TAPPING INTO THE GREAT TURNING.
“This summer, I have been spending a lot of time educating myself about the concept of ‘The Great Turning.’ Essentially, it speaks to this point that we are at in human and environmental existence where almost all of our major systems are in decline. It poses the decision that we must make to either let things decline as they have been or act as ‘midwives’ birthing into life a new way of relating to each other and the environment. Three major sources for this research have included the work of David Korten (who wrote the book, The Great Turning), Joanna Macy (and her workshop series and subsequent articles on “The Work that Reconnects”), and a wonderful organization called Generation Waking Up who use the concept in their interactive, multimedia, youth activist workshops. As the global issues teacher (education for global citizenship), a constant challenge is for me to simultaneously raise awareness of the devastating effects of our current systems without overwhelming and dis-empowering my intensely compassionate students. I am incredibly excited to bring the concept of ‘The Great Turning’ into my classroom as a source of hope, that although things look bad, there are an enormous amount of people working across borders and through barriers to take us to a more just and sustainable future.
– Emily Zionts, Global Issues and Peace Studies teacher, The Woolman Semester, a semester program for juniors, seniors, and gap year students
