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ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION OF PERSONAL CULTURE IN THE CONTEXT OF STABLE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
V. A. Skovorodkin
The global community has determined the direction of the future development of human society as “stable development”. In this direction, one of the main positions is given to the pedagogical component, forming the man of the future. Undoubtedly, the man of the future must possess a high level of culture, and most importantly an environmental component.
The founder of the laboratory of development of ecological culture of the Institute of “Family and Education”, the academician B. T. Likhachev, emphasized that education was the process of “entrance” into an individual’s world, his values and needs. The formation of values of an ecological culture is one of the goals of ecological education. Ecological culture is a qualitatively new phenomenon of the spiritual sphere, which characterizes the true intelligibility of an individual. Ecological culture is seen as a set of characteristics of a person (his knowledge, eco-congruent behavior, and lifestyle) that promotes the harmonious development of this individuality in society, in cooperation with the outside world. The ecological culture of a personality is manifested through their way of life, and all types and results of one’s personal experience. Its components are: (a) priority of values of life over material values; (b) responsibility for various activities and one’s own actions; (c) knowledge and skills necessary for gradual development, (d) striving for harmony with oneself and the world.
Development of ecological culture is the formation of moral-psychological qualities of a person that integrates the character of interaction with the environment, the ability to adequately assess one’s own actions and the activities of others, and anticipation of their consequences. Development of the above mentioned qualities enables us to address the problem of a personality formation that knows and is able to live in a system of relations with natural and social factors. The responsible attitude of a personality is expressed in the ability to consciously, and thus, intentionally and voluntarily comply with the requirements and obligations, and to solve the problems of moral choice. The ecological culture of a personality involves the assessment of various activities and making corresponding adjustments in relation to oneself and to the work of others. Manifestations of ecological culture of an individual are: responsiveness, responsibility, frugality, rationality, and the ability to take responsibility for one’s own actions. At the forefront comes the immediate attitude of a person to the surrounding world. A person's attitude toward the world is actually the attitude of the modern person to the future of humanity. The opportunity to check and fix personal qualities, both volitional and moral ones, is provided by pedagogically compiled activity, where the content includes the right to make mistakes, blunders and joyful openings, fixing internal beliefs and moral values. The process of development of the ecological culture of a personality is complex and multifaceted, and takes place along with the growth and development of an individual on the basis of practical perceptions of all the diverse components of the world. Furthermore, in the process of continuing education we can single out four major
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stages: kindergarten, school, vocational education, and professional activities. Each stage has its own specifics in the development of ecological culture. There is no doubt that the world is turning into the object of the constant concern of humanity, and everyone bears personal responsibility for the world’s welfare. These are only first steps of the emerging anthroposphere.
Expansion of boundaries of the educational space aims at the future, and places high demands on the social activities and responsibilities of individuals. Modern man has to make independent decisions, and to establish new relationships in a changing reality quickly and carefully. For the first time, the concept of eco-congruity is considered as a “correlation of a child’s life to the environmental conditions, raising him in harmony with the environment” [6]. The principle of eco-congruity promotes the understanding of any problem as a whole, accumulation of personal experience, formation of attitudes to make balanced and competent decisions. “Ecological education cannot be considered outside the social and cultural aspects, ecological culture is the foundation of life and human evolution" [3]. Thus, development of ecological culture of a person is necessary for achieving the meaning in life of every person. Ecological culture of personality is not only the basis of the personal happiness of life, but also provides a basis for the sustainable development of the social environment, society, and determining the evolutionary path of the planet.
The American eco-philosopher Paul Tailor (the author of the book “Respect for Nature”) has developed four basic rules of human behavior in relation to nature [1, 2]: the rule of nonviolence (do not harm any creature in the world; refrain from any action which may be detrimental to the organism, population, species or community); the rule of non-interference (refrain from restricting the freedom of individual organisms; in common politics -“hands off” in relation to ecosystems and biotic communities; the rule of fidelity (with respect to individual animals if an animal treats us with confidence, we are obliged to meet the expectations of the animal); the rule of restoration (restore the balance between man and nature. Restoration methods can be ways of creation of new reserves and sanctuaries, the restoration of monuments of nature, conservation and breeding of rare species, cleaning of territories.).
After detailed analysis of these rules, we proposed rules for the principle of eco-congruity conducting human interaction with the outside world: live in harmony with the environment (act so that you are not troubled by your conscience); love the world the way it is (the world contains both black paints, horrible on closer inspection; things change over time and space, clean snow will fall tomorrow, and silver will sparkle on what caused the trouble.); find joy and beauty in everything (the purpose of life is a “good mood”, which is not equal to pleasure ... this is a condition in which the soul lives quietly and peacefully, without disturbing fears and passions - Democritus); while opening the world open yourself (only self-cultivation can lead to harmony in one’s soul and open the colors of the existing world).
The proposed principles and rules naturally complement the concept “The surrounding world is the school of life” (A.A. Ostapets-Sveshnikov), in which a developing personality opens up the territory of the surrounding world [4, 5]. This concept focuses on education in nature and, in particular through tourism and local history activities. Education is a long, complex process of personality formation,
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and education through travel requires the teacher to be patient, volitional, attentive, and sympathetic to the students, who trust and believe in their strength and capabilities. He considers the close interaction of teacher and student in overcoming the difficulties of travel as the basic principle of education. While travelling, the student tries on various roles of livelihood or professional activity, which promotes the accumulation of personal experience, and formation of attitudes to make balanced and competent decisions.
Bibliography
1. Taylor Paul, 1994, Biocentric egalitarianism, Environmental ethics, ed. Louis P. Pajman, Boston-London, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, p. 71-84.
2. Борейко В.Е. Прорыв в экологическую этику. - Киев, 1999. - 80 с.
3. Лихачев Б. Т. Психология воспитания. Опыт педагогической экологии. - М.: ГосНИИ семьи и воспитания, 2004. - 181 с.
4. Остапец А. А. Могучее средство развития личности. - М.: Агентство “ДОК”. 1994. -213 с.
5. Остапец А. А. Универсальное средство экологического воспитания. - М., 1995. - 18 с.
6. Социально-педагогические основы воспитания экологической культуры детей и подростков в условиях модернизации образования: моногр. / под ред. Е. М. Клемяшовой -М., 2006. - 18-25 с.
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