Greetings!

You are looking at the inaugural issue of my newsletter, "Teaching at Twilight." I took the liberty of sending it to you because I am confident that you will find some value in what I have to share.

The Purpose

I have started this newsletter in anticipation of the publication of my book later this year, titled Teaching at Twilight: The Meaning of Education in the Age of Collapse. The book argues that modern civilization is in the initial stages of Collapse because of ecological breakdowns, and that this has profound implications for academics and educators, as well as for parents and community leaders.

My interest in ecological issues goes back to the 1990s, but it was only about ten years ago that the true scale and speed of the crisis finally hit me. This happened in the summer of 2012, when reading an article by Bill McKibben caused me to wake up from my complacent slumbers. Since then, I have been studying the worsening state of the natural environment, the threat it poses to human societies, and the lack of significant progress in mitigating the ongoing harm. 

You would need to read the book for a fuller account of the conclusions I have reached, but I am eager to share what I have learned through other means as well—including this newsletter. 

My hope is that this newsletter will allow me to connect with academics, educators, parents, and community leaders who share some of my concerns—particularly those who wish to refine their understanding of the unique challenges that humanity is facing at the present historical moment and who also want to figure out the most meaningful actions they can take in response to that awareness.

You can get a better sense of what the book and the newsletter are about by reading this brief piece from 2020 and this slightly longer article from 2021. If you'd rather watch a short video, click here.

Rethinking Education

So, why do I think that modern education has become obsolete? Here's the short answer:

Preparing young people for the challenges they are most likely to face is supposed to be a major aim of education. In the past, the modern system of formal education may have been partly successful in this respect, but that’s no longer true.

Today, we are living through a time of ecological breakdowns and societal disruptions resulting from the various insults to the planet's life-support system—such as climate change—that will only intensify in the coming years and decades.

Unfortunately, our social and political institutions are still assuming that the future will be just like the past. As a result, formal education is now increasingly out of step with the state of the world and the direction in which it is headed, and this is creating a massive and growing gap between what students need to learn and what they are being taught.

For educators, such a gap represents a spiritual and moral crisis, for it puts into questions the meaning of their existence and the value of their life’s work. But the failure of the educational system in this respect is an issue that affects absolutely everyone.

Support My Work

If you resonate with the above description of humanity's current challenges and the idea that academics, educators, parents, and community leaders can play a crucial role in this regard, consider supporting my work. You can, for example,

• share this newsletter within your circle;
• explore my website, keeping in mind that parts of it are still under construction;
• invite me to speak with your community via Zoom; and
• read my book when it appears in print.

Thank You!