IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Converse to the traditional way of teaching, Education for Sustainable Development means adopting a more holistic approach to education with the aim of ‘creating a better world for this generation and future generations of all living things on planet Earth’. This allows every child to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future.

Humans tend to look at development as a needed and normal process, but when this process becomes increasingly dependent on over-exploitation of our natural resources, the replenishment of these reserves and supplies is affected; and managing this imbalance demands assuming a slightly different school of thought.

One way to cultivate this mindset in our youngsters is by encouraging sustainable lifestyles through Education for Sustainable Development. Living sustainably is about changing our attitudes in a way that helps transform our lives into something that doesn’t impact too heavily on our current routines, while using the planet’s resources in moderation.

Education for Sustainable Development incorporates key environmental challenges like climate change into core subjects like math, science, art, etc. and involves modifying the teaching-learning process to a more all-encompassing approach. Students are thus able to relate what they learn in the classroom to their real life actions, and will increasingly be in a better position to take the lead in changing behaviors' and adopting sustainable lifestyles, the more this type of education is adopted.

As schools no longer function in isolation, their integration with the world outside has exposed students to different people and cultures’, giving them the opportunity to appreciate what the planet offers, while respecting the need to use resources efficiently and responsibly.

Conservation of nature and biodiversity is the responsibility of the whole society, and of individuals, each of whom needs to be aware of their roles and actions that contribute to nature and biodiversity conservation. The education of nature and biodiversity conservation for school students contributes to creating responsible citizens in the future.

Principal, Gajera International School, Utran, Surat