EfSD Pillar: Values Clarification.

The Myth of The Big, Bad Wolf.

According to the Oxford Dictionary (2011) Values /ˈvaljuː/ are:
principals of standards of behavior; ones judgement of what is important in life:
     ie: they internalize their parents' rules and values. 

Clarifying Values has to do with Education for Sustainable Development (EfSD) because "it is concerned with the values people cherish and with the ways in which we perceive our relationship with the natural world (Matsuura 2002)". If societies general value perception towards the natural world and social equity go through a personal clarification process, then as ARIES (2009) points out, there is a connection to, and "sense of personal relevance in change for sustainability".

An influential professor once told me after a stumbling attempt of a workshop presentation that in trying to educate we often get the urge to blurt out endless spiels of information we find interesting and important, but the real learning takes place when the subject realizes things for his or herself. In other words, we facilitate learning by instigating thoughtful questions, but we do not make people learn. According to Tilbury & Fein (2000) values clarification in an education program is involves providing participants with "strategic open-ended questions" to help them reflect on what their values are and why.

Does this whole values clarifications business imply that there are right and wrong values?  If so then whose are right? I believe that there is a truth and it is what some people call God.  The character Pi, from Martel's Life of Pi (2001) says:

"There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something weak and helpless... (Pg 70)." Are there set values that everyone can agree on regardless of culture? 

Pi in the ocean on his lifeboat.

Pi is reveals the solidity of an ultimate truth that sustains each and everyone's frame of existance. The problem is that reality becomes cluttered by a lifetime of perception and external influence... we never just take it like it is because or beliefs, attitudes, or convictions (aka values) are what we use to judge the worth of concepts, ideas or actions, good or bad, and right and wrong. Our values are reflected in the decisions we make everyday and are passed along though culture.

Might the "right" values, which values clarification aims to uncover, be neutral? At one with the Earth; Truth; or God? Whereas, the "wrong" values are those "right" values covered in layers and layers of misguided bias?  Hmm.
Values clarification is useful because it attempts to organize the clutter, and biases brought upon externally, such as,  media, family, friends, gender, and ethnicity (Tilbury & Fien 2000) that personally have been absorbed in our brains since they developed in the womb and we were able to have a first perception. Values clarification gets "uncovers the highly personal and complex ways people build knowledge through interactions of various cultural factors (2000)",  gets to the core of our true sustaining reality and helps us be one with existence.

get it?

As mentioned earlier, here, the unique values and culture of people and entities influence the various definitions of sustainability. Even definitions of sustainability are influenced by people’s values and culture (ARIES 2009). The process of values clarification helps develop the ability within individuals to understand how background, culture, and values interact to shape their knowledge and perceptions of their world. In a sense, values clarification allows learners to become aware of the lens through which they interpret their surroundings.

Colors of the Wind
Pocahontas, my idol, teaches John Smith a valuable lesson after he calls her and her people savages. Being the understanding native american that she was, this little indian clarified John Smith's values by showing him the assumptions that he was making, like "You think you own whatever land you land on. The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim" & "You think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you". She teaches him about her people's perspectives on life and the natural environment and the very foreign concept (for him) of enjoying things for what they are, when she tell him to "come run the hidden pine trails of the forest, come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth [and to] come roll in all the riches all around [him], and for once, never wonder what they're worth. 

Thanks for your wisdom Pocahontas, I love you!

The Earth Charter

The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental ethical principals for building a just, sustainable and peaceful society in the  21st Century. 
It is a product of a decade-long, worldwide, cross-cultural dialogue, on common shred goals and shared values (The Earth Charter Initiative 2011).
This organization has done wonders for furthering the life-supporting 'agenda' of sustainable development. In finding people and entities to commit to their charter they are clarifying values by putting ideas of sustainability into context. Their charter outlines sustainability principals and values that we should be living by. 
Hit the jump for The Earth Charter full text. Say Yes.

After reading the Earth Charter my only confrontation was that I can see how some might disagree. Advocates for the differing schools of thought on the natural environment and sustainability are not usually tolerant of each other's ideas. The Earth Charter experiences difficulty to get countries and  large companies to sign their declaration. This is likely because the well rounded values and principals suggested are from their opposing school of thought, thus, perhaps do not coincide with with their mission statement. See Schools of Thought post.   As I described to my classmates... I think big companies might see this as hippy b.s. ('scuse mah French).
For Example, the following are parts under their principle:
"RESPECT AND CARE F OR THE COMMU NITY O F LIFE":

1. Respect Earth and life in all its diversity. 

a. Recognize that all beings are interdependent and every form of life has value regardless of its worth to human beings.   

