This weeks topic was Interdependence. Interdependence can be defined as the way that two or more living things depend on each other to grow and live healthy and there are 3 main components of Interdependence: Economic, Social and Environmental.
Economic interdependence is related to global market trading and how goods and services can be both produced and traded across the world. This also relates to the stock market because the value of other currencies, such as the Euro, Dollar or Yen, has an impact on the UKs economy. We can also involved in economic interdependence by being a part of multinational financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund. An example of this is that the Eu is till supporting Greece to get out of its financial crisis of 2009.
We looked at social interdependence from the perspective that it can create cultural integration. For example, Hollywood Tv and Movies are broadcast across the world which firstly creates a demand for them and boosts the US economy and secondly transfers American beliefs and values onto the rest of the world. Many media and advertising corporations are dominated by America and Europe which means that it’s mainly western opinions and values that are being pushed on the rest of the world.
Environmental interdependence is recognising that everything and everyone has an important role in maintaining the web of life. If we change one part of a system then it can have detrimental implications on the other parts. We also need to look further than our local impacts and acknowledge that there are global responsibilities and repercussions because in a very basic sense, we all share the same resources, such as the air and the oceans, so we are all depending on each other to look after these resources.
Reflecting back after the initial input on interdependence, I had understood the environmental part as quite straight forward because of my previous science experience but the social and economic aspects were something I had never considered before. From first glance, these aspects do not look like interdependence but the more I thought about it and considered the examples given, it made more sense. I also thought that this was a good way to link with social science subjects in class and provides a different topic to look at with possibly older pupils.
I found this video and thought that it would be a really great resource to use in class. Although the video is about Ecosystems, it links into interdependence via food chains and it is easy to understand because the video was made by children.
As a part of the interdependence topic, we visited two different dairy farms. The first one we visited was a small organic farm with a small amount of cows and everything is done on site (the milking, production of the milk, etc). One of the interesting points of the farm is that they sell directly to the public and are not stocked within big supermarkets. This was so they could cut out the middle man, keep their milk at a reasonable price and be able to make a wage for the farmers. We also visited another farm which was more technology based where everything was operated by machines and the cows were kept indoors. This made me feel a little uncomfortable as you like to believe that animals should be outside, in the fresh air, being able to roam about. The farmer explained that the cows are getting everything they need and are being treated fairly but it just didn’t sit right with me.
The farm visits helped to highlight interdependence in different ways. In the first farm, the farmers were dependant on the public buying their milk so they could make a living whilst the second farm was dependent on the help of the machines as there was no way that the farmers could manage something of this scale on their own. Both of the farms provided an interactive and engaging way to tech the children about the topic of interdependence.
Using the Bookefield, S (1995) Model of Reflection, on an autobiographical level, studying the topic of interdependence highlighted how important it is across every aspect of the world and how we can have such an impact, especially environmentally. If I was to reflect on interdependence as a pupil, it would help to show how all my actions have consequences, both positive and negative, and especially on a local level.
References
Brookfield, S. (1995). Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass
