Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Ecoliteracy


Please read all the Ecoliteracy links and essays prior to responding this week and respond to BOTH questions:

1. In addition to environmental knowledge, education for sustainability includes the acquisition of particular skills, values, and vision needed to put that knowledge into practice.  Education for sustainable living cultivates competencies of head, heart, hands, and spirit to enable children to develop toward becoming citizens capable of designing and maintaining sustainable societies.  Which of the competencies listed at http://www.ecoliteracy.org/education/competencies.html would you list as a strength in your current or ideal pedagogy? Why?

2. After reading David W. Orr's essay please respond to ONE of the quotes listed below.  What resonates with you as an educator?

A. Genuine leaders, including those in the media, must summon the people with all of their flaws to a level of extraordinary achievement appropriate to an extraordinarily dangerous time. They must ask people, otherwise highly knowledgeable about the latest foibles of celebrities, to be active citizens again, to know more, think more deeply, take responsibility, participate publicly, and, from time to time sacrifice.

OR

B. Telling the truth requires leaders at all levels to speak clearly about the causes of our failures that have led us to the brink of disaster. If we fail to treat the underlying causes, no small remedies will save us for long. The problems can in one way or another be traced to the irresponsible exercise of power that has excluded the rights of the poor, the disenfranchised, and every generation after our own. 

OR

C. Transformational leadership in the largest crisis humankind has ever faced means summoning people to a higher vision than that of the affluent consumer society. Consider the well-studied but little-noted gap between the stagnant or falling trend line of American happiness in the last half century and that of rising GNP. That gap ought to have reinforced the ancient message that, beyond some point, more is not better.

18 comments:

  1. 1. Perhaps by process of elimination, the competencies of heart are those which I would list as a strength in my current pedagogy. I say this is truth “by process of elimination” because I cannot, in good conscience, gleam credit for that which I did not actively study and seek to fulfill. I wish I could say that I had previously encountered these listed competencies and considered them when planning every lesson but I did not.

    I teach English as a second language to adult learners from around the world. I have, thankfully, always taken into consideration my students’ role as global citizens but I have considered their duties to each other as individuals, rather than to the world as a whole or the environment. I capitalize on the unique opportunity of having each student in my class represent a different nation by using the topic of their own culture to facilitate the learning of the English language. We do a lot of activities which center around students teaching their peers things about their culture. We use the classroom as a safe haven for informed debate and we spend a lot of time acknowledging stereotypes so that they can be broken down.

    2. C. “Transformational leadership in the largest crisis humankind has ever faced means summoning people to a higher vision than that of the affluent consumer society. Consider the well-studied but little-noted gap between the stagnant or falling trend line of American happiness in the last half century and that of rising GNP. That gap ought to have reinforced the ancient message that, beyond some point, more is not better.”

    When reading through the article the first time this was where I found myself emphatically nodding my head. I was thinking back to an early experience when I first immigrated to Australia. At a party I met someone new and asked (as I assumed would be customary) “What do you do?” The person responded with utter befuddlement, which I assumed stemmed from not understanding my “funny accent”. They responded tentatively, “I surf?” When I explained that I was asking what they did for a living they looked at me even more suspiciously and said “Are you asking for a job?” I later learned that the awkwardness in this conversation was due to the fact that this was a strange question to be asking someone at a party in Australian culture. It was fine to discuss work when one was working, but outside of work, one’s profession had almost no bearing on one’s persona. Simply put, what you do does not make up who you are, so why would it matter to know what this person you’re talking to at a party does?

    This one short interaction really shook up my outlook on life. Forgive me if you do not agree, but my perception on the American value system is that we define ourselves by what we do (for a work). This part of the reading directly linked to this memory in my mind.

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  2. 1. Working in elementary school classrooms as an aspiring elementary teacher, the competency that struck me as most important, and that which I believe I include in my pedagogy, is the competency of the heart. When reading through the different competencies, the competencies of the head and the heart were the ones that were the most relevant. I believe the competencies of the heart (“ Feel concern, empathy, and respect for other people and living things. See from and appreciate multiple perspectives; work with and value others with different backgrounds, motivations, and intentions. Commit to equity, justice, inclusivity, and respect for all people”) will lead to developing the competencies of the head. Also, when teaching young children, I feel it is important to work on building these skills of appreciating multiple perspectives and working with and valuing others. Building these skills in a classroom will help students develop into adults who see the issues others and the planet are facing, and will have the heart to want to do something to make the world and individuals’ lives better. I also see these skills as integral to having a cooperative and welcoming classroom environment, not taking into consideration the problems that face our planet.


