Environmental Education: Reflection Is Required

The article raises topical issues of the state and prospects of development of environmental education in the system of general secondary education in Russia. The author, in the context of the recent exclusion of the subject "Ecology" from the number of independent academic disciplines, emphasizes the need for deep reflection — an understanding of the already accumulated experience, methodological foundations and structural solutions. It is argued that the structure of academic subjects is determined by the invariant structure of human activity and the object of study (according to the fundamental works of Academician V.S. Lesnev), and not by volitional decisions. An analysis of the historical evolution of the content of school education shows that environmental content fits seamlessly into existing educational fields ("Wildlife", "Man", "Society", "Ethics", etc.) as a cross-cutting ideological line, and not as a separate subject. It is shown that the practice of introducing new disciplines without taking into account systemic limitations (age capabilities of students and academic workload) is unacceptable. In order to form students' holistic ecological thinking and responsible attitude towards the planet, it is proposed to develop a deeply systematic course in the theory of ecology based on key scientific concepts.