Shedding the Newtonian

Disrupting the dominant Newtonian paradigm of reality and exploring an interconnected ecological worldview is an important aspect of shifting to a new way of teaching and learning. According to new science, we exist and can learn and develop only in relationship. We are entangled in relationship and our learning can only be accomplished collectively. Unpacking a Newtonian worldview and embracing a relational new science understanding of reality involves exploring how to collaborate, how to self-organize, how to focus on process, and how to allow for emergence. As we lean into embracing a new paradigm the process can be unsettling, jarring, and stressful as well as liberating and transformative. The breakdown of the old paradigm is a healing process as we unravel a lifetime of separation and try to grasp what it means to live in a relational ecological story. My own story of shedding the Newtonian in my career path, and the story of our Sustainability Leadership class shed light on how this paradigm shift can unfold in learning spaces.