Good planets are hard to find

[Boyd Roberts]

 

At the end of August the death was announced of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. During the summer there was also news that the latest Mars robot explorer, Curiosity, had landed on the red planet. It is incredible to remember those pictures of the first men walking on the moon.

 

Men on the moon

It is equally amazing to see the images beaming back from Mars, showing its surface and terrain.

  We can all share the excitement as people, or their machines, explore new places in the universe. Imagine the reaction there might be if evidence were to be found that simple life had existed on Mars – perhaps something like bacteria on earth. And imagine what funding would follow to research and find out more. Countries might collaborate in investigations, or be prompted to spend vast amounts in a competitive rush to research.

The research on these other planetary bodies is incredible. But the more we find out about other parts of the universe, with their dry dusty surfaces, the more we seem to be incredibly lucky to be living on a planet which is home to such a wonderful array of living organisms. Yet we do not seem to value what we have. We are now in what has been described as the “sixth mass extinction” as habitats become destroyed and species are extinguished – through human activity.  And populations and consumption inexorably increase. Politicians seem unwilling or unable to act on the scale that seems required. And without their lead, what do we as educators do? And what is the relevance of this to our work specifically educating young global citizens. In prompting participants to consider the environmental impact of aspects of their own lifestyle, the IGC Award touches on this. But it is beyond its current scope to consider more fully how humans should live in a finite world. This seems to be a real challenge to us as educators.

Mass assemblies and mass movements

London has been very busy this summer, hosting both the Olympics and Paralympics. I was lucky enough to attend events at both games, including athletics in the main stadium earlier this week. It was quite an experience being part of a crowd of 80,000 people all there for the same purpose, all sharing in the excitement of races and events, coming together with a shared and heightened sense of admiration. And to know that millions around the world were also watching.

And then we left, going our separate ways, each with our own memories. The coming together had ended and we no longer had any connection, other than having shared the same event.

Our work on the ground to promote the development of young people as global citizens seems quite different. Here we work separately, in our different countries and individual centres, slowly, gradually as individual students have experiences, take action, find out things which we hope will shape their lives now and in the future.  In coming together for the Olympics, or any similar mass event, one feels very much part of a larger whole, for a short time. And then it stops. Yet within the IGC Award, and in all our other work on global citizenship,  all the separate actions and activities by individuals within our individual schools are part of a growing grassroots  process that we hope will be durable and produce real shift in how people see the world and live within it. All those individuals, all of us, are part of what we hope will be a mass shift in perception and action, how people live their lives together and with other species, within a framework of sustainability and social justice.

It is good to be energised by the crowd or the sense of the collective – to feel part of something bigger and important. It would be good if we could develop a greater sense of this within the Award – for participants, coordinators and all of us involved – without actually having to meet together physically.

Do please share ideas of how we might do this.

Send a “Reply All” email with your thoughts and ideas, or post to the Award Ning (http://igcaward.ning.com/).