Blog #5

Using the reading material for today as well as previous reading on green values (and referring to specific aspects of that material), write a blog entry outlining the goals and specific characteristics of a green learning community.  How would you know one if you saw one? 

In a green learning community in an educational setting, there professors would be teacher-learners and students would be learner-teachers. This means that we all have something to contribute and something to take away, through engaging with one another in this process. The community would be grounded in “mutuality, dialogue, and nonviolence” (Students in Charge). Caspary gives an example of mutual respect with the student who is deeply rooted in his own ideology of negative freedom. The author also describes the negative aspects of a term paper, with which I can definitely relate: sticking to a prescribed idea with out much exploration; so I think a green learning community would allow projects adapt and flex with change.

I think that the idea of challenging students to think of their own topics for the term project is a wonderful exercise not only in creativity, but also in students’ self-reflection. I know that I learn more about why I am interested in the things that I am when I evaluate and reflect on my decisions and further research the topics I like. However, there is also a section that mentioned how today’s society over-emphasizes self-reflection and evaluation, so I think there would be a careful balance of this in a green learning community.

The section about communication as a tool for conflict solving is another important part of a green learning community. Instead of avoiding or dominating a problem, the community would work together to learn how to communicate.

In reading the Orr article, I realized that ecological literacy is exactly what I have been looking for in my undergraduate education. The kinds of questions that I want to explore in my career are about the connections and relationships between our role (as humans, inhabitants, etc.) and the environment. I think that a green learning community would strive to be ecologically literate. Each member might come from a different discipline, or have a different major, if it is in a college setting, so that a holistic, interdisciplinary perspective can be shared (one of the foundations mentioned in “Ecological Literacy”). There would be conversations and dialogues in the community, and real-life applications of what is learned through experiences.