(Continued from EdWorld At Home)
Thirty-five years ago, I was a high school sophomore
helping clean up an illegal dump for the first Earth Day. It was
just a couple weeks after my birthday, my 15th, but even
to a self-involved teenage boy, it was more exciting to be a part
of something big, something much bigger than my 15th
birthday.
My 16th birthday, the next
year, when I’d get my driver’s license, well, Earth Day would
be welcome to the backseat!
We moved something like four tons of
trash that April day in 1970, as I recall, and I think Earth Day
has clearly moved a lot of people, furthering the advances
we have had in recycling and re-using, if not so much in reducing,
what we Americans consume. Though there is a legitimate debate about
how well we’re addressing environmental problems as a nation, at
least we are a more environmentally aware nation than we were 35
years ago.
At its ripe old age of 35, Earth Day
is now an event that families might consider making important in
their family calendar, not only for the sake of the environment,
but because of the great educational opportunities that don’t seem
“merely” educational to kids.
Of course, the official government Web
site for Earth Day for kids is (surprise!) Earth Day.gov for Kids,
and the government has a Web site for Earth Day because
of the Earth
Day Proclamation, June 21, 1970, in which the federal government
actually recognized March 21, the vernal equinox, as Earth Day,
a day celebrated from the beginning, however, on the anniversary
of the actual clean-up that came before the proclamation, April
22.
I
like that little bit of Earth Day history because it shows how an
idea like Earth Day is really about people doing something,
not just talking about it.
Quite
honestly, we think that our Education World resource page,
which provides links to Web sites on these important EARTH ISSUES,
is a little bit more fun than most Earth Day information repositories.
One thing’s for sure, we link to a far greater variety of sites
than the official site does.
- Air Pollution
- Energy Depletion
- Overflowing Landfills
- Rain Forest Destruction
- Vanishing Species
- Water Pollution
In recognition of this
special day, the Kids side of Education World At Home has a “treasure
hunt” challenge kids can do and a scorecard they can keep. Kids
can do the challenges at different levels. So check out that
article. You might want to set up a kind of “Parents’ Guide”
for yourself simply by visiting all the sites mentioned and thinking
about the kids’ potential answers to the higher-level challenges:
What would you look for in a well thought-out answer?
Enjoy your Earth Day
and your springtime!
Education World®
Copyright © 2005 Education World
|
