Inspired Teacher
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Let's teach them to make Molotov Cocktails!...or not.
...In almost every way the opportunity to turn our kids onto social activism was incredibly exciting, but I knew there was something wrong with this protest plan. The kids would have jumped on board in a heartbeat. They would even have loved the thrill of getting carted off and fingerprinted for their role in a protest. But I knew they would have been doing it for all the wrong reasons...
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Should I teach environmental responsibility?
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This week's essential question asks something much larger of you as a teacher. Beyond teaching a lesson or two about Earth Day, or leaving the lesson on soil erosion to the science teacher, we are asking if you are teaching your students about values as well as concepts.
On the one hand if you aren't teaching your students how to use their knowledge to better the world, what is the point of teaching them anything at all? But on the other hand, in this country people have very different ideas about what should be done to better the world and your ideas as a teacher may be in conflict with those of your students, their parents, or their community.
Does this mean it's wrong to teach your students about the evils of racism, the danger of global warming, or the tragedy of poverty in our country?
Every teacher will have his or her own answer to that question. But it is possible to make your students aware of social issues without telling them what to think about them.
This is the fine line between teaching students what to think and teaching them how to think. Examples of such teaching include:
- Instead of lecturing them on the consequences of litter, create a mini-landfill on your playground and have them reach their own conclusions about the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable trash.
- If you are having students read about global warming, you can find articles written by both those who believe in its dangers and those who consider the concern to be irrelevant. Have your class debate the issue and be open to whatever discoveries they make in the learning process.
- Earth Day is April 22 and you may already have ideas about what you'd like to do with your class to celebrate, but consider having them choose the environmental content they want to explore. You run the risk of them not picking the topics that are most important to you, but you open the door for them to develop their own interest in the issues.
If schools are not safe places to explore complicated issues, where are kids going to have the chance to learn and form opinions about these things? Almost every context in which they learn outside of school is guaranteed to be more biased than your classroom.
Perhaps it is the teacher's greatest challenge to give students the freedom to grapple with the development of their own beliefs and values without the imposition of her own.
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| Concentric Circles |
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This activity can be used for many instructional purposes. Build students' listening skills and ability to articulate thoughts in this unique discussion format - all the while building community by fostering dialogue! Click here for a complete description of the activity. |
Building Discussions
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This kinesthetic learning activity can be adapted for a civics lesson, community building exercise, geometry project, or writing prompt springboard. In groups, students are challenged to create the biggest and best building using the materials they are given - the challenge lies in the fact that each group has different materials to work with. What students learn from the activity depends largely upon the questions you ask when you debrief with the class. Click here for a complete description of the activity. |
| Teacher Resources |
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EarthDay.gov
This site provides links to many government-backed resources relating the environment. There are also links to games you can play in your classroom and volunteer activities applicable to your region.
All About Earth Day
Find everything you ever wanted to know about earth day's history and ways to celebrate. Read short summaries of activities teachers have done across the country to celebrate the day and take your students on an online "arctic adventure" to learn more about the impact of our current environmental practices on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Earth Care: A Unit on the Environment
Tailored to an elementary audience, this site contains several activities you can do with your class, all hands-on, to explore ecology and the environment.
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Sign up for the Inspired Teaching Institute
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If you're looking for an experience that will revolutionize your teaching practice, consider the Inspired Teaching Institute. It's a full year course, with an intensive 2 week introduction during the summer - it may sound like a lot of time but it is time WELL SPENT!
Click here to apply or learn more.
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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