Imagine tbat a teacher inside aclassroom filled with a culturally diversestudent population looks up at the ceiling,and begins to see cracks appear. At first,there is fear tbat the classroom ceiling isgoing to cave in on tbe classroom. But inactuality, it is the breaking away of theroof tbat unveils something mucb granderthan tbe classroom in the teacher's mind.What once feels like tbe world comingcrashing down, now leads to a whole newperspective and understanding; the roofis not caving in, rather the classroom

Connor Sloan is assistant principal

at Taylor Leadership Academy, a PKSth sctiool

in ttie Stockton Unified Sctiool District,

and a doctoral student in curriculum and instruction

in the Benerd School ot Education

at the University ofttie Pacific,

Stockton, Calitornla.

is opening up to the world. This idea oftransformation of perception is at the coreof educators' roles in addressing the globalecological degradation tbat is inflictingour planet. It is the responsibility of theteacher education profession to inspire andtrain teachers to transform the classroomexperience they offer into an engaginglearning environment for students of allcultures. Classrooms are spaces wherediverse cultures have the potential toshare lived experiences and gain insightfrom each other's "spatial, geographical,and contextual dimensions of existence"(Gruenewald, 2008, p. 310).

Society bombards humans' senses withthe message that civilization is connected toconsimierism, mechanisms of efficiency andpower, individualism, sexual prowess, andmedicinal fixes—all influences embedded

within contemporary media. Place-basedpedagogy has the ability to assist learnersfrom oppressed cultures in "linking place tocultural struggles and empowering diverselearners to name and transform, or decolo-nize, their own geographical situationality"(Haymes, 1995, p. 129). Pedagogy in the fieldof eco-justice reinforces the perception thatsustainable development, human needs,creation and management of waste, andprotection and stewardship of the naturalenvironment are critically important con-cepts to be integrated into meaningfullyexploratory activities within classrooms(Capra, 2003).

Pedagogy focused on multiculturalenvironmental education also needs to besupported by exempltiry interdisciplinarycurriculum, while also utilizing local cul-tural intergenerational knowledge (DawsonJr., Dickens, & Hunter, 2011). Collectively,

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

A Multicultural Interdisciplinary Inquiry

learning communities have the capacity tocarry out actions and habits of living thatare viahle and aim to support sustainablecommunity activities. Students shouldacquire from their education the ability to"know how to think in whole systems, howto find connections, how to ask big ques-tions, and how to separate the trivial fromthe important" (Orr, 1994, p. 23). Culturesfrom around the world and within theclassroom all need to collectively addressissues of sustainability through place-basedconservation pedagogies.

Sustainability of ecosystems and envi-ronmental health can be fostered througheco-justice lessons when the focus is onconnecting learning to students' lived ex-periences (Orr, 1994). The lived experiencesof students engaged in school gardens aslearning places are interconnected witha myriad of multicultural educational op-portunities. Teachers can use plants beinggrown in the garden as a cultural time-linelinking the present to the past. Simply ask-ing questions about the origins of vegeta-bles and the ways various cultures grow anduse vegetables in cuisines opens avenuesof conversation by which students throughparticipation share cultural perspectivesand voices in classroom conversations.

Carrots are an excellent and fascinat-ing plant by which to explore the origins ofwhere, who, how, and when carrots werefirst grown and spread around the worldthrough exploration expeditions and no-madic cultural geographical movement.Students become fascinated at how theoriginal carrots were not orange but rathera purplish color, and the role that Denmarkhad in creating the orange color of carrotsthat we eat today. Students can also re-search herbs that are grown in their schoolgarden and report to the class the variouscultural ways in which the herbs are usedin cuisine, medicinal ways, household uses,and religious connections.

Approaching education through aplace-based lens that takes multiculturaleducation into account allows ethnicallydiverse learners to seek out a pedagogywhere students "regulate and control howthey organize their identity around ter-ritory and marginality" (Haymes, 1995,p. 114). Cultural traditions and customsmust be taught and respected within allclassrooms, while reinforcing the belief thatthe process of increasing learners' eco-intel-ligence is deeply embedded in community(Armstrong, 1999). Sobel's (2005) place-based learning framework address ways inwhich culture and local environments makeup the community students and teachers

reside within, while being stewards of theirlocal ecological habitats. School gardensare learning places on campuses where allacademic topics have content, curriculum,and cultural connections embedded vwthinthe school garden.

