May 26th, 2009
Curley says he’s noticed a big change in his students since introducing them to nature.
“They are better behaved while working together outdoors, more compassionate to plants, animals and each other, feel a sense that they have some expertise in something, and are curious about learning more about the world around them,” says Curley (in photo at right with students).
“It is fun watching students who have not been exposed to the outdoors, overcoming their misconceptions and stopping to watch a spider or snake in curiosity and appreciation, instead of running in fear or trying to kill it. I also feel that I expose them to careers and opportunities that they have never considered. For many of these students it instills a sense of hope for the future.”
Curley adds that his students take their role as citizen scientists seriously. “Many of them think of scientists as old guys with beards and white lab coats…”
But after participating in Curley’s bird- and stream-watching programs, the students realize how these activities bring enjoyment and they begin to “make real science and math connections when collecting and analyzing data,” he said.
In her curriculum in the Miami-Dade school district, Vazquez uses innovative science projects to make learning about the environment not only challenging but fun.
“This year I gave them [her students] each a planet. Their assignment was to build a space station on that planet and decide what kind of energy they would use to get there and what kind of energy they would use once they arrived. They had to apply what they learned earlier in the year from our unit on 
alternative energy.”
“On Saturn, for instance, there are massive thunderstorms so the kids chose wind as their energy source. On Pluto, they realized they could burn methane but pointed out that would generate too many carbon emissions. On Mercury, due to its proximity to the sun, the energy of choice was solar.”
“The kids decided that Venus was the hottest planet packed in carbon dioxide. They described Venus as ‘global warming gone wild.’”
Vazquez (in photo above) says she never tells the kids what to think. “I give them data and then tell them to reach their own understanding.” She has shown her classes Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth as well as the 2007 video, The Story of Stuff by former Greenpeace staffer Annie Leonard.
“I don’t want to brainwash them,” says Vazquez. Instead she has her students find a study that either denounces or applauds climate change. Then, their assignment is to follow the money trail. Among her students’ findings is that the Heartland Institute, a nonprofit research group that promotes free-market solutions to social and economic problems and has become known as a naysayer group on climate change, has received funding from Exxon.
Curley appreciates An Inconvenient Truth and The Story of Stuff because they outline the many environmental problems, but “I personally feel there is too much doom and gloom and not much focus on what students can do to make changes. The films give some tips for change, but I feel that the tips do not really empower the students or help them to change their thinking. I love Global MindShift’s 2005 video Andrew.”
The environment crosses all disciplines at George Washington Carver, says Vazquez. In math, the algebra teacher might ask students to compare car mileage in a regular car vs. a hybrid. In language arts, the kids write descriptive essays on climate change. And in physical education, they hold an “Animal Olympics” unit in which the kids learn about local Everglade animals. The middle school also requires the students to have pen pals from other countries. Vazquez says that in addition to asking their pen pals about their music preferences, the kids are now asking questions about recycling habits and the kind of energy they use in that country.
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