Hoorah, our Earth may yet win
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Sep 28, 2010 Posted by Dawn Merritt
Environmental literacy for our children just took one giant step forward!
By Roger C. Sears, Chairman, Izaak Walton League Executive Board.
With any luck, the future looks bright for this old Earth. Thanks to state Superintendent of Education Nancy S. Grasmick, the Maryland Board of Education has just passed a comprehensive environmental education program that will begin in pre-kindergarten and continue until the student graduates high school.
This means all Maryland public school students will have environmental literacy woven into their current curriculums. No special class will be set aside on the environment and students will not be required to take a standardized test for graduation -- the study of ecosystems, natural resources, and health will be woven into their learning experiences. Students will also create and implement a local project that “protects, sustains, or enhances the natural environment.” How committed the schools and school districts become will determine the success of the program.
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, the Board of Education, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature should be congratulated on pursuing a way to ensure our future leaders understand what it means to be wise stewards of our natural resources. Isn’t this what the Izaak Walton League’s mission is all about?
Roger C. Sears
Chairman, Izaak Walton League Executive Board