Within school gardens exists the trans-formative power of nature (Capra, 2003). Asa place of learning the food collaborativelygrown in school gardens provides opportuni-ties for teachers to implement a "culturally-focused environmental education program"(Cutter-Mackenzie, 2009, p. 122) addressingthe needs of multicultural and multi-lin-guistic students. School gardens providea place for students to learn and a spacefor members of the school site and commu-nity to come together and foster a learningenvironment that promotes a connectionand feeling of belonging for the students

ogy needs diversity to thrive just as teach-ers need to use engaging curriculum andpedagogical approaches to promote activestudent acquisition of knowledge and cul-tural competencies (Capra, 2003). It is thetransformative change embedded in socialexperiences that provide foundationalknowledge for teachers to connect theirpedagogical approaches to the needs of amulticultural diverse classroom.

In the state of California alone thereare around 4,000 school gardens being uti-hzed for experiential learning, mainly in thefield of environmental sciences (Blair, 2009).The challenges of the ecological crisis thatplague our planet are directly connectedto cultural habits of living. Pedagogicalapproaches to instruction or curriculumchoices are being developed and utilized inelementary schools across the U.S. (Bowers,

The lived experiences of students engaged in school gardens

as learning places are interconneaed with a myriad

of multicultural educational opportunities.Teachers can

use plants being grown in t/ie garden as a cultural

time-line linking the present to the past

and all stakeholders in the culture of theschool. Cutter-Mackenzie (2009) conducteda study on the creation of garden spaces forthe purpose of learning about the multicul-tural concepts of "language, culture, andenvironment" (Mackenzie, 2009, p. 122), andconcluded that students benefited in gain-ing a more comprehensive understanding ofthe English language, the students' culturalidentities, and developed an awareness ofthe interconnected nature between stu-dents and the local environment by takingpart in school garden activities of "growingfood, gardening, and cooking" (Mackenzie,2009, p. 122).

The opportunity to establish and sus-tain relationships and systems thinkingbetween learners and nature represents theinterconnectedness of the indoor classroom,culture, and the garden. School gardensprovide insight into the ways that "peoplecan manipulate nature through garden-ing, and the ways in which the practice ofgardening returns the favor by changingpeople" (Pudup, 2008, p. 1232). Exploringlearner's interactions with a school gardenoffers opportunities to research ways inwhich ecological place-based learning islinked to "spatial aspects of social experi-ences" (Gruenewald, 2008, p. 308). Learner'sinteractions foster lived experiences andopportunities to celebrate diversity. Biol-

2005; Cassell & Nelson, 2010; Gruenewald,2008). Teachers' interactions with schoolgardens are instructional catalysts thatinspire teachers to utilize their pedagogi-cal approaches and curriculum choices toengage learners with refiexive inquiry andexperiential place-based learning strategiesthat heighten students' ecological literacy,while strengthening their relationship v(âththeir school experiences and surroundingcommunity (Capra, 2003).

Place-based learning provides aninstructional approach that allows for thetransformation of the classroom (Sobel,2005). This transformational learning pro-cess infiuences learner's perspectives onthe world (Louv, 2008). Through connect-ing the learning process to place, student'seducational journey sustains their passionfor learning. When students invest theircultural contributions into the learningprocess, a shared educational experienceis fostered (Lowe & Mathews, 2008). Mul-ticultural educators benefit from exploringhow engaging in placed-based learningfosters a deeper understanding of the needfor educators and culturally diverse learn-ers to connect academic concepts throughviewing the world as our classroom.

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Sustainability Education

Place-Based Learning Approach

We live in a world where the conceptof physical location doesn't mean nearlyas much as it used to. The technologicaladvancements, opportunities for distancelearning, and nanotechnologies of the21st century have sped up informationdelivery and digitally-recorded images ata quantum pace. Technology has the abil-ity to connect humans and environmentsthrough virtual portals; however, thesevirtual connections many times result in acreative distance hetween learners, nature,and the root of the ecological degradationoccurring globally (O'Sullivan, 1999).People feel connected by the Internet whenreally it is the ocean's ecosystems that con-nect us all (Louv, 2008). The generationsthat grew up during the 21st century andbeyond are "wired to each other as no pre-vious generation, and look to one anotherfor reliable information, while deridingsources older generations have relied on"(Goleman, 2009, p. 110). Using place-basedlearning to make connections should be thetransformative educational vision for todayand beyond.

