What Is Environmental Education?
Today, there is an all important global concern about how to preserve and protect the world’s environment and environmental education is a key component to achieving that preservation. Many governments, businesses and environmental activists spend a lot of time trying to undo damage that has already been done. However, as with many of the world’s difficult problems that require fundamental change, the answer to the environmental quandary likely rests with the children and that is why environmental education in primary and secondary schools is so important.
Environmental education teaches students about the natural environment and about how human beings can enjoy sustainable living and live in a way that respects the ecosystem and does not damage the environment, this is so important for the future. It is not a new concept, although it has certainly changed over the years. Decades ago when environmental conservation was not the important issue that it is today, schools still taught environmental education. In generations past, the goal was to instill an appreciation for and enjoyment of the outdoors and of nature.
Today, environmental education retains enjoyment of nature as a goal for students but it also includes teaching students about the importance of environmental protection including how to live sustainable lives and the political and legal aspects of environmental protection. Often, K-12 environmental education is included in the science curriculum. However, it is becoming more common for high schools to offer environmental science classes as elective courses.
Elementary School Environmental Education
Environmental Education often starts with teaching children what nature is and why it should be respected. This approach is based on the theory that if children have a genuine appreciation and respect for nature that they will naturally want to protect it as they get older.
Many schools choose to incorporate environmental education into the science curriculum by going on field trips to natural history museums, doing activities outside, learning about different plants and animals and participating in community service projects such as park cleaning, recycling projects or planting community gardens.
High School Environmental Education
Environmental education at the high school level can vary widely. Some schools offer highly scientific Earth Science classes where students learn bout the science of the environment and how human actions change it. Other classes may be more political or legal in nature and discuss different environmental laws and United Nations declarations and charters. Finally, some communities have established charter or magnet schools that primarily focus on environmental education.
North American Association for Environmental Education
The North American Association for Environmental Education has established a set of 6 “Guidelines for Excellence” in environmental education. Those guidelines include the principles that:
- Environmental educational materials should be fair and accurate in their description of environmental problems, issues and conditions;
- Environmental education should make students aware of the feelings, values and attitudes that guide opinions on environmental issues;
- Environmental education should build skills such as critical thinking to enable students to handle environmental issues as adults;
- Environmental education should promote civil responsibility and encourage students to make a change;
- Environmental education should be instructionally sound. This means that different learning styles should be accommodated and that there should be goals for and assessment of the students;
- Environmental education materials should be well designed and easy to use.
Why is Environmental Education Important?
On a global level, it is important so that we train the next generation of students to solve what some experts term our environmental crisis. It will raise a generation of students who understand the need to have humans live sustainable lives and who are well equipped to make that happen.
Similarly, environmentalists are likely to be in great demand as the current generation of students graduates and enters the work force. As the United States and many other countries become more concerned with being eco-friendly and with leading “green” lives, environmentalists will be necessary to put programs in place that promote those ideals and to teach others how to do it.
Environmental education is, therefore, important to individual students and to our society as a whole. As our schools prepare students for the world, it is important that they focus on all of the issues that are likely to effect students and the environment is certainly one of those issues.
