ABSTRACT
Teaching sustainability, it seems to me, is different than many of the topics we
teach at a university. Unlike biology, say, which creates biologists, or planning
which creates planners, there is not profession of “sustainer.” As David Orr
notes, achieving sustainability in the postmodern world will require an “active,
competent citizenry” (1992, p. 30), demonstrating “civic virtue, a high degree of
ecological literacy, and ecological competence throughout the population” (1992,
p. 31). The pedagogic goal is to encourage a world view, one in which students
will become citizen activists for sustainability after they graduate, whether in the
civic sphere or by bringing sustainability criteria to bear on their work. Because
sustainability is very complex, these citizens need to be able to acknowledge the
insufficiency of what they will know and not be paralyzed by it. Instead, they
will need to turn to others to form groups of inquirers who can research mul-
tiple aspects of a question and together have a chance of seeing a broader picture
of the complex designs of the world and the opportunities for sustainability.
Sustainability will be achieved only through communities of learners and activists,
and this is what a curriculum in sustainability must model. Empowerment cannot
be only an academic concept described in the class, but must also be experienced
by the students within the class. Only by making teaching approaches consistent
and coherent with teaching substance on this topic will we create the communities
and citizens we need for the future.