Using inquiry and place-based learn-ing to transform learners' perceptions ofthe ecological degradation effecting Earthhelps connect learner's to nature and theworld around them. Basic explorations ofa learner's world are creative exercisesin problem-solving; this exploration is acatalyst for a learner's lifelong process ofinventing themselves (Goleman, Kaufman,& Ray, 1992).

Teachers facilitate multiculturalperspectives being integrated into cur-riculum hy analyzing data at school sitesand discussing the cultural influencesand norms that occur in and around theirschool. Through pointing out, discussing,and inquiring about language found withinclassrooms and campuses, growing a schoolgarden, collecting daily litmus tests ondrinking water, experimenting with lifelabs in the classroom, taking and analyz-ing inventory of flora and fauna found ona campus, collecting nutritional data anddocumenting supplies and waste manage-ment of school lunches, classroom learningcommunities transform daily routines intoeffective practices and integrate schoolcultural norms into everyday learning op-portunities.

These learning opportunities are allexamples of place-based learning activi-ties that guide the learning experience to-wards understanding through how school,classroom, and personal cultural identities

and norms leave local ecological footprintswithin and around school campuses.

In today's world education needs toleverage the creativity and imaginationof learners through critical reflection andprohlem solving multicultural pedagogicalapproaches in addressing human survival.Teachers when presenting place-hasedlearning techniques within lessons arereferring to the "survival of the life systemsof the planet within which our own sur-vival as a species is secured" (O'Sullivan,1999, p. 129). Fresh drinking water ishecoming scarce, climates are becomingincreasingly inhospitable, the global fishpopulation is rapidly disappearing, and theheaps of trash being created by inflatingglobal populations Eire beyond generationalcontrol, yet academic systems around theworld use curriculum, construct pacingguides, develop standards documents, andadopt framework that fail to mention letalone adequately address the ecologicaldegradation plaguing Earth (Goleman,2009; Gruenwald, 2008; Orr, 1994).

Place-based learning offers a transfor-mative curriculum that enhances learners'feelings, advocating for an emotional at-tachment to place, culture, and the learn-ing experience (Dawson Jr., Dickens &Hunter, 2011). There is no way to separatefeeling from knowledge. Therefore, "thereis no good way and no good reason to sepa-rate mind or body from its ecological andemotional context" (Orr, 1994, p. 31). Edu-cators who utilize pedagogical approachesthat facilitate the knowledge acquisition ofboth place and culture enhance students'holistic understanding of interdisciplinarycontent knowledge.

Place-based learning is a pedagogicalapproach that promotes students interact-ing with their environment and surround-ings to gain a historical, cultural, andecological perspective, while advocatingfor active stewardship and communityparticipation (Capra, 2007). Place-basedpedagogy promotes learners getting ahands and minds on experience in whichstudents actively develop an understand-ing of systems, their connection to nature,patterns of development, historical roots,multicultural connections, and how toapproach the process of inquiry throughan interdisciplinary lens (Stone, 2007).Place-hased learning heightens a learner'sawareness of their role and connection toculture and ecosystems. This cultural andecological awareness brought on by place-based learning helps to transform teachersas learners and learners as teachers; thuspromoting reciprocal learning.

Planting and tending to a school gardenallows for relationships with ecosystems toblossom, provides a chance to engage lean-ers with the process of inquiry into scien-tific methodology, and fosters advocacy forintergenerational knowledge to he sharedfrom community members within and be-yond the school grounds (Lowe & Mathews,2011). Gardens, classroom pets, nature/com-munity walks, and art projects promotea professional learning community thatembody the "living process that interactswith the vast and ancient hody of intricatelyconnected patterns operating in perfectunison," (Armstrong, 1999, p.l) that allowsfor meaningful place-based learning to oc-cur. Culture, nature, and the environmentsurround us at all times and are integratedinto the essence that makes us who we are.Conditioning the mind to inquire about theplacement, patterns, and origins of our sur-roundings allows for learners to acquire adeeper understanding of culture and place.Connecting with the culture and place inwhich we are learning in or learning aboutenhances the comprehension and cerebralengagement of all those participating in thelearning process (Capra, 2007).