    2. The quote that resonates with me most as an educator (and a human being), is C. This resonates with me because I believe it speaks to creating a balance in life. To me, this concept of balance, whether it be between work/school/fun or pizza/broccoli/exercise, is one that is essential to leading a happy and fulfilled life. As an educator, I hope to be able to instill this need for a balance in my classroom. This quote also caused me to think about something the author points out at the end of the essay, and that is, just because we have the ability to do something, doesn’t mean we should- more is not better. As an undergraduate English major, I know all about Dr. Faustus selling his soul to the devil and Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster that would ruin his life. I hope to be able to have my future student discover that just because something is possible, doesn’t mean it is best; but that does not mean that they shouldn’t always strive and think with their heads and hearts.

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  3. 1. I would list “feel concern, empathy, and respect for other people and living things” as one of my strengths in my current pedagogy. I use the idea of respect, especially when regarding other peoples opinion, in my youth group. I want to teach them that they are part of a whole, their world is not isolated from others, their feelings and actions. I want them to know that to feel concern, empathy, and respect for others is something that must be nurtured and practiced. This is particularly hard with teenagers because they are in their “me” period, but I try to get them to care about what is going on in the other side of the world, to care why this happens and not that. If these youth don’t start practicing now, then by the time they are adults they wouldn’t have grasped the ideas of respect and empathy.
    2A. The idea in this quote that resonates with me is that anyone can be a leader, I truly believe this. As a coordinator of a youth leadership group I believe that a genuine leaders is someone who deeply cares and is committed to their community, be it a 5 mile radius or worldwide, and that it can be anyone. A leader is someone who takes a proactive approach to making themselves and their community better. The youth in my program are becoming leaders because they care about what is going in their communities and they want to make it better. Now I’m making them think about what is going on in the world, about the issues in our community, about how they can become better people. They are slowly becoming leaders and I can’t wait until they do, because once they do, they will help instill leadership skills in others and that will only create more waves of leaders willing to do something to help their community.

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  4. 1. Head (cognitive). Think critically, solve problems creatively, and apply knowledge to new situations. As I've grown older in life; I have learned the importance of thinking things out; planning ahead; and rewards or consequences to one's thought process. All things in life react to a prior motion or thought. All things in life are reactionary. A positively well thought out plan can produce good results. Thinking positively and critically about things is difficult but well worth the time and effort. Sometimes I get in the habit of taking shortcuts that result in unfavorable outcomes. My ideal pedagogy would consist of thorough practice of critical thinking and its significance to our existence.
    2B. Learn from our past. In learning from our past; we must remember to practice equality. Fairness must continue to exist in our society. Power. Power fuels everything. We must not waste power. Re-usable power must exist. Waste is not an excuse. We all provide power! We must all be heard and accounted for. Everyone's power must be utilized. We must empower ourselves as a global society and recognize all powers that every individual contributes to our earth. We must continue to share and listen without bias. Just a thought.

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  5. #1 The strength of my ideal pedagogy will be the development of students’ spiritual competency. I believe spiritual competency is the premise of the development of the other competencies. Let student experience wonder and awe toward nature, to understand human beings are part of this planet not something “superior”, not a master. Let them revere the earth and all living things to develop a strong bond with and deep appreciation of place, then feel kinship with the nature and want to invoke that feeling in others, too. These spiritual understandings will form a foundation on which teachers can cultivate students’ hearts to feel concern, empathy, and respect for other people and living things and then enlighten students’ minds to approach issues and situations from a systems perspective and think critically. Once students’ “heads are ready”, they will be able to act.
    #2 I think I resonate with quote C. Sometimes when I see various kinds of foods sitting on shelves in supermarkets waiting to rot, I feel heart-wrenching because a lot of people are starving to death while there are actually ample foods here. Most people express sympathies toward starving people but not everybody will share his or her foods with them. There seems to be infinite desires for material accumulation in our hearts which cannot bring the true happiness we are looking for, but fake senses of superior. We need leaders who can awake people from a consumer society, who can make resource distributions more sensible, and who could effectively address the issue of sustainability.

