Page 55 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

4 Toward Awakening Consciousness: A Response to EcoJustice Education 31

thus Martusewicz, Lupinacci, and Schnakenberg conclude that, “wisdom” emerges
from what Bateson called, “the ecology of mind,” that is, “in the interactive and
interdependent relationships within the whole complex system of life.” This notion
inspired by Bateson means that every day we continually negotiate our way with
the world via messages that we receive from our surroundings.
Martusewicz, Lupinacci, and Schnakenberg then address the teaching–action
component of the ecojustice education framework, arguing that education should
lead to activities that “protect and revitalize their cultural and environmental
Commons.” This key concept of the Commons is from Bowers and is taken to be
“the social practices, traditions, and languages, as well as relationships with the
land necessary to the sustainability of their communities.” What should happen in
the classroom is that students, in their analysis of an issue, put the needs of com-
munities first and come to see the consequences of different economic and political
approaches to policy. Students think globally and act locally: local communities
become the most important focus for sustainability efforts (just the opposite of what
is enacted with national content standards and assessments).
According to Martusewicz, Lupinacci, and Schnakenberg, the purpose of eco-
justice education is the attainment of “systemic wisdom where learning is oriented
toward understanding of and acknowledging the ways in which we interact with,
depend upon, and impact a larger system of intelligence.” The ecological is viewed
as being both human and more-than-human communities together, communities
that interact at various levels. And thus, for science teachers, who should be knowl-
edgeable of the assets of their local communities, it comes down to a series of
questions:
(how to) involve their students in work that is focused on protecting interdependent rela-
tionships that are part of intricate living systems. What aspects of the local commons

support living systems, and which aspects work to undermine living systems? What needs
to be sustained? What needs to be limited or recognized as harmful and thus abolished?
Following these key questions, Martusewicz, Lupinacci, and Schnakenberg warn of
the inevitable process of enclosure, a process also identified by Bowers. Enclosure is
a process of exclusion that runs counter to collaborative interdependent relationships
and helps create and maintain a status quo of hierarchies that protects elitist economic
interests. Science, they note, has all too often contributed to cultural enclosures and
several examples are cited, such as when “back in the day” science provided “data”
to support white racial superiority. Teachers should help students to become aware of
how enclosure works and how science has been used in the process.
Thus, to Martusewicz, Lupinacci, and Schnakenberg, science teaching from
an ecojustice perspective should be “situational, local, and supportive of living
systems.” They provide examples of students who are engaged in their own situa-
tional contexts and how these connect to larger social, political, and economic
contexts. These students are learning how to respond to problems in ways that
sustain life. The authors also endorse an interdisciplinary approach to teaching in
which science is studied in combination with history, geography, art, literature,
economics, and sociology.