Valentina Auer

Thinking about sustainability and why our society isn't acting more respectful towards natural environment and social relations, I thought that the core of this issue could be found in education. As one of the 17 UN sustainable development goals, education is an impactful and very complex topic to face. Since children are going to be the next generation who have to embrace and live in a circular system shifting away from a linear one, their knowledge and understanding of sustainability must be focused on. 

The problem with the current education system is that it is built on a capitalist and linear model from the industrial revolution. It is not about WHAT children get mediated, but HOW educators are communicating knowledge. The picture above shows the vision of French artists for schools in 2000. The teacher is feeding the pupils with information from books, without any real life examples, experience or practical application. Everybody has to learn the same, has to achieve the same grades through standardized exams and has to function like a puppet in a rotten system. I am not the first one who is addressing this issue, already in the early 20th century alternatives to the public school system evolved, like Montessori or Steiner Waldorf schools. Changing the curriculum won´t change the system therefore it is time time to explore this topic further and figure out how design can intervene towards change.