ABSTRACT
For most people in the West, the idea of introducing formal education in the developing world has only positive associations - building rural schools, empowering girls through equal access, teaching young people to speak English and to use modern technology so they can get ahead. By education, what is actually meant is the introduction of Western-style schooling around the world. It is a building block of development or aid, which in turn is linked to corporate-led globalisation. This form of education represents a systematic transition away from a deep knowledge of how to survive using local, natural resources towards a dependence on fossil fuels and large anonymous businesses and government bureaucracies. In order to sustain life on this planet, we need to become aware of these connections. Education nurtured an intimate relationship with the living world. It gave children a wealth of ecological knowledge that allowed them, as they grew older, to use resources in an effective and sustainable way.
