Reflection on "Earth in Mind"

I just finished reading David Orr's "Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment and the Human Prospect."  At first I found myself drawn in by David's understanding of and perspective on modern education.  He claims that there is a piece missing, and a very important piece.  He explained education as being stuck in the mind and removed from the tangible daily world we live in.  This made complete sense to me.  I have long been one who has suffered at the hands of the educational institution; feeling displaced and disconnected from the created world, it's people and places, the dirt we walk on and water we drink.  I have craved for a connection between the world of theory and the world of practice.  David's argument made sense to me.  Then he, rather disappointingly, moved into the world of theory.  He moved from a passionate argument for more connected educational practices that link all subjects together so that students may understand the inner workings and connectedness of the world they live in.  An argument for a greater push toward understanding the ecology of the planet, how we fit in and what our economic strategies are doing it to.  An argument for us to open our eyes and innovate new ways of doing things so that there is a world to live in in the coming generations.  This argument which moved through the first 2/3 of the book was passionate and moving.  It called for change but then abruptly changed course to an argument for place, for better food management strategies, for the reruralization of America and a whole host of other things.  I understand that he was trying to show the reader why education is important but, at least for me, only managed to say that in the opening sentence of the last part of the book.  It felt disconnected.

Instead of being the empowering section and movement to action that I think it was intended to be, I instead finished the book feeling as though the problems we are facing felt too big.  I felt defeated.  I felt as though I couldn't possibly tackle any of this in my life time.  It was disappointing.  Until this final section, I had felt empowered to change if nothing else my thinking.  To be conscious of this connection to place and the environment when I raise my children.  To have passionate conversations about ways we can, if not globally or continental, at least change how we life and maybe even our communities live.

Despite this disappointment in the conclusion of this book, I will cling to those revelations made at the outset.  I will cling to the burning question that this book has caused to spring up in me: If we do not do something now and change the way we think and learn and teach people to live in this world, will there even be a world to live in?  This is a question I believe all of us should wrestle with.  There is nothing one single solitary person can do to change anything, but if we all take some time to let these questions of ecology and place and our future enter into our being and then take the time to discern what we are passionate about working toward, then together, each acting upon our own inner drive toward the same end goal, we can move mountains.