Editorial : i wonder, June 2021

Gopalan, Radha (2021) Editorial : i wonder, June 2021. i wonder.... ISSN 2582-1636

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Abstract

Terms like climate change, global warming, ozone layer depletion, mass extinction and, now, the pandemic have become part of our everyday vocabulary. Young people are exposed to these terms, not only in their school curricula, textbooks, and classrooms, but also as a flood of information and (mis)information from myriad sources — social media, TV etc. Researchers report how this has led to two contrasting impacts among children and young people. Anxiety and a sense of hopelessness on the one hand, and acceptance and indifference on the other. Both these conditions dent our ability to respond, as the physicist Fritjof Capra puts it, “by cooperating with Nature's inherent ability to sustain life.” Building the ability to cut through this noise to understand scientific 'truth' is a first step. This would help, in science educator Jonathan Osborne's words, “pupils emerge with an interest in science, a confidence to talk about it, and a willingness to engage with science wherever and whenever it crosses their paths.” Implicit in such learning is a comprehension of how nature sustains life — the web of intricate, interconnected relationships that afford resilience, and support the flourishing of human societies

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Articles in APF Magazines

Authors:

Gopalan, Radha

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