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Abstract: Educating for Sustainability: Letters from an Alum

by

Charles W. Rusch, Middlesex School 1952

Professor of Architecture Emeritus

University of Oregon

December, 1997

[The following is a chapter in a book about education and the environment for the National Art Education Association. The article summarizes the Estabrook Woods situation at Middlesex School in Concord, Mass., and the correspondence the author had as an alumnus with the school as a kind of case study of visions of environmental education. For full text, click here]

Citation:

Rusch, Charles W., "Educating for Sustainability: Letters from an Alum". In Joanne K. Guilfoil and Alan R. Sandler, (Eds.), Built Environment Education in Art Education, Reston, VA: The National Art Education Association, (1999), pp. 92-117.

Abstract:

This chapter begins by describing an environmental controversy, which has developed at one of the nation’s finest prep schools, about whether and where to place some new playing fields and faculty housing. Through a series of letters, it examines that controversy to reveal its roots in the environmental crisis and values of our culture. The controversy is tied to the broader issue of educating for an ecologically sustainable culture and concludes that simple changes in curriculum will not be sufficient to meet the challenge. Rather, a fundamental shift in the values of the entire school community will be required–a shift which will be reflected not only in the curriculum, but in the school’s stated policies, its architecture and building program, its land-use plan, and its management. For full text, click here.

About the Author:

Charles W. Rusch is a Professor of Architecture Emeritus at the University of Oregon, Eugene, where he teaches courses in "Sustainable Architecture" and "Architecture, Mind, and Environment." In the past, he has also taught courses in Architectural Design Studio, Architecture and Meaning, Social and Behavioral Factors in Architecture, Visual Thinking and Inquiry, Architectural Computing, and Design Arts. Mostly retired now, he lives on the edge of the Pacific Ocean where he reads, writes, and works on architectural and sustainability projects in his community. He graduated from Middlesex School in 1952.

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