Education in the Anthropocene

{Education in the Anthropocene – Earth and Leaf editorial}

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Education in the Anthropocene addressing the environmental crisis means learning about our place in Earth’s history

Education should prepare young people to face the challenges of their time. To keep up with the changing world, this means that education has to keep adjusting. But unfortunately, our education systems have fallen out of sync with the times.

Environmental decay is arguably the greatest challenge facing humanity today. However, education systems are failing to prepare young people for life on a rapidly changing planet.

One way to escape this trap is to shift our perspective on the period of time we inhabit. Instead of the 21st century, we might think of ourselves as living in the Anthropocene.

The Anthropocene is a proposed new geological epoch – a unit on the geologic timescale – characterised by unprecedented human influence over the natural environment. While a panel of geologists decided against declaring the Anthropocene an official geological epoch in 2024, there’s no doubt that it remains a powerful way to understand the world around us.