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  6. 1: Considering that I have not actually taught a class of my own yet, I think it is fair to say that my ideal pedagogy is pretty malleable at this point in time and is constantly evolving. That said, I would probably rank "competency of the spirit" as one of my own personal strengths as a teacher/person. The idea of experiencing "wonder and awe toward nature" is something I do everyday. I am always seeking to be in contact with nature through surfing, hiking, sailing, skiing, beach walks, gardening, flower arranging, swimming, camping and painting outside. My desire to "feel a kinship with the natural world" is a concept that I would hope to inspire my future students to incorporate into their own lives. Obviously, nature and the great outdoors don't always align with the curriculum of teaching ESL to adults, but I am hoping to find creative ways to bring nature into the classroom and allow for students to develop a "deep appreciation of place." Many ESL students are struggling with isolation, culture shock, and a sort of "identity purgatory." Facilitating a connection with nature provides a kind of constancy and calm that overcomes cultural differences and allows for a sense of stability in the most chaotic of times.

    2: As an educator, David W Orr's first quote resonated with me the most. This idea that the general public seems more concerned with "the latest foibles of celebrities" rather than being active citizens is a mindset that seems to have insidiously taken hold in American society. The idea that our value system has shifted dramatically and we no longer aspire to "to know more, think more deeply, take responsibility, participate publicly, and from time to time sacrifice" is saddly an accurate portrayel of a large portion of the American public. I think that as educators and teachers we certainly have the power to inspire students and lead a dramatic shift in the way in which American students approach the world. Students, afterall, are the future generation and how we inspire them, mold them, and challenge them to grow is a surefire way to insure a future of change.

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  7. 1. I am torn between the heart and the hands. Not having a classroom of my own means my current pedagogy is not completely formed, and so I base this on what i envision to be the best teaching method for elementary aged students. While I believe the competencies of the heart are crucial, we can all have the heart to get along with people, value them, and want to change our world, but what good is all that if you can't physically act on this? So many people these days "want" to help, but rely on others to get the actual work done. I want to inspire children to be those leaders, speak up, and create the action. I think if they gain the ability to do this, the heart will go along with it.

    2.B. I feel this quote is like when we say history just repeats itself. We can't always/don't want to think criticaly about the past to rectify things for the future. You can't be a strong and successful leader if you aren't willing to face the real mistakes we've made. Making people feel that they are helping the world by using more efficient light bulbs or recycling bottles is really just putting a tiny bandaid on a huge cut. It's never going to fully heal. I think about our food policy at work (I work at California Pizza Kitchen) which states we must throw out all our unused food, this includes any item we made a mistake on, and anything that was not picked up for take out. We must throw out hundreds of dollors of food per week, maybe even per day. It's disgusting for me to think about all the poeple we could feed with that. But it's a big violation of state health code to donate this food. I may be going off topic here, but I feel some of these rules and regulations our leaders enforce are there to make us feel better (what if our food leads to food poisoning, that's why we can't give it, etc) rather than actually fixing a problem such as hunger.

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  8. 1. Its difficult for me to choose just one of the competencies listed, as a strength in my ideal pedagogy. One of the greatest challenges I see facing our culture now and in the future is an inability to "experience wonder and awe toward nature," others, and oneself. As societies around the world grow increasingly atheistic and attempt to pit science against religion, I think we begin to devalue wonder as something ignorant people do -- its a state of mind that only small children and the mentally ill are permitted. Heschel's "I asked for Wonder" helped me develop my understanding of wonder as that which helps one place herself in the right [truthful] relationship with the world, in which good actions spring from humble, amazed appreciation rather than a sense of mere responsibility [a sense which may be more difficult to sustain when faced with hardships].

    2. The third quote resonates with me the most. By nature, we humans seek our own happiness. This is not something to be critical of, in itself, if we recognize that our greatest happiness lies in helping others. The problem is that our culture [including the U.S. government] puts an overriding precedence on financial gains as the source of human well being and happiness. As the article notes, however, once you get beyond poverty, having more money does not make you happier. "The largest crisis humankind has ever faced" is not so much the climate crisis as it is man's alienation from himself and from reality. When man returns to himself and to truth, I have faith that the collective creativity and courage of people will be able to make a difference in stalling or reversing the damage that has been done to the earth. Without this return, though, we are all doomed.

