Environment Conservation and a Generation of Thinking Children

A generation of thinking children is the only promise that can contribute to the survival and conservation of our planet. Understanding that logical reasoning and critical thinking is the sine qua non of ecological literacy, is integral to set our focus on developing the necessary thinking skills which research has shown can be comprehensively taught to our children.

The human cognitive process begins through early childhood development. Colours, shapes, patterns and the initiation of descriptive language gives way to the understanding of the world around us. As the five senses begin to interact with surroundings, the brain is stimulated to experience unexplored possibilities.

This process of exploration and discovery is reinstated and fortified in schools. And while debates, analogies and story analysis all support and prepare students to present a rational argument, problem solving in a mathematical setting further nourishes their inductive/deductive reasoning skills. Art is taught in most schools as an extra-curricular subject. It is treated as a form of recreation with little creativity involved.

In many ways, art makes children tolerant and accepting of others’ ideas and viewpoints. This diversity of ideas makes them open-minded and they learn to welcome point of views outside their own. Furthermore, art gives children a voice of their own. They become confident about their distinct expression.

Educational institutions can play a key role in nurturing the thinking skills of our children in a way that they understand their role in the conservation of the environment or the prevention of wasteful use of resources. Engaging all voices to initiate this logical debate on why we need to eradicate poverty, shift to renewable resources, combat single-use plastic, and talk about the need for climate action will effectively promote a more sustainable plan of action backed by logic and reasoning. From knowledge to understanding, application to analysis and evaluation to synthesis, critical thinking offers a range of possibilities for the human mind to explore.

Furthermore, modern day educational institutions are also encouraging the engagement of technological tools to facilitate and stimulate the thinking process of its children. And although the counter argument to this popular viewpoint does highlight the negative impact of technology at a young age, we cannot dissolve the need and obligation to equip tomorrow’s generation with their fundamental right to access the knowledge and apparatus that would aid their critical thinking evolution.

Today with the use of technology and the availability of innumerable connectivity platforms, educational institutions are far more equipped to motivate and encourage their young children to collaborate and develop initiatives to lead and meet the environmental emergency. This is evident in the global climate change movement that is being led by school children. What started in small individual pockets has now become a collective force, across the globe. Their ideas have crossed the borders, across the demarcations of the first world and the third world countries. Their voices hold the bitter truth for all world leaders, decision and policy makers stating aptly their failure to deliver and walk the talk. Children across the globe are exercising their democratic right to hold their leaders to account and remind them of their responsibilities by offering innovative solutions and contributing their time and space to uphold the Global Goals.

The school movement and the recent Climate March on 20 September across all the countries has shown that the kids mean business. They are ready to safeguard their rights and understand their role in arbitrating with all stakeholders for their sustainable future. They are presenting their case to the world by leading rallies on climate action, by writing stories and spreading awareness on the sustainable development goals, and through their involvement in devising creative solutions opting for sustainable alternatives.

The impact of critical thinking and the positive tilt in educational techniques has shaped a new generation of young thinkers who recognize the power of words, the urgency to take action and the pressing political will to deconstruct destructive lifestyles and damaging attitudes. Now is the time to support these sane voices who will inherit this earth and therefore have the right to become the architects of their sustainable future. We can do so by promoting their efforts and supporting their resolutions pushing for actual policy change.

Environment conservation is an enormous task that cannot be addressed without a critical resolve to find solutions. Creating sustainable human communities is a possibility only when we are fully immersed in the problem-solving process with our children and we raise them with an awareness of the country’s sustainable goals. Providing them with platforms to express and engage with problems, inviting them to lead green campaigns with confidence, and allowing them to innovate for change is the only way forward. Given what we are witnessing these days, the children are more than ready to lead the way as they understand that it is their future that is at stake.

Trust Your Silence

This article is for all those brave souls who venture in their work place to walk the talk. The ones who do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do. The rare breed that dwells in possibilities, despite the nauseating negativity. The few, who are always ready to walk that extra mile to make a difference. For the ones who are driven and united in their conscience. To the team of believers.

Believers as I call them, face innumerable trials because of their transparency. That is one trait that is often exploited by the many around them who like to keep their plans undercover because that is the right way to move up the ladder, as per their conception. The right move, at the right time. Often, surprises await our naïve believers who cannot fathom anyone having the time or desire to scheme or plot a sequence of events to undermine their hard work. Their clarity and lucidity are compromised many a times by colleagues to meet personal and work place political agendas.

A work place with believers is also a happening hub because it is run by fierce opinions and loud expression. Often believers are selflessly sharing and you would always find them engaged in debates and discussions, looking for solutions. This makes them stand out. Their ideas bring success. The limelight and center-stage are second nature to their existence. Therefore, sometimes when their confidence and conviction is tagged as negative or bullyish, they fail to comprehend the argument that never cropped up in an open forum or reached out to a panel of discussion. They are communicators always ready to talk. The selfless believers being labeled selfish is another ordeal they are pushed to counter.

Moving on to another unwanted challenge that our believers battle with, circles around the crowd that is often looking for relief and escape from the competitive environment that they are working in. Creating comparison between two completely different individuals. Diverse in their roles, personalities and productivity. Promoting one against the other with the aim to trigger the importance of their own wellbeing, and setting the stage for a veto. Here, the believer, despite understanding the careful distribution of chaos, fails to combat the undue equation because he/she believes that the success indicators aren’t governed by personal choices or an individual’s popularity graph. That pleasing the crowd at all cost isn’t the objective of being an effective leader. Therefore, the failure to bend often breaks our believer who isn’t a politician in spirit and doesn’t have the patience for games at work.

Also, all believers I believe are ethical professionals. You will never find them crossing lines or undermining the hierarchy at their work place. They are defined by their roles and respect the jurisdiction of every appointment and position. Therefore, they do not believe themselves to be the solution to every problem. They are comfortable to share their advice and guidance, but always refer or move the problem to the concerned person or department. Here, again, they are faced with queer expectations and behaviors. Their empathy and compassion are put to question often with competitive colleagues trying to construe a new leadership model. One where the leader is responsible for each and every need of his/her team. One who must feel the responsibility to find a psychological, emotional, technological or any other scientifically imaginable solution for his team. Where every solution is found in one room. And there is no need to follow channels and seek professional help. The believers find themselves being targeted once again while their competitors get busy exemplifying themselves as approachable and creative counselors. Convenience and likability are favored over skilled profiles and specific qualification. Hence, unethical comrades become a daily bother and obstacles to the smooth functionality at work.

Conclusively I believe many reading this article might suggest that the believers really need to learn from their experiences and add more flexibility to their profiles. That being discreet can help at work, and learning the tricks to endure a competitive environment are integral to survival and success at work. All these pointers come across as logical and coherent.

However, despite the foolish transparency, selfish conviction, unpopular choices, and inconvenient ethics, every believer brings hope and opportunities for growth. The transparency sets clear goals, followed by a strong conviction that no matter how difficult the path, a strong team of skilled experts would be able to find triumph and victory.

And so, for all those people who face cunning secrecy at work, who are challenged by conspirators maligning their strengths as obstacles to everyone’s wellbeing, who witness political strategists creating unfair rivalry and contrasts to bring them down, as well as those popular actors with no professional profiles, know that you are making a big difference by being who you are. Stay united with your conscience and your community of believers. When disappointed, distressed or disheartened, trust your silence. Your peace with self, that voice within, will keep you moving.