Contemporary Aesthetics (Jan 2016)
The Cacaio Project: Education for Environmental, Aesthetic, and Moral Development
Abstract
Economic inequalities, institutional awkwardness, cultural underdevelopment, social exclusion, a fast rate of environmental, ecological, and biodiversity degradation have all been at the root of historic social injustice and structural poverty in Brazil for centuries. Human development and emancipation in this context should be approached as a set of non-formal educational practices to promote better learning and dignity. These would become potent means for reducing material poverty and selfish individual behavior, and for improving holistic modes of education and culture. Non-traditional educational practices can have an important influence in state-run schools, as well as in private schools, by enhancing resilience and furthering social cohesion. Schools, teachers, children, and youth should be led to develop and challenge themselves using abstract, critical, and creative thinking in developing broader experiments and forms for constructing more sustainable societies. It is time to add a multidimensional approach to educational programs that will stress quality in experience using didactic methods starting in kindergarten and continuing to high school and beyond.
