Is there enough enviornmental education taught in our schools?

Question

What type of curricula do you think students should have to prepare them for a life on Planet Earth in the 21st century?

Answer 1

Schools should teach you how to learn!  I think it's about right.  But, people need to take it upon themselves to learn more.

Answer 2

I think environmental science should be taught more.  As Bob mentioned, Y!A is a good example of how little people understand not just environmental issues like global warming, but really science as a whole.  There's so much misinformation about global warming in particular, and it's quite possibly the most important issue in the history of mankind, that it should certainly be taught more in science classes.

Answer 3

No.  In my school we never are taught any environmental education at all.

Answer 4

no, not at all...I don't know anyone outside of my work (I work as a wildlife biologist) that even knows what an ecosystem is!!  I think people are less educated about the environment than ANY other topic.  It is pretty discouraging!

Answer 5

Modern "education" in public schools = liberal indoctination.

Its no wonder that the US's businesses are outsourcing to other countries... they can't find a HS graduate who has any sense of reality in the US any more.

Answer 6

we need to teach history and math not that rubbish

Answer 7

Too much time is being spent on populist education in elementary schools (environment, inclusiveness, etc) and not enough in true math and science. The purpose of education is to educate and create a populous intelligent enough to understand the real issues behind the environment.

Answer 8

I think so. Many kids know more about recycling, etc. than their parents.

Now financial education, that's another story. More and more kids are graduating high school and getting into debt.

Answer 9

I think they should learn about globel warming, pollution, how the enviroment works, and what the earth would be like 10 years from now.

Answer 10

More like indoctrination than education. They know all about the hoaky science of global warming and nothing about managing their finances, real history, and how to succeed in life.

Answer 11

No, but there is entirely to much environmental indoctrination and misinformation being spread about in most schools.  One of the most egregious examples of this is the idea that recycling paper saves trees.

Answer 12

More than enough, they should be teaching them more civics, personal finance and physical / nutrition education.

Answer 13

Judging from some of the stuff seen here, obviously not.

I think there has to be more education about what science is, and how the scientific process works.  "Environmental education" is not the total answer in this day of politically biased media coverage and talk shows.  People are bombarded by environmental news, and need to know how to distinguish good science from political nonsense.

Answer 14

Environmental education should stress the earth as an interconnected system. The curricula should also stress how humans are a part of this system. The earth is a dynamic and complex system and students would benefit from understanding basic forces at work in the system.

I don't think there should be more resources allocated for this purpose. I do think that less time should be spent memorzing terms and more time spent duscussing the concepts and relating the environment to students own lives.

Also, environmental issues can be included in discussions in many classes other than just an environmental science class.

I'm not advocating that teachers encourage only enrivonmental issues, but all real world issues. When a student can make the connection between what they're learning in school and what goes on in their everyday world they feel more connected to the subject matter. Having an intergrated understanding and knowlege of the world is the best thing you could give a student.