Focused Discussions
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Trans-disciplinary Learning Locally: Valuing Place View Digital Media
Focused Discussion David. G Lloyd
Trans-disciplinary learning close to home has both the elements of sustainable living and valuing community. We illustrate in this paper the connection of this way of learning with the traditional subject oriented approach in schooling in Australia. The learning incorporates cognition, affect and Spirit - trans-disciplinary learning. The approach is considered with a Grade 4 primary class in a country town in South Australia.
Erich Fromm's Biophilia: Proposing a Practical Solution to the Problem of the Great Transition View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Nicholas Dovellos
Given current outmoded social norms in this time of the Great Transition, we are seeing the corrosion of every civic institution. From food production, to medical bodies, law enforcement, education systems, etc., an all pervasive cynicism and skepticism has taken root in the mindset of man across the globe. Given climate and environmental demands, humanity is in a position to shed and substitute old vestigial virtues with more viable ones. My research takes elements from Erich Fromm's concept of Biophilia and attempts to put them into practice by introducing small real-time educational reforms on the Aegean island of Kalymnos. The idea being that virtues such as cooperation, interdependence, group effort and civic engagement are introduced into the education system but which then further invites all manner of participants such as parents, average citizens, and tourists alike to aid in any governmental effort which attempts to meet UNFCCC deadlines of remaining under the 1.5deg C mark. Holistic participation being key to any successful attempt toward paradigmatic transition. Change must not solely depend on one body or another for action, nor can it solely rely on empirical solutions. Any legitimate changes must include the mindset and the culture of a people and be totalizing and unifying in breadth and scope.
