In particular, it is suggested that we need an ‘Odyssean’ education so that a substantial fraction of teenagers, students and adults might understand something of our biggest intellectual and practical problems, and be trained to take effective action.

My reaction hinges on the numerical interpretation of "substantial" (whose emphasis is mine). Is it 5%, compared to a current <1%? Then yeah, that seems doable. Is it a 20%? Then no, that doesn't seem doable, and seeking to write a class on integrative systems thinking that the 80th percentile student can survive is probably going to make it a worthless class.

It also depends on what was meant by “something of” (emphasis mine).