“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
—Maya Angelou

Cicely Rude is an educational linguist and author with several nonfiction books for teachers currently in print. Ms. Rude is a Lecturer and teacher-trainer at the University of the Pacific and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of California at Berkeley. She has served as a teacher of English as a second and foreign language to adults in North America and Asia, as well as developed workshops for such organizations as the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL), and the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco.

Valuing Education and Equity

Education and free inquiry are keys to global unity, equity, and sustainability. In 1656, Thomas Ady warned, “Nations [will] perish for lack of knowledge. At the beginning of the 21st century, crucial elements, including transportation, communication, education, agriculture, medicine, protection of the environment, entertainment, commerce, and the key democratic institution of voting depend on technology. At the same time, relatively few people understand scientific method, technology, or the democratic process of government. Government officials whom we elect to represent us do not always demonstrate understanding of the scientific method of inquiry. Ignorance and power are a dangerous combination. Fortunately, we can provide the voters and leaders of tomorrow with a valuable education today. In the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."

Thinking Critically

The viability of a democratic system of government depends on an educated electorate. Without the ability to identify significantly reliable evidence and margins of error; without a healthy helping of skepticism and critical thinking skills, members of the voting public become easy targets for confidence tricksters, deceptions, rumors, and costly mistakes. In the words of Derek Bok, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” That’s what P.T. Barnum meant when he said, “A sucker is born every minute.” With breathtaking and heart-wrenching advertisements, advertisers often pray upon the credulous and the ignorant in ways that betray contempt for their customers.

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Democracy is the worst possible form of government…except for all of the others that have been tried.” Modern education is much like democracy in the sense that it is not perfect, but we can always strive for improvement. By thinking critically, and by applying criteria for quality of evidence and margins of error, we cannot prescribe courses of human action, but we can identify and assess the possible consequences of alternative courses of action.

Linking to Language

To understand the connection between sustainability, critical thinking, education, and language, let us first recognize that nearly everything in our 21st century lives is dependent in one or more ways on science, technology, and communication. Therefore, an effective system of education is essential to widespread understanding of how things work. Whether written, spoken, signed, or otherwise, language is the means by which teach each other. Language serves many functions, one of which is communicating information and sharing culture. Culture can be defined as anything that is learned and taught, as opposed to instinctive or inherent.

It then stands to reason that a system of education in which those who make policy and standards, those who design curricula, and those who administer and teach all understand the language learning process and strive to inspire all students, including those learning the lingua franca as a second language, is essential for equity and sustainability.