Despite national education policy that presents human rights as a core curriculum concern, education systems seem to resist the introduction of new content areas. This is not only worrying but unethical, given the human and ecological crises that characterise the world our students inhabit. This paper responds to Jón Torfi Jónasson’s belief that education will remain the same unless there is an understanding of, and even respect for, the inertial constraints that prevent change from taking place.