Abstract
I respond to Zeyer and Roth’s (2009) “A Mirror of Society” by elaborating on how the idea of interpretive repertoires is grounded by education philosophy and sociology. Vernacular languages are carried forward collectively from individuals who lived during a particular period of time, inculcated as root metaphors, which frame our relationships with others. It follows that metaphors (or interpretive repertoires) frame Swiss relationships with others, and what serves as Swiss goals for the environment and environmental protection are deeply embedded in some past conceptualizations of how a society should develop in the world. Indeed these youth’s repertoires are “a mirror of society.” But how do we know whether Swiss ideals are cultivating good, right, or just relationships, and embody a morally defensible environmentalism? Zeyer and Roth emphasize that teaching is a cultural process, which I agree with, but there is a contradiction in the idea that curriculum should be designed in a way that allows students to expand their existing repertoires without culturally mediated changes. Clearly students in Zeyer and Roth’s study feel limited as to what they can do about the environment and environmental protection, in relation to outside influences such as US consumerism. Ecojustice, environmentalism, and sustainability should begin to dissolve this feeling of powerlessness. The purpose of this response is to show why cultural mediation is needed for defensible youth action.
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Notes
Ecoregions is defined by the World Wildlife Fund (http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildplaces/about.cfm) as a collection of the Earth’s most biologically viable, diverse and reproductive terrestrial, freshwater, marine habitats; where the Earth’s natural capital is distinctive and rich, and where conservation is needed to protect species from vulnerability. Although the World Wildlife Fund prioritizes its Global 200 ecoregions, the meaningful purpose of using this term is to suggest that we all dwell within important and diverse ecosystems, as ecoregions. One example of an ecoregion is a local watershed, such as the Upper Oconee Watershed in Georgia, where teachers and students engage in environmental monitoring to participate more fully in choices.
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Mueller, M.P. On ecological reflections: the tensions of cultivating ecojustice and youth environmentalism. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 4, 999–1012 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-009-9222-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-009-9222-5