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x A transformative
educative pedagogy The organization of our educational system with standardized tests and centralized curriculum frameworks seems onerous. It is probable that more innovative and engaging methods of educating our young are necessary if we are to create a society that will be able to care for our world. While it is difficult to conceive how our educational system can turn inside-out and upside-down, a localized education
may offer insights. Schumacher (1977) suggests that human problems
required curriculum and pedagogy, we explore the local. We take field trips and explore the bush behind the school. We work with other teachers in our school to make engaging interdisciplinary units. I wonder what would happen if we turned the model
inside-out and upside-down. What if we start with the focus “inside”our own world? What if we look to worlds close by as our source, and rely on our communities and students to guide “what’s important”? What if we gave the power for selecting what we should know to our classrooms and schools? What if our “add ons” became the required curricu- lum and central office pedagogy? What if we add facts, and flow charts and curriculum frameworks to supplement what we have already experienced and explored?
cannot be solved by rational thinking alone and that the divergent problems of our world call for the higher forces of wisdom, compassion, understanding and love. It seems possible that the organizing framework of localism can serve as a conceptual model to open children’s spirits to these transformative principles of mutual love and care.
Sheila Giesbrecht is an educator who is interested in place- based methodologies, urban issues and the educational experiences of student in low-socioeconomic contexts. Sheila currently serves as a government consultant with a focus on the academic success of students in low income environments. She can be reached at
sheila.giesbrecht@
gov.mb.ca.
References Schumacher, E. F. (1977). A guide for the perplexed. New York: Harper and Row.
Thomashow, M. (1995). Ecological identity: Becoming a reflective environ- mentalist. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Gruenewald, D. (2003). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy of place. Education Researcher, 32(4), 3-12.
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