environmental education

I missed the boat...Andrea sent me an email about blog action day, and I assumed it meant post about the environment this week rather than specifically on Monday.

Still the topic is interesting and important enough to address anyway.

Public awareness of global climate change is higher than ever with many scientists and media sources promoting awareness. This trend itself reveals a trend in education but a type involving brief information sessions directed towards adults. What is often brought up is the need for action now and sustained future action. This implies a need for environmental education in the world's schools and colleges.

Despite the need for education, highly specific classes are often counter productive for students who were not previously passionate about the subject especially if the subject is one that requires a major reworking of the thought process (think of all of the college freshman taking say intro to creative writing or general chemistry). Morever, how should environmental education be approached at the elementary and high school levels?

A partial solution to both issues is the same, cut out the clear cut "education" and introduce more teaching by example. Make recycling and energy saving ubiquitous. Young children and young adults alike respond to observing instructors and peers depositing bottles into recognizable recycling bins. The problem with classes designed to affect lifestyle changes is their lack of context. Students of all levels go to school and appreciate new ideas but fail to see relevance to "real life".

We have increased our ability to alter ecosystems as well as imposed changes for long enough that effects are becoming visible. In the past, environmental concern was something that we "should" be concerned about, now environmental concern is something that we need to be concerned about. The way to create more than just interest and a vague feeling of concern in future generations is to demonstrate two things by everyday example 1) that the environment is not a vague or technical concept, it is our homes, our schools, our workplaces 2) change at the individual level need not involve high tech gadgetry or enormous fast paced lifestyle changes. It's probably analogous to increasing voting, however I won't go deeply into civic contribution here.