Last week I finished my environmental education class! I'm happy to report that I passed the class with flying colors. I started a new class I last week is called Green Schools. It is a in depth study on how school buildings impact the education of students and the job environment of staff. I've already written a paper for the class and am so excited to share it with you all. I'm really jazzed about the theme of this class and am expecting quite a few engaging assignments. Was/is your school a "green school"? Do you think you would have done better in school if your learning environment was greener? Do you believe green schools are worth the investment? Thanks for taking time to read my paper and feel free to leave a comment.
According to The Center For Green Schools (2014) there was “90 billion in K-12 school construction from 2010 to 2012” that money has gone into many creating buildings that have yet to meet LEED standards. Twenty five percent of Americans go to school each day as either students or staff and yet our buildings are outdated, dangerous, and filled with toxins (Center for Green Schools, 2014). Schools are not just buildings, they are where we house, protect, and educate our future. Schools should be operated in a way that reduces or eliminates toxic materials and encourages fresh air, natural light, healthy food choices, and reduce dependency on fossil fuels (Center for Green Schools, 2014). The Center For Green Schools highlights the fact that students are impacted at every level of their learning process by traditional unclean schools (Center for Green Schools, 2014). Seeing, hearing, breathing, physical, and emotional health are all impacted by the “health” of a school building (Center for Green Schools, 2014). Increasing the schools sustainability improves student’s and staff’s mental, physical, and emotional well beings (Center for Green Schools, 2014).
When school leaderships chooses to “green” their current school or build a new green building they are not alone (LEED, 2014). The US Green Building Council has a green building tool called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED. LEED is a rating systems for the building and maintaining of green buildings that is intended to help builders and property owners building in an environmentally friendly manner as well as sustain those standards (LEED, 2014). Tools and resources are available for schools that wish to make their students and staff safer and more educated but they cannot do it without our support. Education is the key to a successful future for all of us. Even though I do not have children, I believe that children and teachers are the cornerstone of what our country and planet will become. Without a solid healthy foundation, a protected place to grow, we are raising generations of children that will be disconnected from the planet and could suffer from a lifetime of preventable health issues.
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Green Schools Defined
Plato said, “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.” It is not enough to just go to school, sit at a desk, and learn. The school itself must be a lesson, every layer of it must teach. The buildings should be “green” in many of it’s aspects, students should experience education in a building where they surrounded by lessons on the importance of conservation and preservation from the time they walk in to the time they leave for the day. The faculty is integral, they must be able to not just teach the curriculum but they must be capable of answering the more in depth questions posed by today’s interconnected youth. Everyday we’re coming closer to a world where our day to day lives directly impact people who we never physically come in contact with. Technology is a large part of that but so is our many of our day to day activities. Green schools can show children that everything from the building materials to the water and power supplies have an impact on not just them but the entire world.
School are suppose to a be a haven of learning where students come each day and are suppose to be both emotionally and physically safe while learning the basic and advanced skills necessary for adulthood. Many of the current buildings children learn in are environmentally unsafe meaning not only are they not environmentally friendly they also contain some elements that are dangerous or toxic to students (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). Children are exposed to pesticides, harsh cleaning supplies, lead paint, and poor ventilation (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). This creates a hazard to the health of the staff and the students as well as curtails the student’s ability to learn and develop (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). Many schools around the United States are significant contributors to pollution and climate change (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). By changing a few aspects of American school we could reduce pollution, save money, energy, and oil as well as increase the health and learning potential of our students (Karliner, Joshua, 2005).
The Little Green Schools Initiative believes there are four steps that need to be taken to transform America's schools into green schools. First schools must become toxic free, this step is accomplished by making sure all current schools are pesticide, lead, and mold free (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). Schools that are being built or schools that are undergoing construction must use green building materials and be built on clean ground instead of on toxic land (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). Secondly schools must use their available resources in a sustainable manner (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). They must strive to reduce, reuse, recycle in all aspects including the food they serve and the supplies students use (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). They also must increase their energy and water efficiency (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). Third students must have access to a green healthy school space including “farm-to school organic produce”, a total elimination of junk food, as well as green school playgrounds and gardens (Karliner, Joshua, 2005). Lastly students must be taught about the environment through hands on projects where they students are engaged directly with the “greening” of their school (Karliner, Joshua, 2005).
According to The Center For Green Schools (2014) there was “90 billion in K-12 school construction from 2010 to 2012” that money has gone into many creating buildings that have yet to meet LEED standards. Twenty five percent of Americans go to school each day as either students or staff and yet our buildings are outdated, dangerous, and filled with toxins (Center for Green Schools, 2014). Schools are not just buildings, they are where we house, protect, and educate our future. Schools should be operated in a way that reduces or eliminates toxic materials and encourages fresh air, natural light, healthy food choices, and reduce dependency on fossil fuels (Center for Green Schools, 2014). The Center For Green Schools highlights the fact that students are impacted at every level of their learning process by traditional unclean schools (Center for Green Schools, 2014). Seeing, hearing, breathing, physical, and emotional health are all impacted by the “health” of a school building (Center for Green Schools, 2014). Increasing the schools sustainability improves student’s and staff’s mental, physical, and emotional well beings (Center for Green Schools, 2014).
When school leaderships chooses to “green” their current school or build a new green building they are not alone (LEED, 2014). The US Green Building Council has a green building tool called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED. LEED is a rating systems for the building and maintaining of green buildings that is intended to help builders and property owners building in an environmentally friendly manner as well as sustain those standards (LEED, 2014). Tools and resources are available for schools that wish to make their students and staff safer and more educated but they cannot do it without our support. Education is the key to a successful future for all of us. Even though I do not have children, I believe that children and teachers are the cornerstone of what our country and planet will become. Without a solid healthy foundation, a protected place to grow, we are raising generations of children that will be disconnected from the planet and could suffer from a lifetime of preventable health issues.
Works Cited:
"Center for Green Schools." Center for Green Schools. The U.S. Green Building Council, n.d. Web. 05 July 2014.
Karliner, Joshua. "The Little Green Schoolhouse." Thinking Big About Ecological Sustainability, Children's Environmental Health, And K-12 Education In the USA (n.d.): n. pag. The Little Green Schoolhouse. The Green Schools Initiative, Feb. 2005. Web. 5 July 2014.
"LEED." Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. U.S. Green Building Council, n.d. Web. 03 July 2014.
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