A sense of wonder and joy should beat the center of educational experiences.Learning is a science; however, imagina-tions make the process seem like magic.As educators we need to assist learners inconnecting with multicultural competen-cies and ecosystems while utilizing theirimaginations (Orr, 2004). The classroomspace is more than doors, walls, chairs,desks, a roof, and technology. The class-room as a concept should he representedby teachers as a dynamic place that nevergrows stagnant or contextually defined bybeing in or out. The classroom representsa place of learning that inspires learnersto connect their educational experiencesbeyond the traditional walls surroundingthe classroom, and holding up the roofover their heads. Cultural experiencesand identities represent the foundation oflearners' educational experiences. Teach-ers are the guides who assist learners ontheir educational journey through therealms of academia and heyond.

Healthy Hearts and Minds

It is important to have high academicexpectations that are connected to learn-ers using their hearts and minds well.Instructing with high expectations that ad-dress habits of mind that support creativethinkers takes a collective responsibilityby all staff as well as learners invested in

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION18

A Multicultural Interdisciplinary Inquiry

the school culture. School districts acrossthe nation are promoting directives forschools to implement professional learningcommunities, instructional interventions,and common core curriculum (Lowe &Mathews, 2011). Teachers, students, andcommunity members at times tend to ap-proacb cbange with fear and restraint. Ef-fective teacher educators embrace changes,while advocating for healthy hearts andminds of all involved, by creating discoursearound the changes happening on a localand national level, thus converting tbecbange tbat is occurring into creative op-portunities (O'Sullivan, 1999).

Fostering bealthy hearts and mindsthat are resilient requires teaching witha rigor that is "botb beyond that expectedin most classrooms and beyond what mostadults expect of themselves" (Krovetz,1999, p. 76). Teachers and students mustbelieve in themselves and feel connectedto nature and the learning community inorder to develop into systemic agents ofchange. Teachers provide experiences andopportunities for learners to interact withtheir environments and explore culturalcompetencies in order to enhance place-based learning. Tbese experiences are in-tegrated into tbe curriculum through stu-dents doing family cultural presentations,having cultural food classroom conventionswhere students bring in a cultural dishtheir family enjoys, and through listen-ing, discussing, and creating multiculturalprose, art, and music. Connections betweenmulticultural education and place-basedlearning must be embedded in learningcommunities.

One way for students to actively de-velop an understanding of multiculturaleducation, place-based learning, and sus-tainable living is to provide classroomlearning communities witb tbe opportunityof experiencing environmental place-basedprojects in a landscape witb flora andfauna tbey are familiar witb and wbichconnects with the students' cultural identi-ties (Stone, 2007). A garden where studentsare growing tomatoes, jalapenos, lemons,peppers, basil, and lavender lends itselfto various multicultural learning oppor-tunities. Through taking the products ofthe garden and creating cultural cuisines,herbal oils, and composting, students areprovided witb applicable learning oppor-tunities tbat connect tbe learning processwitb culture, purpose, and sensory integra-tion (Stone, 2007).

Creating and utilizing energy usagelogs tbat students fill out at home andschool that analyze what t5rpes of energy

are being used, wben and where the energyis being used, how the energy is beingused, and ways to reduce the amount ofenergy and resources being used leads topowerful perception changes, connectionsto community and environment, whilealso promoting environmentally friendlyactions. Data collected from habits andpatterns of energy use tell a story andbelps learners understand bow ecologicaldegradation affects everyone, and boweveryone plays a part in the destructionof natural resources.

Transformative power exists withinstories. The environment, a student's walkto school, our universe and space, are bestunderstood as stories. Teacbers must sum-mon the courage and imagination to share

needs protection" (Fleming, Macy, Naess,& Seed, p. 36,1988). Teacbers engage stu-dents in cultural and refiective conversa-tions by providing students witb culturalimages and stories of indigenous tribes,sucb as tribes wbo reside in tbe Amazonrainforest and have had little to no inter-actions with humans outside of their owntribes, and learn about the daily lives andcultures of these indigenous people wbilerefiecting and making connections witbtbeir own cultures.

