creating a sustainable future through education and have come to learn that this would not be possible without a systemic approach. Systems learning can inform the setup of the formal education system and improve the learning that takes place within that system. It makes me regret not having been exposed to any deliberate systems literacy earlier in life. It is the drive to offer these learning opportunities for young people in education that I believe will bring about large-scale change towards some of the biggest and most complex issues facing humankind today.
This transformation from linear to systemic thinking will not only improve learning in schools but also create a more sustainable future. Senge (2014) shared that he believes schools are not meeting the mark when it comes to addressing and tackling the world’s most complex issues. The linear makeup of formal education creates walls rather than breaking them down for more connected learning and better solutions. He believes that no one wakes up in the morning and wants to effect climate change in a negative way, we simply lack the connected thinking and tools to understand and take meaningful action on a micro and macro level.
There is much conversation globally around the terminology that surrounds systems. Whether it is called systems dynamics, systems thinking, systems literacy or systems science there seems to be no uniform and globally understood approach. It is no wonder schools have difficulty with conflicting understandings and vocabularies for what fundamentally is a very similar understanding about the connected nature of all things, and thinking about the world in a different way. Many organizations and tools exist in support of kindergarten to Grade twelve schools (K-12) in achieving a more connected systemic approach, but many barriers also persist which is blocking progress. Bateson (1997) states that “our machines, our value systems, our educational systems will all have to be informed by (the) switch, from the machine age when we tried to design schools to be like factories” to something more appropriate for today’s reality. (p. 84)
Stroh (2015) advocates that becoming a deeply skilled systems thinker takes time but it is definitely possible for everyone. “We’ve learned that, on one level, systems thinking is child’s play: We were born with the capacity to see connections and understand (though not necessarily tolerate) time delay” (p. 205).
Applying systems tools and practices shapes us as people and alters how we view the world. Fostering millions of these kinds of thinkers and practitioners can help shape the sustainable world we so desire (Cabrera & Cabrera, 2015).
The deeper I dig into learning about systems the more I wonder why I never had the opportunity to do so much earlier in life.
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