EARTH DAY AND BEYOND

IRENE R. SANTOS Earth Day is just around the corner – April 22, to be exact. Because this falls on summer vacation, schools in the country could not really prepare lessons that would introduce environmental science concepts to their students. But this should not stop schools from introducing these concepts during the school year.

The first Earth Day took place in 1970 in the United States of America, where tens of thousands of Vietnam War protestors took to Central Park in New York and Fairmount Park in Philadelphia calling for peace on earth.

Since then, the movement has grown, shifting attention toward the science documenting alarming global environmental degradation and offering young learners a platform for supporting the planet’s physical health, ensuring a home for their future.

Earth Day should be an avenue for deeper learning, and an opportunity to launch more ambitious projects in school, before the summer break. Students should be encouraged to be environmental stewards through global education projects that would challenge them to think and act beyond their classrooms.

How about persuading them to participate in summer projects that would encourage responsible water consumption? Or how they can make their school greener? Or how they can participate in finding solutions to other environmental problems. This would certainly pique students’interest. Students should be connected with the natural world, beyond the classroom. Let them have hands-on experiences using local natural, historical, and archaeological settings to bring classroom learning to life.

— oOo— The author is Teacher III at Mancatian Elementary School