This essay has allowed me to reflect on my life and on my perspectives that represent my understandings about environmental sustainability. Reflecting on two memories shows what impact they had on forming my values on sustainability and what I may have done differently. The experiences are analysed so as I discover how they influenced my environmental philosophy and Bronfenbrenner’s theory is examined when reflecting on who influences our thinking. Lastly, sustainable education perspectives are discussed and how mine will impact upon my teaching practices.
I remember going to our local tip as a young girl. This was when you drove up to a massive pile of rubbish and a loader pushing all the rubbish into a giant hole ready to bury it in the ground. As young as I was, I remember thinking how can we keep burying this rubbish? What does it do to the world? Not even grasping the amount of rubbish also being dumped all around the world. I knew it did not seem right. …show more content…
Each piece of rubbish I put in our bin was thought of as ending up contributing to the hole at the tip. However, due to my age, the real impact from this experience happened when I was a teenager. This memory came back to me when I came across dumped rubbish in the forestry. This life experience has given me a reality to reflect on and has made me think more about consumption and the impacts on the earth for sustainability. Studies have shown that childhood experiences have a significant influence and shape our engagement with the environment many years later (Chawla, 2007).
Looking back, I would have asked more questions about the impacts of rubbish so as I could have begun understanding it earlier. I believe that environmental responsibility is certainly worthy of children’s attention and effort. The conversations we have with children foster an appreciation for their surroundings (Arthur,
I remember going to our local tip as a young girl. This was when you drove up to a massive pile of rubbish and a loader pushing all the rubbish into a giant hole ready to bury it in the ground. As young as I was, I remember thinking how can we keep burying this rubbish? What does it do to the world? Not even grasping the amount of rubbish also being dumped all around the world. I knew it did not seem right. …show more content…
Each piece of rubbish I put in our bin was thought of as ending up contributing to the hole at the tip. However, due to my age, the real impact from this experience happened when I was a teenager. This memory came back to me when I came across dumped rubbish in the forestry. This life experience has given me a reality to reflect on and has made me think more about consumption and the impacts on the earth for sustainability. Studies have shown that childhood experiences have a significant influence and shape our engagement with the environment many years later (Chawla, 2007).
Looking back, I would have asked more questions about the impacts of rubbish so as I could have begun understanding it earlier. I believe that environmental responsibility is certainly worthy of children’s attention and effort. The conversations we have with children foster an appreciation for their surroundings (Arthur,