The Greening of America's Schools

Part 1 of a Series

The country and the world have started to recognize the need to get more sustainable. There is a swell of enthusiasm to 'get Green'. The new green economy is being created.

All of these are wonderful things that have tremendous implications on our economy, our society, our way of life. The move to become more sustainable also has a tremendous impact on our schools. Primary and Secondary schools are just starting to get their arms around how to teach and live more sustainably. They are looking for new ideas, models and leaders to enhance the educational experiences and prepare America's children for the world that they will inherit.

Sustainability isn't just about teaching students what it means to recycle, or that global warming is a real event. Teaching sustainability means teaching about complex problems like energy interdependence, materials management, carbon neutral development and the geopolitical struggle to slow global warming. These are issues that cross between math, science, history and politics. They require our young people to learn more about the worlds around them, both natural and man made.

Schools as institutions are struggling with how to be more sustainable as well. It is not good enough to teach these important lessons without learning to live them as well. Schools new and old are exploring options to renovate or build with a smaller footprint. They are striving to be more energy efficient in their operations, food service programs, athletics and transportation. There are great success stories and tales of falling short, but they all have value.

Moving forward this series of posts titled 'The Greening of America's Schools' will explore the current state of of sustainability in our schools and identify some of the great ideas that are out there to try in your community. While I have a stack of story ideas for this series I am interested in hearing from all of you. Send me your stories, long or short about how green or not so green your school is. Maybe I will build a post around it.

The path to building a sustainable future is long and arduous. Together lets take the first steps to see far our schools have come, and how far they have to go.