Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115798 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-31
• Format: Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Synopsis
In Earth in Mind, noted environmental educator David W. Orr focuses not on problems in education, but on the problem of education. Much of what has gone wrong with the world, he argues, is the result of inadequate and misdirected education that: alienates us from life in the name of human domination; causes students to worry about how to make a living before they know who they are; overemphasizes success and careers; separates feeling from intellect and the practical from the theoretical; deadens the sense of wonder for the created world. The crisis we face, Orr explains, is one of mind, perception, and values. It is, first and foremost, an educational challenge. The author begins by establishing the grounds for a debate about education and knowledge. He describes the problems of education from an ecological perspective, and challenges the "terrible simplifiers" who wish to substitute numbers for values. He follows with a presentation of principles for re-creating education in the broadest way possible, discussing topics such as biophilia, the disciplinary structure of knowledge, the architecture of educational buildings, and the idea of ecological intelligence.

Orr concludes by presenting concrete proposals for reorganizing the curriculum to draw out our affinity for life.

Customer Reviews

Persuasive analysis of the causes of environmental problems
Dr. Orr's analysis of the root causes of our environmental problems is powerful and pesuasive. Rather than trying to address the corrective actions for the symptoms (ozone holes and global warming, for example) he identifies their fundamental sources and focuses his proposed corrective actions on them. The lack of any meaningful educational content on what it means to be a citizen in a closed ecology on a planet with finite resources is at the center of why the environment continues to deteriorate. If you are serious about being part of the solution and not part of the problem, read this book! --and get others to do the same. I've bought twenty copies that I plan to send to the most influential people I know. If they will read it, they will be "hooked" as I was.