Ignorance can no longer be an excuse: Teach Environmental Studies in grade school!

In public elementary schools in the United States teachers are required to teach their student a handful of standard core subjects. These subjects include language arts, mathematics, science, geography, and social studies. Each of these subjects is mandatory as each is seen as imperative to the future of students. Those five subjects teach skills that can be used in our everyday lives. One subject that is not taught, however, is “Environment.” My goal is to have Environment taught in schools as a standard core subject.
The effects of global warming and pollution have a direct effect on the next generation. In case you who do not already understand what global warming is, I will briefly explain it. Think of pollutants as a blanket over the earth. The more pollutants we put into the earth the thicker the blanket gets. Heat is then trapped in the blanket, or the atmosphere, and it is causing the planet to heat up. This then causes extreme weather to occur. We are experiencing long, hot summers and short winters. According to scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate, “[the] average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100.” Less rainfall is happening and, because of that, plants, animals, and humans have access to less water. On top of the strain already placed on water, humans use way too much of it. Most of the damage we have caused to the earth has been done out of ignorance. We didn’t realize that water was not inexhaustible and that the pollutants we put in the air would have such a serious effect on our everyday lives. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that the scientific certainty that humans are to blame is 95%.
I knew nothing about the environment until an English class my first year in college. For eighteen years I was a part of a problem and I had no idea. I learned that pollution does not just affect animals. One species of fish dying also put the animal above it in the food chain at risk. Slowly fisherman will eventually be out of jobs and seafood will no longer be on any menu. I learned that the melting of glaciers is happening so fast that the societies that live off of the lakes produced by the melt can no longer depend on the water provided to them. Either the lakes are filled with so much sediment that the water is not healthy to drink or the glacier they depend on is melted and their lakes are completely dried up. These are a couple random facts that all have built up to the life changes I have made today. Imagine if you knew everything you know about climate change today at 14 years old. I believe our planet would be in a much healthier state. Teaching children about the environment at an early age will prevent them from making the same mistakes we did.
According to Jacquelynne S. Eccles, professor of psychology, education, and women’s studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, “The years between 6 and 14 are a time of important developmental advances that establish children’s sense of identity. During these years, children make strides toward adulthood by becoming competent, independent, self-aware, and involved in the world beyond their families.” During these developmental stages we need to make sure that they learn about the environment as well as language arts, math, social studies, geography, and science. All of these subjects will affect how they will conduct themselves in the society during their adulthood; therefore, they should all be given equal attention. When you teach a child about the environment they will go home and ask their parents to make changes. They will then inform their parents and school systems will be transforming households. This will eventually help us reverse the harm we’ve done to the environment.
As Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools you know how important education is. You now have the power to ensure that every home is well informed about how to treat the environment. Ignorance will no longer be an option if you require “Environment” to be taught in every classroom in Los Angeles. Together, we can spark change, first in our community and later in the world.
Sincerely,
Demetria Seawood