Education for Survival.

Overview & Synopsis

In this address, James E. Allen, Jr., Assistant Secretary for Education and U.S. Commissioner of Education, discusses the relationship of education to the problem of ecological destruction. He states that the solutions to the problems of air, water, and soil pollution may be found in redirected education. This "education for survival" can serve to replace confusion with knowledge and, thus, be the key to human survival. He maintains that education is more important than environmental legislation, because in a free society it is always the citizens who must bear ultimate responsibility. He asks humanists and social scientists to take the lead in solving our present ecological dilemma. The specific task of the new environmental/ecological education is to instill awareness, concern, motivation, and training at every level of learning. (MH)