FairGaze. (2024, May 11). Role of environmental education in school curricula [1 min read]. Fairgaze. https://fairgaze.com/generalnews/role-of-environmental-education-in-school-curricula.html
Environmental education is becoming exceedingly important in our ever-changing world. With CO2 emissions still on the rise, the planet is struggling to keep itself in balance. The ways that people interact with the environment depend largely on their education on, and past experiences with it. Climate change can seem like a distant issue, but your local geophysical environments effect you each day. Without a proper understanding of your physical surroundings, these environmental factors can be overlooked. In Brighton MI there is a small toxic plume. This plume is made up of trichloroethylene (TCE) that was released by Manufacturers in the area. How does this affect the environmental education in this area?
In the late 1940s, a chemical called Trichloroethylene (TCE) leaked into the ground from Detroit gaskets. A second leak at Haigh Manufacturing occurred around the 1960s. This created a toxic plume in Brighton, near the high school. This chemical was found in the 5 homes in the neighborhood north of Brighton High School. (Winowiecki)
TCE is widely used as a metal degreasing agent. It is also commonly used in cleaning agents, paints, adhesives, varnishes, and inks. It was formerly used for food extractions like the removal of caffeine from coffee. (CDC)
TCE can cause mild skin, eye, and respiratory tract irritation. Inhalation or ingestion can cause headaches, dizziness, lack of coordination, stupor, and coma. Respiratory depression or cardiac dysrhythmia can result in death with high-level exposures. Acute exposures may cause hypotension, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. (CDC)
TCE was identified as an “Unreasonable risk” to the health of occupational non-users, consumers, and bystanders by the EPA
Though environmental education is very important, there are some “Barriers” to environmental education in schools. These barriers include limited class time, pressure to teach a district-imposed guideline, and that teachers felt they might lack the appropriate background. We can get around these barriers with after school programs and online resources. (Keselman) Youtube can also be a great resource for environmental education. (BASCH) resources. (Keselman) Youtube can also be a great resource for environmental education. (BASCH)
Ohio Ocean Foundation. (2020, July 22). The importance of environmental education. https://www.ohiooceanfoundation.org/blog-ohiooceanfoundation/the-importance-of-environmental-education
I will be using the theoretical framework for research into environmental education. This framework includes cognitive education, socio-emotional education, and ethical education. These three aspects of the framework go into your “choices and decisions concerning exploitation of the environment” (Aho). Cognitive education includes problem-solving skills, thought processes, and knowledge of the environment and its behavior. Meaning, what do the students already know about their environment? Socio-emotional education is your socio-emotional attitudes, along with your attitudes towards the exploitation and conservation of the environment. How do students feel about the use/over-use of the environment? Ethical education includes your general ethical attitudes on life and ethical attitudes towards nature (Aho). What do students value? Is environmental conservation an important thing in their eyes? These aspects feed into a holistic view of their view on the environment, and how to move forward with education.
Schoolchildren visiting Valentine Camp for a lesson on natural history. Image credit: Lobsang Wangdu
K-12 Environmental Education. Natural Reserve System. (2019a, April 9). https://ucnrs.org/k-12-environmental-education/
How does proximity to contaminated groundwater plumes affect the science education of Brighton MI middle school students and their perceptions of local water quality? After a short talk with Vicki Worthing, a teacher at Maltby Intermediate School in Brighton Michigan, It was clear that there was very little education on local water quality given. “We have a unit on invasive species in the Great Lakes and one on pollution” Mrs Worthing states. Real-world examples of environmental issues can be an effective way to bridge the gap between school learning and in life learning. As people get older they are more likely to continue to hold the beliefs that they have always had. Students are at a very influential time in their lives. Early environmental education will help create positive habits that will hopefully continue into adulthood. Education of students as they age will be imperative to the long term growth of environmental literacy.
Aho, L. (1984). A theoretical framework for research into environmental education. International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift Für Erziehungswissenschaft / Revue Internationale de l’Education, 30(2), 183–191. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3444663. Accessed 27 Sep. 2024.
BASCH, C. H., et al. (2024). YouTube as a source of information on air pollution: Significance for community health. Journal of Community Health, 49(5), 843–847. DOI: 10.1007/s10900-024-01360-7. Disponível em: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=388d2e0a-c4f5-32fe-a17d-a4eba635e058. Acesso em: 23 out. 2024.
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Denchak, M. (2024). Flint Water Crisis: Everything you need to know. Be a Force for the Future, NRDC.
FairGaze. (2024, May 11). Role of environmental education in school curricula [1 min read]. Fairgaze. https://fairgaze.com/generalnews/role-of-environmental-education-in-school-curricula.html
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