The Pedagogy of Necessity and Urgency

Sor Juana was self-taught, learning from necessity and curiosity rather than formal schooling. She studied what she needed to know to understand her world and address questions that mattered. This suggests a climate pedagogy rooted in immediate need: teaching renewable energy installation because communities face energy poverty, teaching regenerative agriculture because soil is dying, teaching environmental law because lands are being seized. Rather than waiting for perfect curricula or credentialing, this approach mobilizes learning through urgent real-world problems. It trusts that humans learn fiercely when their survival and liberation are at stake. Climate justice education following Sor Juana's model would be grounded, practical, action-oriented, and trusting in the intellectual capacity of all people, not credentialed experts alone. It transforms climate learning from optional enrichment into vital survival knowledge.