As a learning community, learners andteacbers identify the cultures within theirclassroom, scbool, and family. Discussionsthat are collaborative amongst classroomlearning communities are used to identifywhat elements are needed for survival, com-

Teachers must summon the courage and imagination

to share the stories of the causes and effects

of the global degradation crisis inflicting Earth,

while making their own cultural connections.

the stories of the causes and effects of theglobal degradation crisis infiicting Eartb,while making their own cultural connec-tions. We, as living consumer organisms,have a profound effect on the global ecosys-tem. As educators we must transform theclassroom and connect conceptual learningto multicultural education and place.

Just as the fictional character Max, inMaurice Sendak's famous story. Where theWild Things Are, transformed his bedroomwitb bis imagination into a wild far offisland, educators must take it upon tbeacademic community and eacb otber toutilize our collective imaginations to cre-atively enhance and transform classrooms.What is truly needed is a "radical change inperspective within educational institutionsto deal witb tbe magnitude of tbe prob-lems tbat we currently face at a planetarylevel" (O'Sullivan, 1999, p.47). Culture andidentity do not exist in isolation. Place andcommunity connect identity witb culture.

Connecting Place to Identityand Identity to Community

Meaningful transformation of learn-ers' perceptions of tbeir role in addressingthe ecological degradation infiicting Earthis rooted in how we look at our connectionsto nature and culture. A powerful shift ofperception occurs when a learner changesthe message of "I want to protect the rain-forest" to "I am part of the rainforest that

fort, and advancement in the scbool, class-room, and bome cultures, what steps can betaken to help protect the local environment,and then compare how these concepts aresimilar and different to the tribes residingin the Amazon rainforest. This exercisefacilitates students formulating a school,class, and home cultural identity, while alsoaddressing ways to conserve and preservelocal environments. Teachers of the 21stcentury have taken on the task of preparingcivically responsible and environmentallycognizant global citizens.

Our identity is directly connected totbe global community. In preparing teach-ers to educate learners, the topics of globalsocietal needs must be discussed. Some oftbe needs and challenges that connect hu-mans to place and represent our survivalidentities are: access to clean drinkingwater, emplojrment that supports individu-als and families, protecting global fiora andfauna, affordable bealtbcare, adequatehousing, sanitation needs, nutritionalneeds, managing the waste, and sustainingecologically friendly renewable forms ofenergy for a rapidly growing population.

All of tbe cultures tbat make up tbeglobal community address ecological cbal-lenges in diverse ways. Teacbers provideexamples tbrough stories, pictures, invit-ing guest speakers to the class, and car-rying out experimental projects in schoolgardens in order to illustrate cultural ap-proaches to water conservation, reducing

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Sustainability Education

ecological footprints, utilizing renewableforms of energy, and addressing sanitationneeds. Many students are amazed to findout that billions of people around the worldlive without any running water, electricity,and any form of computer access. Schoolexperiences support cultural awarenessof diverse ways of living.

Students benefit from growing a gar-den dedicated to breakfast. All plants inthe garden bed—potatoes, onions, straw-berries, rosemary, peppers, oranges andgrapefruit— are cultivated, harvested, andthe end result consists of a student cre-ated breakfast with a presentation of thecultural connections to the origins of thefood and cuisine being served. The teacherthen connects the garden to multiculturalbreakfast tables across the globe. Studentsare assigned a country to research on whatcuisines and types of food they would findif they were to sit down at a table and eatbreakfast in the country they were as-signed. A broadening of ecological perspec-tives is created when students are askedto plant, nurture, cultivate, and harvestplants they have grown from the seedstage. Students across the nation benefitfrom discussing how place influences theecological conscience of people from diverseworld cultures.

Place is connected to ecological con-science. Ecological conscience is part of ouridentity. Our identity is interwoven in ourintelligence. Intelligence brings communitytogether. Communities represent effort,sacrifice, change, and philosophy of values(Bowers, 2002). Effort, sacrifice, change, andphilosophy of values are all concepts thatneed to be developed and explored withinthe culturally diverse classroom experience.A classroom as a place represents an areafilled with learning potential. This involvesideal learning places that "are places thatfeel good to us: human-scaled places thatcombine nature, interesting architecture,materials, natural lighting, and whitesounds in interesting ways that resonatewith our innate affinity for life" (Orr, 1994,p. 115). Educators must prepare learnersby providing them with the tools and skillsto build habits of mind that lead to the de-velopment of essential place-based learningtechniques, thus, tapping into the learningpotential that exists indoors and outdoorson school campuses.

