Al Gore was on Fresh Air yesterday, and I caught about half the conversation in between picking up kids and shuttling them to friends and riding lessons. (One of the effects of reinventing yourself out of a job…all sorts of new jobs crop up.) He was talking about global warming, and I thought he did so in a very wise and articulate way. I’ve liked Al for a long time, especially for his views on the environment, and yesterday he just seemed to have a very focused, pull no punches message: we either fix this now or we’re toast. Literally. And he just took to task those special interests who have been attempting to obfuscate this message (and who continue to do so now…did you hear about the “CO2, They call it pollution, we call it life” pitch? Painfully absurd.) Anyone who still thinks there is a debate about this is fooling himself. And the main reason, aside from the pitchmen, is, as Gore said in the interview, that “change is inconvenient.” We don’t want to admit that our actions have put civilization on the brink, because once we do, the only alternative is to change.
Those changes will need to be big and small. Some will deal with individual choice, like our decision to buy a reel mower this year, to compost, to seriously reduce the amount we consume, to save for a hybrid, etc. Some will require political action to force corporations and other entities to employ more eco friendly (civilization friendly?) practices. But any way you slice it, our lives have to change in some significant ways if we are to make an impact. (Personally, I’m not extremely hopeful on this score.) This is “An Inconvenient Truth” which is the title of
Gore’s book and movie on the subject. (Both of which are certain to be assailed.)My point is that there are similarities to education here as well (though obviously, not quite as dire.) In short, change in our schools and classrooms and practice is inconvenient. We are comfortable with what we’ve been doing for the past 100 years. We recognize it as our own since we were all participants in it when we ourselves went to school. It’s ingrained in our culture, and it’s a system that despite its flaws, most people don’t seriously want to change. It’s too much trouble.
But just like the polar ice caps are melting (and yes, they really are melting), our relevance as an education system is melting away as well. In both cases, we are the frog in the slowly warming pot, unable or unwilling to sense the danger until the water begins to boil and we pass quietly away. Overly dramatic? Maybe. But I don’t think that there can be too much disagreement that for now, it’s easier to keep what we’ve got than make dramatic changes, even though those changes are happening all around us. It’s just too inconvenient.
Note: I just want to mention that my wife Wendy is on her way to San Francisco today after being asked to do a spot on Air America’s Eco Talk which will air around the country on Saturday. She’ll be talking about her environmental tip book which I would highly recommend (but only if you want to change.) It goes without saying that I am extremely proud of her, and am inspired by her passion. You go, girl!
It’s like the Randy Newman song “I’m Dead”. In it a has-been continues to wannabe.
I have nothing left to say
But I’m going to say it anyway
Thirty years upon a stage
And now I hear the people say
Why won’t he go away?
I pass the houses of the dead
They’re calling me to join their group
But I stagger on instead
Dear God, Sweet God
Protect me from the truth
CHORUS
I’m dead but I don’t know it
(He’s dead He’s dead)
I’m dead but I don’t know
(He’s dead He’s dead)
I’m dead but I don’t know it
(He’s dead He’s dead)
Please don’t tell me so
Let me, let me go
I spoke about this on my blog when I said we had best heed Will and Al’s warnings unless we would prefer to be irrelevant.
you accused me of ruining your day yesterday Will… you have returned the favour with your ‘we call it pollution, we call it life commercials.’
I imagine a class where you would ask the students to take other things and replace CO2
“they say that the water that consuming the continents will drown us… but isn’t this the same water we drink? Use to wash ourselves? How could water harm us?” “They call it a flood, we call it a tasty thirst quencher”
Until people see an immediate WIIFM (what’s in it for me) factor to making the necessary changes, the priority of those changes will be low on their list of things to do. For example reducing driving speed reduces vehicle fuel consumption and emissions. Nice thoughts. Reducing driving speed SAVES GAS = SAVES MONEY. WIIFM. Now I drive the limit.
To paraphrase a famous Forest…change is as change does.
Have you read Michael Crichton’s book State of Fear?
I saw Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, about Global Warming. If you look at it from a teacher’s point of view , he is a model student. He walks around with his Mac laptop and continues to develop his powerpoints in airports, offices and restaurants. He investigates and collaborates with others The slides are all visuals that provide evidence to support his thesis. His speech that accompanies the slides help the viewer understand the significance of the charts and graphs and photographs–no reading of lines and lines of text. In so many ways he is the poster child for project-based-learning. There is no use of technology for its own sake.
This video would be great for teacher-training.
Will,
This is the last post on bloglines, for at least some of the feeds there… Not sure what the problem might be. Better nag James.