David Orr in his passage on “What Is Education For?” hits many key points on the downfall of the current education system. He effectively describes the current education being theories instead of values, concepts rather than consciousness, answers instead of questions, ideology and efficiency rather than conscience. By this description he implies that current education does not necessarily incorporate decency and wisdom into a person. Clearly in order to instill these human values into us humans, a different kind of education needs to be taught to people, a one that would instil qualities such as decency, prudence and wisdom in the people. Orr’s passage is an effective one as it makes the reader visualize and get a feel for the problems and drawbacks of the current education system and then proceeds on to suggesting effective solutions to counter these problems. The three distinct elements in Orr’s vision of the new proposed education system are truly unique and add a new dimension to how the current education system needs a significant change.

The first principle is that goal of education is not a mastery of subject matter but of one’s person. David Orr proclaims that subject matter is simply a tool, like a hammer and chisel. One uses knowledge and ideas to forge one’s own personhood. I agree with Orr’s point of view because defining oneself is critical to developing into an individual with good morals and ethics towards society and land. This idea can also be taken from “The Land Ethic” by Aldo Leopold. Aldo also mentions that the current education needs to step up in order to convey these ethics to the people. I believe that if education instils certain values into the people, they will use the subject matter they learn ethically in the real world.

The second principle is that we can’t say that we know something until we understand the effects of this knowledge on real people and their communities. I agree with this principle because it is very important to understand the effects of knowledge on the people before actually implementing it in real life. A good example would be from David Orr’s home in Ohio where a bad ideology called the “bottom line” was implemented by MBA graduates without taking into account the value of good communities or human costs.

The third principle is that all education is environmental education. Since we reside on earth, I strongly feel that everything we do, irrespective of subject is related to the environment. It is therefore crucial that we educate ourselves on the environment and try to understand the human effects on the environment before undertaking any project or action.[]

Lastly, David Orr’s reconstruction of education suggests that no student should graduate without basic comprehension of the following: Laws of Thermodynamics, ecology, carrying K, energetics, (least-cost, end-use) analysis, limits of tech., growing food, building shelter, using solar energy, environmental (soil, water, flora, fauna). I once again support his suggestion because learning these key concepts would make a person more environmentally oriented in his approach towards solving problems. The cost environmental costs would be easier to factor into large projects if the people handling the projects have a sound base on the environmental impacts of their ideas and knowledge. At the end of the day thinking of the environment is key and since we inhabit this beautiful planet earth, it is our duty to preserve and maintain its beauty.