It appalls me to think that environmental science would be "controversial" in our public schools. Probably not in Oregon, but here in Florida, where we are still debating whether creationism should be taught in science class, educators must step softly. (or not at all) There are always the rules and procedures and rubrics and limited time for everything. The FCAT tests drive everything. Does no one have passion or ideas? Does no one love these amazing kids who will inherit the earth?
I am a volunteer in two public schools, and sure, I am not there every day and I do not know everything.. But I observe.
These public schools were built twenty years ago when no one thought anything about carbon footprints. They are dismal buildings in glorious settings of rural Florida. There are no windows and few walls. In warm weather the air conditioning is blasting away so that everyone can wear a sweater. In the few days of the cold season, the rooms are too warm. Everyone whispers.
I would love to be alive when one of these principals calls in her fifth graders and presents to them the challenge of how they can make this school energy efficient. The kids will come up with goofy ideas, and some good ones. Whack out some of the walls and put in windows that open. Put solar panels on the roof. Install a wind turbine. At the very least, turn down the a/c several degrees. Have outdoor classes, plant trees, install a pond, grow a vegetable garden for the whole community. And the kids will be learning science all the while because it's real and because their very lives depend on it.
The science fairs are generally crap. Kids do poor science about what hair spray or diaper is best. It would be a whole lot more effective if these good kids could be involved in the life ahead and start out doing real things and thinking critically about what their world will be. For openers I would love to see kids outside lying in the grass observing bugs with magnifying glasses, getting used to the sense of wonder in the natural world.
Last week when my grandchildren were here we walked out in the night woods and saw the thousands of fireflies in the palmettos, and echoing them, the stars in the sky. We held hands and were amazed at the beauty of this world we inhabit. It's a step.