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  10. 1. I think we cannot separate those competencies; it is like a series each part leads to build and strength the next part. But as long as we need to choose one of them, and as a future teacher, the competency that struck me as most important is the competency of the heart. I believe the competency of the heart, which is “Feel concern, empathy, and respect for other people and living things. See from and appreciate multiple perspectives; work with and value others with different backgrounds, motivations, and intentions. Commit to equity, justice, inclusivity, and respect for all people” is the fundamental factor in building students learning abilities. By focusing on building this competency, we will be able to teach our students more effectively rather than alienating them because of an issue that they have no control over. Wherefore, constructing these skills in a classroom would help students to enhance their skills in order to stand up for the human issues. Also, that would give a teacher a chance to create a save environment for the students to learn.

    2. The second quote resonates with me the most. I think that a leader must have the courage to stand up and underlying the causes of failures. They must have a high level of transparency to be able to turn the failure into success and I think transparency must include recognition of successes as well as failures. As an educator, I believe that we need to follow the evidence wherever it leads. If we have courage to face our failures and step back to change it to success we would change the world.

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  11. 1. It was hard for me to pick just one of these competencies because they are all so important to me however, at the Kindergarten level, I would have to say that heart is the strength of my ideal pedagogy. If you walk into mostly any elementary school you will probably find something about the pillars of character. I believe that it is extremely important to teach children at a young age about respect, honesty, empathy, trustworthiness, etc. I think you can teach students to think critically at any age but they need to learn respect and think of different perspectives/feelings before it is too late. If they are unable to work with others, respect others, value differences in others, then they wont be able to make it far in this world.
    2. B. While reading this essay this quote really stuck out to me: "It is part of the enigma of human nature that the 'typical' person — immature, stumbling, inept, lazy — is capable of great dedication and heroism if wisely led."
    I think that it is important as an educator to be honest with our students especially if we expect them to be honest. I always respected the teachers that were able to admit to their mistakes, because it made me feel more comfortable when I made a mistake. Students look up to their teachers and sometimes they create this idea that teachers are perfect and never "mess up". However, that is obviously not true. We need to teach our students that it is okay to make a mistake but more importantly- what can we do next time to avoid this? How can we fix this? As someone else had mentioned, history repeats itself and we study history for a reason- so if we were incapable of discussing our past then how are we supposed to learn from it?

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  12. Of the competencies presented I would have to say that the strengths in my pedagogy lie in the heart and head; and as a secondary layer I would mention the hands. Teaching in a multi-cultural classroom, I stress understanding and empathy for each student’s culture and background. I always try to push trade books into my curriculum because I believe they help students to see multiple perspectives and gain respect for those from difference backgrounds. I try to have all my students be well-versed in the experiences of others. The ability to “appreciate multiple perspectives; work with and value others with different backgrounds,” is a life skill that all of our students must gain in order to function in tomorrow’s world. This acceptance will help them to collaborate with others and communicate effectively within a group. Furthermore, not only is this understanding part of the 21st century skills that we have been working towards, but this empathy for others will allow us to work together successfully in the future to sustain our ecosystem. Another 21st century skill that is mirrored in these competencies is the ability to “think critically, solve problems creatively, and apply knowledge to new situations.” This is another skill that I believe is essential for my students because it encourages them to not think in black and white, and to challenge and question the systems we have in place today. I believe the head and heart competencies complement each other nicely, and students need both in order to be active members of our society.
    The hands competency is also an important aspect of my pedagogy. I believe students learn best through doing, and I am constantly looking for opportunities to let them do just that. This “active” competency also teaches our students that not only must they think about these issues, but they must take action to change them; they must do something about it. I always encourage my students to be proactive in their own education, and this competency encourages them to be proactive in sustaining and saving our world as we know it.

    The first quote is the one that really resonated with me. Leaders, as well as society, need to learn how to trust each other. The heart of the issues of sustainability should not be hidden from members of society; it is our job as members of the society to know what the issues are, and what steps can or should be taken to repair the problems. Society members cannot “know more” and “think more deeply” if information is being hidden because leaders do not think we can handle it. Society is aware of our latest push to “Go Green,” but does everyone know exactly why we are doing that? Does society know why those actions are necessary? As a classroom teacher, I see this issue taking place on a smaller scale. My students and I work very hard to create a sense of community within the classroom making everyone accountable; therefore, when there is an issue everyone knows about it and works together to decide on an appropriate solution; or we discuss different ways a problem can be remedied. Most importantly, students are active in our decision making. What seems to be missing in the larger example provided by David Orr is the lack of trust and confidence that when given all the information society can make the right decisions.

