Over this past weekend, I attended the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference in Boston. The conference is meant to expose science teachers all over the country to innovative teaching methods, curriculum and textbook aids, and to promote the study of science in schools. Though the conference is mostly based in advocating for the teaching of the basics in the natural sciences of biology, chemistry, and physics, I found that there was a lot of information about incorporating energy education into science curriculums.
Many of the booths I visited and one of the workshop lectures I attended focused on the importance of educating students about the dangers of pollution and global warming and the importance of energy efficiency. Most of the booths that addressed energy education discussed the importance of preparing the students of today for running the country tomorrow; we will be responsible for the choices made today, and for that reason, educating students about the current energy situation is crucial. The lecture I attended on energy conservation discussed the same things we have been addressing in class--the importance of alternative energy, the detriments of energy inefficiency, etc.
I brought back some pamphlets from the trip that I will bring to class on Friday or next week; some topics covered by the pamphlets include:
- water pollution (regulations, what to do to stop it, etc.)
- renewable energy
- global warming and CO2 emissions
- nuclear energy
- fuel cells
I found it very interesting that promoting "green" education has become so popular in the realm of education. I never thought of targeting the issue from this angle up until now, but I think it holds a lot of promise and certainly has the potential to affect great change. Some things you may want to comment on include: Do you think this policy will be effective in affecting change? Do you think it is important to educate the children even though they aren't the ones going out and making legislations on the issue? To what extent do you think energy education is already incorporated in science curicula, and is this enough?
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8 comments:
As a great man once said, “Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools…contend is the policy for promoting the progress of the arts and the sciences and a flourishing culture in our land.” This is the policy we must live by. I agree completely that to educate the children is to educate the future and that by doing so it will help the energy problem. Of course children are not the ones making the legislations but they will be, or they will decide who does. This brilliant man says, “The world is yours, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is yours. You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Our hope is placed on you.” His hopes are placed on the children and we must not let him down by not offering to the children all the education necessary to prevent a crisis.
It is hard to institute this course because it is so recent; few resources are available to lower grades. It is a complex issue to analyze and study and therefore could be hard to learn. Nevertheless there should be attempts at including it more thoroughly in normal curriculums. In higher grades, however, there should be a more intensive study. As for Energy & Society-teaching and all aspects of life, “Our attitude towards ourselves should be ‘to be insatiable in learning’ and towards others ‘to be tireless in teaching’.
Opinionated debates often occur, and although there can’t be bias, there is a way to teach this issue. This Great Man said in his wonderful little red book, “We must help all the young people to understand that ours is still a very poor country, that we cannot change this situation radically in a short time, and that only through the united efforts of our younger generation and all of the people, working with their own hands, can [we] be made strong and [efficient] within a period of several decades.” The same can be said for this generation and the quest for a greener world. We must help them understand, and judge the situation thoroughly, then, as human beings, they will understand that the earth is a need, and help it survive.
Let us learn from this man, as he would agree that “One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.” (Chinese proverb) We must plant the trees, and we must plant them now.
I am a firm believer that education is the way to do things. I disregard the notion that Mr. Adams introduced a few weeks ago that cigarette smoking is not going down because of education, it is going down because of tax increases. I do not see the solution as so black and white.
First, I want to make clear what I view education to be. Education does not just mean teaching a group of 30 students for 40 minutes, just to have them walk out the room and forget about everything. Of course one science class you took in your freshmen year of high school isn't going to stay with you forever, but education in general can make lasting impressions on you, whether or not its effects are subconscious or conscious.
Education opens kids eyes to many things. I as a student may not sit in Mr. Adam's Energy and Society class and say to myself when I am an adult I am going to pass a piece of legislation aiding the global warming issue. I do not feel compelled to act on the government level, but that does not define the success of education.
There are many ways in which people can take their education and put it to use. Perhaps when I purchase a car or a house, I will be aware of energy efficiency. Or maybe I will build my own house (not I personally, that would not go so well) while keeping in mind different ways to structure it in order to be the most energy efficient.
Children/teens are "shapeable," more so than adults. I do not think that enough will get done since the government, at least in the US, is full of people that are used to consuming endlessly. We as teenagers have only been used to this standard of living for 16 years. Although that may seem like a lot to us now, education can influence us to change things and lead a different life.
Therefore, if energy education was increased throughout the U.S. and the world, it is more likely that a teacher will reach a student who wants to go into government and pass laws to change our future.
