Continual Education Component
Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness by Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska
The book, Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness, presents compelling arguments for the simple life. This profile of the simplicity movement covers a range of its key topics (value-based work, environmental stewardship and sustainable economies) in a collection of essays by economists, designers, philosophers, farmers and professors. The anthology defines simplicity, explains personal changes you can make to streamline your own life, and explores broad policy changes oriented toward more sustainable principles. When we have too much, we sometimes appreciate nothing. When we choose less, we regain our life and can think and feel deeply. Ultimately, a life of less connects us with one true source of happiness: being part of a caring community.
This book helped me understand how to make resources go further, and why sustainability can’t wait. Less is More showed me how to turn individual change into a movement that leads to policy changes in government and corporate behavior, work hours, the wealth gap and sustainability. As Andrews and Urbanska set out in the Introduction of Less is More, “Simplicity is asking yourself: ‘How do I really want to live? What truly makes me happy? What are my actions doing to the planet? How does my lifestyle contribute to the greater good?'” These are questions I reflected upon as I planned this unit.
This book connected to my unit because it was all about living a simple life, which is focusing on our needs and less on wants. Wants are not necessary to survival and crowd our lives with too many things, making us appreciate less. The book also talked about being good citizen of a caring community. This was ultimately an adult version of what I want my kindergarteners to get out of the lessons I have planned. I want them to learn about the difference in needs and wants and why we should focus on our needs and less on our wants. I think that Those Shoes ties in nicely with Less is More. Citizenship development is an important part of schooling throughout all the grades. Less is More really gets into being a citizen of a caring community is so important to a life of happiness. I was overall impressed with this book.
This book helped me understand how to make resources go further, and why sustainability can’t wait. Less is More showed me how to turn individual change into a movement that leads to policy changes in government and corporate behavior, work hours, the wealth gap and sustainability. As Andrews and Urbanska set out in the Introduction of Less is More, “Simplicity is asking yourself: ‘How do I really want to live? What truly makes me happy? What are my actions doing to the planet? How does my lifestyle contribute to the greater good?'” These are questions I reflected upon as I planned this unit.
This book connected to my unit because it was all about living a simple life, which is focusing on our needs and less on wants. Wants are not necessary to survival and crowd our lives with too many things, making us appreciate less. The book also talked about being good citizen of a caring community. This was ultimately an adult version of what I want my kindergarteners to get out of the lessons I have planned. I want them to learn about the difference in needs and wants and why we should focus on our needs and less on our wants. I think that Those Shoes ties in nicely with Less is More. Citizenship development is an important part of schooling throughout all the grades. Less is More really gets into being a citizen of a caring community is so important to a life of happiness. I was overall impressed with this book.