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  13. 1.) Although I feel that all of the listed competencies are important in helping to develop children that are capable of designing, and maintaining sustainable societies, I feel that my personal strengths come in the competencies of heart. As an educator, I am constantly making an effort to appreciate multiple perspectives. Whether it is a different perspective of one of my colleagues, or a perspective of a child in my class, I feel that every person’s perspective must be valued, and always respected. I also feel that my strengths lie here because I am a loving, empathetic, and nurturing person by nature. I feel that these are extremely important qualities to embody especially as an educator of young children.

    2.) “Telling the truth requires leaders at all levels to speak clearly about the causes of our failures that have led us to the brink of disaster. If we fail to treat the underlying causes, no small remedies will save us for long. The problems can in one way or another be traced to the irresponsible exercise of power that has excluded the rights of the poor, the disenfranchised, and every generation after our own. “

    This quote from David W. Orr’s essay is the one that resonates most with me as an educator. To be a successful leader one must encompass the ability to reflect on the mistakes of the past before ever trying to change the future. If a leader does not understand, and try to rectify what failed in the past, then how can a better future be built for generations to come? As an educator, I know that there are several issues in school systems today that must be addressed, and corrected. It is going to take courageous leaders that understand past mistakes, and are not afraid to make the necessary changes.

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  14. For me it was an easy choice to see which competency fit not only who I feel I am but also what I feel I "preach" in my pedagogy. I am most definitely under the "heart" category, in the area about concern and empathy for others and living things. I have always enjoyed community service learning in the classroom, but only incorporate it a little. When I do, its usually in a way to encourage students to see things that they can help with. For example, when I taught third grade we did a rake up the community project for the elderly and created a tree and decorations for a hospital fundraiser. I had them create goodie bags for kids at the Ronald McDonald House too. I have always done community circle and had students share their own personal feelings and how others affect them. As a current kinder teacher I often spend portions of my day discussing how we act and how it affects those around us. I love to use the books about the "bucket" that everyone has and how we can a dipper or a filler. In regards to applying this towards ecology, I havent done so as of yet. In fact, I'm a little ashamed to say I havent focused on it much at all except for Earth Day. Now would this be my "ideal" pedagogy? I think I would prefer to be the competency thats more hands on in actively turning convictions into practical and effective action. The problem or rather my personal halting factor is finding the time and a way to teach it while teaching all the other standards. I bet it would be easy to make it cross curricular and I should find a way. Perhaps this will motivate me to do so.
    Question 2:
    The quote that resonated with me was the first one. It mentioned that we should encourage people to care about ecology rather than the newest celebrity sightings and issues and help them to become active citizens again. It stood out to me because I ahd so many connections that I could make with it. I thought of how people posted on facebook when Lindsay Lohan went into jail. Their statuses said something about caring more about Iraq soldiers, etc. Seeing their statuses makes me feel that there are those out there pushing us to care more about things that celebrities. I think what holds us back is our society, and the time. We're so busy its easy to zone out with reality t.v. It would be very helpful if more celebrities stood out and tried to help the Earth because then people might be drawn to it. The biggest part of his quote was the word "sacrifice." I think thats the key to making things better on our planet. Sacrifice a little luxury to make things better in the long run. If we can teach our students that, than they might grow into very responsible adults.

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  15. #1 After I read those competencies, I have to address that all of them are really important for students during their learning process. But after I thought about which one is the most important for students to be successful in their study and I can also incorporate into my classroom with my lessons is "head (Cognitive)." The reason is that, nowadays, the world changes so fast and our students have to adapt the speed of changes. So I would like to list cognitive in my future pedagogy because it will help my students to develop their ability of critical thinking. For most students, they are not capable of thinking critically. Thus, I think it is very important for them to develop this skill and be prepared them to be mature.

    #2 I think the second quote is really resonated with me because I think, as a leader, he/she should clearly take care of the failure and examine the reasons of failure. For a teacher, we should admit that we might make a mistake in the classroom. Mistakes are allowed in the classroom because no one is perfect. Thus, we should face the failure we made and modify ourself. It is not shy to face it because teacher should still keep learning during their teaching processes.

