“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.” E.O. Wilson.
One thing that always bothers me about Environmental Education and Environmental Communication since Rachel Carson told us about the perils of pesticides in 1962, is the notion that negativity will bring about change. It is often been referred to as the Chicken Little Syndrome – preaching negativity, which backfires when things are not as bad as the doom Sayers predict. Do not misunderstand me. There are lots of environmental problems that are getting worse by the year. As good as our current science is, we still do not fully understand the system that is the planet Earth or the solar system our planet spins around within. Science by its very own definition means searching for answers and changing one’s mind based on the results found. Scientists, as much as lay-people, get attached to their beliefs and can be quite dogmatic in their views. A very simple view shows this: “Is the glass half full or half empty?” People will go to great lengths to argue their perspective is correct. What about, it doesn’t matter because the glass is refillable. I find myself in this kind of discussion facing people who are very passionate and excitable about their perspective being right and the opposite perspective being wrong. We get so locked into dichotomous perspectives on a problem or issue that we fail to talk about the root of the situation as it applies to the consequences being observed. As Wilson comments above, we teach information, we do not readily teach critical thinking or the wise application of that thinking – Wisdom. I like the definition of wisdom below:
Wisdom is one of those qualities difficult to define—because it encompasses so much—but which people generally recognize when they encounter it. And it is encountered most obviously in the realm of decision-making. Psychologists tend to agree that wisdom involves an integration of knowledge, experience, and deep understanding that incorporates tolerance for the uncertainties of life as well as its ups and downs. There’s an awareness of how things play out over time, and it confers a sense of balance. It can be acquired only through experience, but by itself, experience does not automatically confer wisdom. Only now are researchers beginning to look into the social, emotional, and cognitive processes that transmute experience into wisdom.
Wise people generally share an optimism that life’s problems can be solved and experience a certain amount of calm in facing difficult decisions. Intelligence—if only anyone could figure out exactly what it is—may be necessary for wisdom, but it definitely isn’t sufficient; an ability to see the big picture, a sense of proportion, and considerable introspection also contribute to its development. Psychology Today.
It’s hard not to be negative when talking about environmental issues – a problem I always had when teaching this area as a college professor. I do think you have to talk about a problem or issue with its consequences, but there must be a solution or a path of action afterwards. People have to be made aware of the situation, but how to do so without losing them to despair. Early on in my academic career, I was always amazed that despite presenting the problem along with solutions in my lectures, so many of my students still talked about doom and gloom and that nothing would change. That puzzled me. What I hadn’t realized back then was that everyone is so overwhelmed with negative information that after a short while of negative stuff they mentally switched off listening with any intention. This was mostly true with anything they had heard about many times. More novel or new issues often caught their interest for longer attention. In a huge lecture class there is little you can do but lecture. (I know there are lots of good techniques for involving more discussion and team learning and other good ideas in a big class. Most people who do these are from big universities where there is lots of help and resources and where the lecturer isn’t overwhelmed with numerous other classes to teach.)
Sadly, many students like anonymity, and do not like to stand out in a class. Sadly, so much of modern education is what has been called the ‘banking method’ – the idea that the learner is an empty vault waiting to be filled with the deposited knowledge from an ‘expert.’ Also sad is that so many students have grown so used to learning (?) this way that trying to establish a technique so they learn to think meets with resistance from them! (I have talked about this in earlier posts.) A curious feature of how we learn is from stories. Good communication, even in a science class, works well when it is framed as a story that has a ‘theme.’ People do not really recall facts when presented as a list as such. They do recall ideas and concepts quite readily (and hence facts that fit) when they hear a story that they could relate to in some way. When interpreting about the world – think about a park ranger relating the history of an area – the learner will hear what is relevant and relate it to themselves. A good communicator understands the ‘information’ they wish to impart to their listeners in how it relates and is relevant to the people with whom they are talking, and then pose something ‘revealing’ that makes the listener want to know more (provocation). This is the art of ‘interpretation’ – a communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the listener and the meanings inherent in the idea/topic.” A good communicator finds the relevance and provokes the listener to do something with the knowledge. The mantra that trained interpreters are taught is Relate, Reveal, Provoke. (This interpretation is different from an interpreter with language translation.) Once I had learned the art of interpretation I began to use it more in my classes. Did I reach everyone – no, but I reached a great many more. Is this blog interpretive?
TBC…….
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