Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/it-takes-all-of-us/5022408/
Two years ago, we were excited about the idea of bringing together designers, educators, and environmental advocates to think deeply about effective and inspiring designs for children that incorporate the natural world. The World Forum Working Groups we belong to (Nature Action Collaborative for Children and Global Collaborative OnDesign, respectively) began making plans for a Working Forum on Design and Nature to be held in New Zealand in early 2015. But these questions stopped us in our tracks.
Our initial enthusiasm was challenged by those who seemed confused by the concept. Other questions we began to hear sounded like this:
“Why would designers want to go to a conference with educators?”
“I’m a college instructor. My education students won’t care about this topic. They wouldn’t understand the reason for collaborating with designers.”
“My design students won’t understand why they should collaborate with educators.”
Even more disconcerting were the voices that said:
“Designers won’t care what we educators think.”
“The ...