After tours – where do we go?

SMS Environmental Education 2012-2013

Grade school tours were awesome!

You were fantastic about putting the kids needs above your won needs. Thanks for all of your great work.

We will host grade school kids again – they’ll be back in march.

Then what do we do now ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

WE WILL EMBARK ON AN INTELLECTUAL JOURNEY

What are the hopes for this journey?

To be able to think critically Can we think for ourselves?

Why is it important to think for yourself? How do you learn to think for yourself? We will try to look at the world from a

different perspective Read and discuss

Takes at least two for this journey

Let’s start reading right now

Read and be ready to discuss the “PETA Commando” article

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

Should you believe everything you read? internet, newspaper, magazine, book

Should you believe everything you hear? gossip

Should you believe everything you see? Einstein, viewing of criminal at the crime

scene

The flip side of D.B.E.Y.R.

You can easily get caught in the trap of not believing anything new if you take Don’t believe everything you read, see, hear to heart – so . . . .

How do you tell if you should incorporate new information, ideas, concepts into your understanding of the world?

Everybody has a story to tell – presidential campaign 2012

Steps to evaluate new info and ideas

Really try and understand what the person, author . . . Are trying to tell you.

Does it make sense to you? What is the source of this info? Can you verify the information from

another reliable source another 2, 3, 4 reliable sources?

Why is critical thinking important?

you become your own intellectual entity (leader not follower)

broaden your understanding of the world

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=030gZ-A8hss vote – a representative democracy is

only going to be as effective if an educated and informed public puts quality people in charge of making our governments decisions

Science vs. Politics

Ideally, Science looks at what is actually there

Politics has the ability to move away and base policy and laws not on what is actually there but what people think should be there

With critical thinking we need to be aware that everyone has a bias, agenda

One Big Problem with the world today:

Science and much of our technological advancements that make life so great (climate control, airplanes, internet, fast food drive through) depend on a scientific look at the world

Global Warming Mountain Lions in Kansas

Time for you to think . . .

1. When have you run into thought or ideas that goes against what is actually there?

2. When have you had to use your powers of critical thinking?

What does this video clip have to do with critical thinking?

http://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong.html

*****There is a difference between memorizing facts and

actually thinking and using those facts*****

Let’s try another – critical thinking about education:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

What is Environmental Science? It’s a little bit of everything

Regular sciences (biology, ecology, chemistry . . .) Social sciences (sociology, economics, psychology . .

.) Politics, Law

Just about anything you can study in school has to do with Environmental Science.

Trying to create a person that has the “jack of all trades but master of none” approach to academia

Basically Environmental Science takes in info and tries to make quality decisions based on that info

Our first two terms:

Biocentric – “life centered” view of the world

Anthropocentric – “human centered” view of the world

It’s a continuum thing – not an either/or thing

THE Question that puts anthro/bio – centric views into perspective:

Is the world made for man?or

Is man part of the world?

Our scientific view (taking note of what is actually there) shows us one answer just as our culture (parents, media, schools, religion) guides us to another answer.

There is not a right or a wrong view of the world.

What are the big themes we cover in Environmental Science?

Sustainability Our whole way of living is not sustainable This is a major issue that nobody wants to

talk about▪ Is it a problem or should we push ahead and just keep rowing the boat?

Human Population growth – 10-31-11 = 7 Billion Humans

Energy Evolution/Sexual Selection Ecology Read a book, Ishmael

“To Ride an Elevator”

Make a list of things that are necessary, optional and taboo when it comes to the act of riding an elevator.