Experiential Workshop for Teachers

From: "Bhargavi S." <bhargavi_srao@yahoo.com>
Subject: Experiential Workshop for Teachers (Bhargavi S.)
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007

Environment Support Group ®
105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9th Block East, Bangalore 560069.INDIA
Tel: 91-80-22441977/26531339 Fax: 91-80-26534364
Email: esg@esgindia.org or esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in Web: www.esgindia.org

10th March 2007

Invitation
To an Experiential Workshop for teachers on Water, Waste and Our Land - The challenges we face

We are pleased to invite participation from the teachers of your institution and Interested individuals in a three day Experiential Workshop on Water, Waste and Our Land -The Challenge we face

Workshop dates
Friday the 13th of April- Sunday the 15th of April 2007

Venue
Environment Support Group.
105, East End 'B'Main Road,9th Block ,Jayanagar,Bangalore-69

Background to the Workshop

In 1969, Dr William Stapp, from the University of Michigan, USA, provided a comprehensive definition of environmental education as: ".... aimed at producing a citizenry that is knowledgeable concerning the biophysical environment and its associated problems, aware of how to help solve these problems, and motivated to work toward their solution”. In 2004, the Indian Supreme Court passed a law directing Indian schools to compulsorily and immediately include a subject on environmental studies in all grades from primary to the high school. Since the introduction of the subject teachers have been at a loss for classroom techniques to explain environmental concepts to students. Teaching Environmental Sciences is beyond the usual textbook learning and teachers are consistently challenged to handle the vast subject.

As climate change emerges as the greatest environmental challenge for the world, basic environmental education becomes a major imperative for transforming our collective attitudes for progressive action. The urgent need for action locally and globally cannot be made possible unless we have a citizenry that is aware and willing to positively respond to actions demanded.

Keeping this emergent need in view, this Experiential Workshop aims at helping teachers understand some major environmental and social issues of our times and develop teaching methods and techniques to address them. The workshop will also focus on how such learning will apply to appreciating issues of water, waste and land in the Bangalore region. The broad methodological approach to learning in the workshop will be lectures from leading experts, participant presentations, field visits and case studies relating to issues of concern.

The workshop will also provide teachers with an introduction to environmental science that will encourage and enable them to pursue learning about our planet with their students, guide teachers through a learner-centered experience in which they can develop an understanding of their immediate environment; share this understanding with other staff and students; and also help connect teachers with a variety of scientists, educationists and environmental and social activists as a process of evolving an environmental science learning community. This, we believe, will help us in the process of evolving into environmentally informed and responsible future citizens.

Participation is open to teachers handling environmental education from classes 4-10.

Registration fee -Rs 1000/- is to be paid by cheque or DD drawn in favour of Environment Support Group.
Last date for Registration - 5th April 2007.

Registration will be on a first come first serve basis as we have limited space. The registration costs will include food, education material and travel costs to field visits. We request you to confirm your participation by email/letter to the above address. If you need further clarifications please contact Arpita Joshi on email at arpita@esgindia.org or Bhargavi Rao on email at bhargavi@esgindia.org or by telephone at ESG.

Environment Support Group is a registered not-for-profit, public interest voluntary organisation involved in a variety of research, training, advocacy, and campaign initiatives in the area of environmental and social justice issues. Engaging student communities in innovative learning on environmental and social justice issues forms a core part of our organisation’s activity.
Looking forward to an active participation from your Institution.

Yours Sincerely,

Bhargavi S.Rao
Coordinator (Educational Programmes)