want to print it.Propaganda, Mind Control& "Mental Health" Psychological manipulation and human resource management More recent quotes on Mind Control A related topic: Education News To understand how this could be happening in America, please see: The UN Plan for Your Mental Health See also the the "Mental Health& Brainwashing" section of Quotes and Excerpts Home~ News Index~ Articles November 2009 Why Obama Nixed the Ft. Hood Probe: "As he flew to Asia ...
Terms matched: 4  -  Score: 543  -  27 Jan 2013  -  URL: http://www.crossroad.to/News/archive/MindControl-2.html
 

6. Brave New Schools, Chapter 6: Serving a Greater Whole

... To educators, it's a hands-on way of teaching compassion, responsibility, citizenship, and team work. To busy parents, it offers children a simple path to positive, character-building experiences. "In California, we encourage service learning as a highly effective tool for teaching students the true meaning of citizenship and caring for one's community and people," [10] said Linda Forsyth, an education programs consultant. It sounds almost too good to be true. Could anything be wrong with such noble motives and selfless service? There could ... exist. Children are born in laboratories, programmed through daily behavior modification exercises, and conditioned to enjoy sexual experimentation, group consciousness, unquestioning service, and the right ways to think. Peace, order and conformity have won the day. But the trade-off hurts. Tracked by the watchful eyes of the state and peer informers, few dare challenge the prescribed boundaries of world-wide political correctness. The official promotion of sensual indulgence serves a social purpose. "As political and economic freedom... diminishes, sexual freedom tends compensatingly to ... to their 19th birthday to serve in the Hitler youth." [8]( Nazism: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts) "As young people mature we must help them develop...a service ethic... the global servant concept in which will educate our young for planetary service and eventually for some form of world citizenship.... Implicit within the 'global servant concept are the moral insights... that will help us live with the regulated freedom we must eventually impose on ourselves." [1 ...
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