It is free to imagine, and it takes ef-fort to truly transform. All learners mustbe receptive and responsive to this pos-sibility (Goleman, Kaufman, & Ray, 1992).Place-based learning acts as a catalyst fortransformational learning to occur. In order

to transform habits of mind an "internalchange in our intellectual emphases, ourloyalties, our affections, and our convic-tions" (Leopold, 1947, p. 338) must occurwithin place, identity, and community. It isby developing resilient habits of mind thatteachers will be able to engage the imagina-tions of their culturally diverse learners.

Sustainable and Eco-justlceHabits of Living

Learning from risk and adapting forsurvival entails experimentation mixedwith the freedom and flexibility to explorenew directions. In order to truly sustainour existence through eco-justice habitsof living, we must break away from thecomfortable patterns of existence and re-discover what the terms necessities andcommunity mean. We must allow for educa-tors to engage in work that is meaningful,connected to rigorous concepts, and whichfosters a learning environment where bothteachers and students blossom (Lowenstein,Martusewicz, & Voelker, 2010).

When communities of learners engagein topics around addressing the global eco-logical degradation plaguing Earth, theyhave the potential to harness insight intowisdom. The wisdom created from place-based learning has the capacity to breedcreative thinking and broadening imagi-nations, thus leading to the facilitation ofcommunity renewal. Within people existsthe capacity to develop insight; however,most people exist in subjugation to theirown thoughts (Louv, 2008). Educators muststrive to elevate the ecological conscious-ness of learners to foster eco-justice habitsof living. Sustaining learners' passion forpromoting and exploring eco-justice habitsof living is rooted in the empowerment ofcommunities inside and out. Increasingcivic engagement through educating learn-ers about the power of shared values is avehicle for the empowerment of learners tosustain change that makes a difference.

Educators have the ability to empowertheir students to believe in themselves, tobelieve that they can change their lives asquickly as they can change their minds.Changes that occur in peoples' lives aresmall vsdthin their own personal contexts;however, ripples created by those changespotentially reach out to the greater com-munity and beyond and transform collectiveconsciousness and habits of living.

Fostering the Engagementof Imaginations

Knowledge empowers, experiences

transform, and place-based learning fostersthe engagement of imaginations. It is mybelief that teachers do not use the conceptof imagine enough. Albert Einstein, a time-less highly-respected intellectual, is attrib-uted with sajdng that imagination is morepowerful than knowledge. Ask yourself, askyoxir students, what is evolutionary remem-bering? What would you have seen, felt, orheard when every galaxy, star, planet, andparticle that exists came into being? Thesesame particles which make up you and mecame into existence billions of years ago. Oiorhistories and cultures Unk all humans as onerace and connect us with nature. Educatorsare given the opportunity to provide learnerswith the concepts and experiences that fosterlevels of understanding in the ways we areconnected with our living planet Earth inorder to sustain our world for a better tomor-row (Fleming, Macy, Naess & Seed, 2007).

The empowerment and transforma-tion of our intellect is not rooted in whatwe know, rather it stems from our actionsand what we do with the knowledge wecontain. Engaging students' imaginationsis done through providing students withcultural experiences that offer access totouch, manipulate, construct, and dis-sect the concepts and standards they arelearning about (Eijck & Roth, 2010). Thecreative spirit that enhances imaginationsexists amongst the mystery, surprise, andintrigue that multicultural and place-based learning offers students.

Through the access students have totelevision and the internet today, they havea higher exposure to a variety of things andinformation, but they understand less due toless meaningful lived experiences (Goleman,Kaufman & Ray, 1992). Today both subtleand overt forms of ecological degradationexist. Most curriculum does not address themassively reduced oceanic life forms, the"near-extirpation of birds and animals ofprey" (Leopold, 1935, p. 228), and destructionand extinction of vast species of flora.

