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.
