Page 125 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

102 K. Love et al.

find new ways to get consumer attention, but younger students seem to be pretty
savvy about this. And, social marketing has found its voice. Fallacies of logic still
pervade thinking, but the questions are being asked. I find that it is much easier to
discuss population issues, the foundation of most environmental issues, than in the
past. The renewed emphasis on all things local (but also not forgetting about global
relationships), as we are discussing here, is providing many people with the new
found social ties and cultural traditions necessary.
It is no secret that I had difficulty adjusting to urban life when I came to
Kentucky. Even here in Louisville, I find individuals who are connected to the Earth
and social relationships that remind me of my rural upbringings. Claude Stephens,
founder of Louisville Local 1339 of The Professional Porch Sitters Union, made
me feel like I was at home again. Claude received national attention when he advo-
cated for sitting on the porch as a pastime, which he says, is an important part of
being part of your community. He says you should spend quality time with your
neighbors, regardless of if they have anything to say or not. I have also developed
an urban farm girl identity, which has allowed me to bridge cultures and offer help
to those neighbors who want to build backyard gardens – complete with training in
composting and bartering vegetables.
I think the most important thing we can provide for our future teachers is the
ability to develop interest, curiosity, and a respect for the community they may live
and teach in. I share very little background with the majority of people in academia
and most of the middle-class students in my programs. However, I have the ability
to adjust (not necessarily adapt) to new ideas and ways of thinking. These differ-
ences are wonderful opportunities to explore local society and tradition culture
since the unfamiliar stands out.

“Technology Has Become Our Ecology”

Kurt: The connections between our understandings of an issue, especially in a
critical manner, whereby we expose injustices both social and ecological, as well
as help students understand and explore “thick descriptions,” make visible the rela-
tionships and tensions that exist in any given action, situation, or condition (Bowers
2006). These situations are relationships that exist wherever and whenever social
norms, cultural values, traditions, and practices not only compromise sociocultural,
socioecological, and ecological communities, but also the tensions that may exist if
those norms, values, and practices were to just cease to exist. An educational system
that expects its students to understand not only the injustices, but also the interwoven
and very complex relationships that make this a potentially “messy” world, is an
educational system that can truly be liberating. This social, cultural, and ecological
net needs to be understood in great detail through authentic investigation. Thomas
Jefferson spoke quite frequently about his vision of education being the backbone
of a democratic society. In this current society, it is not enough to teach about his-
tory through the eyes of the colonizers, science through the lenses of only western