The literatures on what needs to happen in education to respond to the environmental metacrisis often suggest that once more learners have certain forms of understanding, knowledge or capabities then things will get better. Here are some of the common suggestions:

• A good understanding of the science of the climate emergency, of the dramatic loss of biodiversity and of other relevant science;
• The capability to understand and experience our interbeing with the natural world;
• Being able to see through false dualisms such as nature/culture;
• Compassion focused practices;
• Capabilties in awareness or somatic practices such as mindfulness;
• A clear reflexive sense of privilege and marginalisation in the world and our place in those processes;
• A strong sense of connection with place and care for place, particularly natural places;
• A deep understanding of the complexity and wickedness of environmental crises and tools to think about that;
• Skill in working across boundaries e.g. between disciplines, communities or stakeholders.

These are all good things and yet … What I’m puzzled by is that I have all of the above to a reasonable extent and yet I don’t alway act appropriately to the urgency of the crises. I think that’s true of quite a lot of other people as well. So what’s missing from our education that might change things? I don’t know yet but here are a few areas I plan to explore:

• How do you learn to generate the energy and courage to stay consistent when the odds seem against success and there are so many powerful forces acting against a better world?
• Related to the above, what would I need to learn to stop having blips when I’m exhausted and decide that buying the thing on Amazon to solve the immediate problem is OK?
• What learning would help when love gets in the way of ethical action? So you buy your dogs the electronic trackers, harnesses, coats, insurance from unethical companies, vegan dog food packaged in plastic … when other sentient beings lack the bare minimum?
• What strategies do professionals need to learn to use when their roles require a lot of less important work that eats up time to respond to the metacrisis but if they don’t do that work they lose their power to influence their organisation?
• What would we and our students need to learn to be able to stay consistently aware of the extent and urgency and grief of the metacrisis without getting overwhelmed?

If anyone has any leads towards answers please comment 🙂

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash edited by Vel McCune