The Future of Education

Green School opened in September 2008, a new international school ready to offer children different learning experiences.  Set in a beautiful natural environment on a site of almost 10 hectares spanning both sides of the Ayung River in Sibang Kaja village, the school is made of bamboo with learning spaces open to the air. 

Our approach to education reflects our worldview and consciousness [1]. School education has the capacity to act as a prime facilitator in individual and cultural evolution but is mostly stuck in an outdated industrial era worldview [2]. ‘Education for sustainability’ captures the emerging sense of a need for change. It offers a way forward if our visions and actions are bold enough. Green School has accepted the challenge. Its positive, futures based mission is about ‘empowering global citizens and green innovators who are inspired to take responsibility for the sustainability of the world’ [3].  

‘The notion that human consciousness is currently evolving, in such a way that we can consciously participate in this process, is an emergent theme in academic research’ [4]. Green School recognizes this and has an unequivocal desire to dialogue with others on the world stage.

An integral narrative will offer perspectives on the experiences, behaviour, culture, and systems at play at Green School and more [5]. The story will blend the researcher’s authorial voice of omniscient narrator with those of the story’s protagonists [6]. The intention is to explore, synthesize and capture all facets of the school to share with others seeking brighter futures in education.

This biographical account of Green School's holistic approach told through the hearts and minds of its innovators and community will provide a provocative story: one that challenges our capacities to dream and then build our dream.

References

[1] Beck, D. & Cowan, C. (2006). Spiral dynamics: mastering values, leadership, and change. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

[2] Gidley, J., and Hampson, G. (2005). The Evolution of Futures in School Education, Futures, 37, 255-271.

[3] Hazzard, M. & Hazzard, E. with Erickson, S. (2011). The Green School Effect: An Exploration of Place, Space, and Environment on Teaching and Learning. The Green School, Bali, Indonesia. Retrieved from http://www.powersofplace.com/pdfs/greenSchoolReport.pdf

[4] Gidley, J. (2007). The evolution of consciousness as a planetary imperative: An integration of integral views. Integral Review: A Transdisciplinary and Transcultural Journal for New Thought, Research and Praxis, 5, 4-226.

[5] Bruner, J. (2004). Life as narrative. Social Research 71(3), 691-710. (Originally published 1987 Social Research 54(1), 11-32).

[6] Wilber, K., Patten, T. Leonard, A., & Morelli, M. (2008). Integral life practice: a 21^st century blueprint for physical health, emotional balance, mental clarity, and spiritual awakening. Boston, MA: Shambhala.