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  16. 1. I believe competence of heart should be priority in my current ideal pedagogy, because this is the foundational stance of an individual as a person. I strongly believe that other competences compare to this one, are optional, while this one is compulsory. We can accept a person with a kind heart who unable to obtain perfect English proficiency or think critically, but it would be horrible if a person has great cognitive, active and connectional power with little empathy or values. I love the quote from my favorite History author: “There are two things that one can never abandon: conscience and dream.” I think this is the essence meaning of education, no matter what content area we are teaching.

    2. B. Telling the truth requires leaders at all levels to speak clearly about the causes of our failures that have led us to the brink of disaster. If we fail to treat the underlying causes, no small remedies will save us for long. The problems can in one way or another be traced to the irresponsible exercise of power that has excluded the rights of the poor, the disenfranchised, and every generation after our own.

    This quote resonate with me most, because I see some really good quality that I would love my students to obtain, which are honesty and responsibility. As I mentioned in the first question, conscience is significant in people’s lives, and these two are both part of conscience. I also love the quote in Spiderman: with great power, comes great responsibility. Even ordinary adults should take responsibility for their behavior; thus, it is significant for leaders to be responsible for every policy they made. As an educator, this quote reminds me to think about how to make students become a responsible person and think twice before making decisions.

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  17. 1. I believe the competency of the heart would be a strength and focus in my ideal and current pedagogy.
    The following aspects of the competency of the heart:
    * Feel concern, empathy, and respect for other people and living things
    * See from and appreciate multiple perspectives; work with and value others with different backgrounds, motivations, and intentions
    * Commit to equity, justice, inclusivity, and respect for all people

    ...are all things I would want me students to have beyond the material and subject content they would be learning in my classroom. Students need to be well-rounded in order to be successful in the world. I don't want my students just to be smart, I want my students to be open-minded, respectful of all living things, and passionate about equality and human rights for all. I want my students to know why they need an education and how they can use it to do good in the world.

    2. A. Genuine leaders, including those in the media, must summon the people with all of their flaws to a level of extraordinary achievement appropriate to an extraordinarily dangerous time. They must ask people, otherwise highly knowledgeable about the latest foibles of celebrities, to be active citizens again, to know more, think more deeply, take responsibility, participate publicly, and, from time to time sacrifice.
    This quote resonates with me the most because I feel that my role as an educator is to nurture and develop my students into well-rounded, 21st century active citizens. It is my job to teach my students the skills to think critically and participate in the global community. Not only is it my job, but it is my responsibility to be a good role model for them and show them what it means to be an active citizen. I think it is important to teach my students that anyone can make a difference in our problematic society regardless of their flaws, mistakes, abilities and perceived limitations.

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  18. 1. The strengths in my ideal pedagogy are Head and Hand. I believe that its important for us to become critical thinkers about our world and nature around us to create sustainable communities. Understanding the ecological principals is important to assessing ideas and ways to improve it. I would want my future students to be able to think about their community issues and come up with creative and attainable ideas to help improve them.

    Also, once the have done the thought process and envisioned the future outcomes and its ethical impact on the society, its important for them to become proactive. Action after thought is important. if there is no movement at the brainstorm than thoughts and ideas were wasted. I would want my students become forward moving thinkers and world changers rather than idealist and merely dreamers of change.

    2. B. Telling the truth requires leaders at all levels to speak clearly about the causes of our failures that have led us to the brink of disaster. If we fail to treat the underlying causes, no small remedies will save us for long. The problems can in one way or another be traced to the irresponsible exercise of power that has excluded the rights of the poor, the disenfranchised, and every generation after our own

    This quote resonates with me in two ways. First, I like honesty and straight forwardness. Its important of our leaders to be honest about the issues that plague our society and inform their constituents. I think honesty breads security and trust even if the information one receives is negative.

    Secondly, this quote resonates with me because I just agree with the statement. If one doesn't know the true factors that lead to destruction than how can anyone ever change or improve those glitches hindering progress. If you don't know what is wrong than how can you fix it?

    I agree that communities problem are traced back to an irresponsible us of power. This irresponsibility, to me, is called greed or selfishness. Those in power have for a long time been only considering own. This greed has led to an imbalance throughout the community.

    I think the solution is to put character, morality and ethics back into the definition of a leader and not allow money to equal power and power to equal quality leadership.

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