Connecting Conceptsto Conscience

There exists many obstacles to theinclusion of education for "sustainable liv-ing in school curricula" (Stone, 2007, p.2O)that could heighten learners' awarenessand make connections to the ecologicaldegradation that plagues Earth. Connect-ing the concepts of place-based learningto students' conscience is directly relatedto understanding complex systems, globalconnections, and ecological perspectivesthat address ecological relationships

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION30

A Multicultural Interdisciplinary Inquiry

and interconnectedness (Capra, 2007).Students believing that all education isenvironmental education leads to studentsexploring intergenerational knowledgeand skills, beliefs and values, expectations,and narratives that explore the needs ofthe Earth's ecosystems (Orr, 2004). Teach-ers need to be trained in how to utilizean eco-justice framework that supportsstudent's exploration of the Earth's ecosys-tems through analyzing effects of erosion,global warming, over flshing, and otherforms of degradation plaguing the Earth(Orr, 2004). Learning about the destructiveeffects of collective and individual humanchoices and actions offers "teachers andstudents ways of responding in their owncommunities" (Lowenstein, Martusewicz,& Voelker, 2010, p. 101) to ecological issuesplaguing the environment they live in.

Teacher educators have the opportu-nity to prepare teachers to educate othersabout special places and their cultural his-tories. The world's most precious resourcesare children and their dreams—secondonly to clean drinking water. Teacher edu-cators foster the development of learners'spatial range by taking the class out of theclassroom, assigning nature walks, takingpart in nature writing, and volunteeringor creating community/school gardens.Professional development activities em-bedded in pedagogical practices modelfor and heighten students' knowledge ofthe community, culture, environment andnatural characteristics and componentssurrounding the classroom (Louv, 2008).

Educators of all content and all cul-tures should take the viewpoint that alleducation is environmental education (Orr,2004). Rigorous pedagogy embraces thebelief that concepts are best taught throughconnections and root knowledge rather thanin isolation (Bowers, 2002). Those respon-sible for educating the work force in chargeof instructing the future thinkers of ourworld must mindfully embrace, conserve,and sustain the cultural and environmen-tal commons—environmental universals,historical connections to natural resources,and the sharing of aspects of cultural life(Bowers, 2002). Environmental and culturalconcepts signify a vital role in humans' at-titudes, thinking patterns, and our relationswith each other and Earth.

Conclusion

Future teachers, educators, and gener-ations of culturally diverse learners shouldhave the chance to be transformed byplace-based educational experiences rooted

in multicultural approaches. Throughstorytelling, poetry, music, gardening, andfood students connect their own culturalidentities with world cultures. The act ofgardening helps to bring the cultural con-nections of food, environmental practices,medicine, and world religions onto schoolcampuses.

The root of place-based learning isenhancing the learning experience throughdirect engagement and inquiry into place,community, and culture. Multicultural edu-cation utilizing place-based approaches topedagogy prepares teachers to successfullyengage their students by providing themwith the tools and skills to build habits ofmind that lead to the development of es-sential place-based learning techniques,thus, tapping into the learning potentialthat exists indoors and outdoors on schoolcampuses. Students sharing what cuisinesthey eat at home with their class thenbringing food they grew in the school gar-dens home helps to acknowledge the roleculture plays in the lives of students bothat home and at school.

In preparing students for the transfor-mative experiences of turning classroomsinto living places for learning, teachersfoster learning communities within theirclassrooms and the local community indeveloping a place where students cancreate place-worlds connected to theircultures and imaginations (Sobel, 2005).The empowerment and transformation ofour intellect is not rooted in what we know,it stems from our actions and what we dowith the knowledge we contain.

In today's educational landscape ofstandardized lessons and directives offidelity to the core curriculum, it is needednow more than ever for instruction to bedelivered with unique kinds of creativitythat provide for the educational venturesstudents must engage in to thrive within to-morrows culturally diverse Eind ecologicallydevastated landscape (O'SulHvan, 1999).

In a community of learners, access toinformation and sharing of imaginationsoccurs through the exploration of cultureand place. We are surrounded by cultureand place. The Earth is a place currentlybeing devastated by an ecological disasterfrom poisons, toxins, drought, erosion, andover-population. Culture is everythingfrom the clothes we wear, music we listento, food we eat, and language and sayingswe use. It is imperative that place-basedlearning and multicultural education areembedded into all classroom instruction.

Through the connection to place,learners begin to transform the world

around them through an emerging eco-logical understanding (Sobel, 2005). Thesustainability of our planet is based inlearner's ability to understand social,economic, and environmental aspects oflife. Transforming classrooms throughcreative place-based learning leads toteachers implementing community designsfor sustainable living and multiculturalcompetence.

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