Energy education is hardly incorporated in science curricula - at least at Lab. I haven't heard of any class related to Energy at Lab until Mr. Adams came and created it himself.
Honestly, it is never enough. But this should not be discouraging. In fact it should be encouraging. Since I want to be a teacher when I grow up, I truly believe in the power a teacher can posses in leading the next generation. The fact that "it is never enough" shows that there is always more and more education that can be given to students.
While educating the youth does have a respectable amount of promise in it, there’s only so much longer this planet has until we take a tremendous turn for the worst. Implementing changes within the education system takes time and money. While the LAB School has qualified teachers for energy education, like Mr. Adams, does our neighboring school Humanities High School have qualified energy teachers? Does the rest of the country?
Changing the school systems is a naïve and ultimately lazy response to the energy crisis and to our increasingly warming world. I agree that children are impressionable and are the key to a more energy efficient future, but it is the present that we’re living and it is the present that needs an immediate solution. I think after we’ve institutionalized energy efficiency, through legalized rules and regulations, then education should ensue.
Although it’s painfully clear to us, many people do not believe in our impending energy calamity. Many see our standard of American living as sustainable and suitable for years to come. It is these people we need to educate. However they are not in school. These people can only be prodded out of their stubborn ways with rules with penalties if broken. This is not how I’d like to stimulate change. Ideally I wish everyone would see that our “race is run” and take it upon themselves to change. But this is not the way the world works. Because cash rules everything around us, it will be cash that affects the most change in policy and how we operate in the United States and globally.
I agree that with everything that has been said thus far, which leads me to the painful conclusion that we really have not made very much progress. Education is an ideal solution in that if everyone was fully informed on what is really going on in the world, more people would be more likely to be compelled to change things. However, as Lindsay said, educating these people is often difficult to say the least, and as Caroline said, it is often done so in ineffective ways. But if we don't try, then there is no hope of ever educating those reluctant, hard-to-reach people, or of perfecting the flawed course curriculums. If we don't make an investment in education programs now, there is no hope of educating the people who will be making the differences tomorrow.
Lindsay, the fact that we are in a dire situation and something needs to be done right NOW is questionable. Most of the sources we have been exposed to show how peak oil is going to happen really soon and how we really don't have that much time to do anything. I do believe that we do not have that much time, but it is important to be aware of the sources you are reading.
Also, yes of course we need a solution right NOW. We need congressmen and other people that can do something for our country right now. However, lets say we somehow get together all of these people to make a difference now. Since we did not value education as much, now the next generation is screwed. Now, we need to get ourselves into a crappy situation in which that "next" generation needs to step up and figure it out.
Why not put pressure on the governments around the world to do something out our energy use now? And then in the meantime intensify our education system so our next world leaders can be more prepared.
Actually, Caroline I think the reason behind this class is that this we ARE in a dire situation and that something needs to be done right NOW. I think we are beyond the point of questions and second guessing. No matter if the United States hits peak in the next twenty years or the next hundred years, it’s going to be this generation’s problem. And implementing a law is a faster than implementing change in the education system.
I agree that education is key to changing the future but how long does that take? The education system is extremely flawed. Within this system it’s hard enough to get across core subjects (English, Mathematics, History and Science). National test scores are testament enough! The United States is greatly falling behind other industrialized “modern” societies in the education realm. How does one expect to create and implement an effective energy curriculum?
Again, children are the most impressionable of all the age groups. I think teaching by example is better than trying to beef up our already failing education system. If children grow up knowing how to recycle, living in more eco – friendly housing and eating locally grown food, it’s a guaranteed equation for success.
Changing the education system is slow and tedious, and I don't think it should be the only thing done to stop the energy crisis. Clearly, educating the next generation now will do nothing to help our own, and we are in need of help now. We need to start acting now, but we also have to prepare for the future so this doesn't happen again. We need to fix the problem as best we can today, and simultaneously educate and warn the next generation so they can tackle the problem as well. I think both of these tactics are critical, and while there are obstacles impeding the implementation of both of them, something needs to be done, and it needs to be done now.
The point that jensen made about going green, i agree what she said because i travel alot in our car and i have seen alot of people wearing the green bags that says going green, i saw those big tall posters that said green. Also i bought this magazine from last year and it is a vanity fair going green issue and it talks alot about the prblems that is going on around the world and how celebrities are also concerned with this issue. i will try to bring the magazine on monday.
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