(This can be classified under Intrinsic-Ecocentric value givers, and 'turn-off' people who don't believe this, yet still value nature because it's human sustaining properties) 

b. Affirm faith in the inherent dignity of all human beings and in the intellectual, artistic, ethical, and spiritual potential of humanity.

Using the word faith might automatically repel people from accepting the entire declaration. Faith is a word that has been associated with religion & spirituality, which, subconsciously binds this document with things it was never intended to associate with.

2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love. 

"Peace and love baby, The Earth Charter is totally far out in my book! Stick it to the man! Right Obama?!! Right!?  he-hellooo? Anyone?"

* Stamped of tie die shirts and bare feet token hippies join me * "We'll back you up sister"   

"Sigh..., but what about the power holders? "Well NEVER win them this way!! NOOOOO!!!" 

*Meanwhile, hippies begin a jamming session and light one up in front of the parliament building.* 

4. Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

Um,... bounty, beauty?  I'm for it, are you insert business executive here and ruler of country here?  Your not!!! Why?   It is very important to consider the baggage that certain words carry when carrying out a negotiation process.  Though I love The Earth Charter, the words they choose to use may repel people from the entire charter despite its universal values people because of immediate understanding of a word. 

Activities
Self Map

Draw a mind-map showing your perceptions of the world. 

I chose to seperate my "portals of perception" into childhood, adolesance, and adulthood, but it doesnt mean this is the way it has to be. Be creative. 

Allow participants to take their time doing this, but give reflective guidelines for during the process. 

Brookfield (1990) suggests the following critical reflection statements in order to explore possible assumptions: 

1. Identify the assumptions that underlie thoughts and actions.
2. Scrutinize the accuracy and validity of these in terms of how they connect to, or are descrepant with our experience of reality.
3. Reconstitute these assumptions to make them more inclusive.

Exploring my portals to understanding with a mind-map.

The BMW Guggenheim Lab

Confronting Comfort is "the Lab's" theme for their  first
two-year cycle. They will explore notions of individual
and collective comfort and the urgent need
for environmental and social responsibility.

The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a mobile laboratory that aims to adress issues of contemporary urban life & inspire innovative ideas to improve it. This project is led by international, interdisciplinary teams of emerging talents in: urbanism, architecture, art, design, science, technology, education, and sustainability. This organization practices serious community engagement making stakeholders the main impetus for change through programs and global public discourse. The BMW Guggenheim Lab describes itself as "part urban think tank, part community center and public gathering space (The BMW Guggenheim Lab 2011)" The organization hosts free events in cities for networking and instigating ideas.  Their website is extremely interactive allowing visitors from online communities to submit their ideas and simulate experiments with their city.  Check it out --> here.

___Useful Resources___
The Earth Charter - Seeks to promote the logic behind common values and principals needed to lead society to a transition  a sustainable future and a global society with a shared ethical framework. 
The Earth Charter Text
The Earth Charter & Education
The Earth Charter Teacher's Guidebook
The Earth Charter Good Practice


The BMW Guggenheim Lab
Design your future city and compare it to other's around the world

___Cite___

ARIES 2009,  Education for Sustainability - the role of education in engaging and equipping people for change, ARIES, Macquarie University, Australian Government - Department of the Environment, Water,  Heritage, and the Arts, Australia, <http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/publications/aries/efs_brochure/pdf/efs_brochure.pdf>

Brookfield, S. 1990, ‘Ch. 9 - Using Critical Incidents to Explore Learners’ Assumptions’ [in] Jack Merzirow et al, Fostering Critical Reflection In Adulthood: A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory Learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 177-193

The Earth Charter Initiative 2011, The Earth Charter, accessed on the 10th of September,  <http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/>
Tilbury, D. & Fien, J. 2000, Education and Sustainability: Responding to a Global Challenge, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication
Matsuura, K. 2002, ‘UNESCO’s World Summit on Sustainable Development: Why education and public awareness are indispensable’,  Opening Session of the UNESCO and South African Ministry of Education Parallel Event “Educating for a Sustainable Future:  Action, Commitments and Partnerships” for a sustainable future - Johannesburg, Summer Place, 2 September
Martel, Y. 2001, The Life of Pi, Knopf Canada, Canada, Pg 70
Oxford Dictionary 2011, Oxford University, 4^th of September,  <http://oxforddictionaries.com/>