WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A Maryland representative wants to raise the “national conscience” about the environment in the classroom by integrating environmental education into the federal No Child Left Behind Act by next fall.

U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-District 3, recently introduced a bill that he said would “make sure awareness about the planet is at a fever-pitch level, which is where it should be if we’re going to save the planet.”

“The fate of the Chesapeake Bay and the environment is in the hands of the next generation,” Don Baugh of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said at a Monday gathering of environmentalists and educators.

Backing Sarbanes’ bill is the No Child Left Inside Coalition, which started in 2006 with the goal of refocusing No Child Left Behind to include environmental education with math and reading skills.

To meet the federal mandate’s standards, teachers have been forced to reduce time spent on environmental topics and limit outdoor field trips that cut into classroom instruction time, Baker said.

“Math, reading and liberal arts are all important, but environmental education is just as critical,” said Donna Harris-Aikens, spokeswoman for the National Education Association, which is not part of the coalition but has 3.2 million members backing the legislation.

The environmental programs in county schools are primarily locally funded, said Bill Rhinehart, state Education Department spokesman.

CURRICULUM

The Maryland Department of Education requires each school system to provide an environmental education program at least once in the elementary, middle and high school years.

The purpose of the program is to encourage students to “create and maintain an optimal relationship between themselves and the environment, and to preserve and protect the unique natural resources,” specifically the Chesapeake Bay, according to Maryland’s public schools Web site.

The counties integrate environmental issues into their curriculums in various ways.

» In Anne Arundel, science fair projects are used among the elementary schools with environmental science units offered in middle schools and elective courses in high schools.

» In Carroll, environmental topics are integrated into the science curriculums for the elementary schools; an outdoor residential program at Camp Hashawa to conduct environmental investigations is offered in middle school and elective courses are offered in high schools.

» In Harford and Howard, environmental issues are incorporated into the science curriculums for elementary and middle schools, and elective courses in high schools.

» In Baltimore County, environmental issues are incorporated into the science curriculums for elementary and middle schools, and an environmental science and technology program in high school.

Source: Web sites for Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard public schools

NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE ACT OF 2007

The bill includes:

» Creating grant programs for teacher training and environmental education.

» Requiring states to develop environmental literacy plans for kindergarten through 12th grade.

» Making environmental education part of the Fund for the Improvement of Education, a source of funding for states and school superintendents.

» The bill, recently introduced by U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-District 3, is now in the House Committee on Education and Labor.

» The purpose of the bill is “to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 regarding environmental education,” according to the bill.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

8:04 PM MST on Tue., Sep. 11, 2007 re: "Lawmaker: Teach kids about environment"

Examiner Reader said:
I want to support this bill

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7:01 PM MST on Sun., Aug. 12, 2007 re: "Lawmaker: Teach kids about environment"

Examiner Reader said:
Kids used to spend their afternoons building tree forts and poking sticks in creeks. Now kids watch 300 channels of TV and play Nintendo and computer games an average of 60 hours per week. Americans use 900% more time watching TV than the amount of time they spend in physical activity. Now with NCLB, children have 20% more homework than in the 1980s. Concerns for safety and sanitation have even caused some to discourage kids from playing in wild areas. At the same time, hanging out in the woods is now often seen as probable juvenile delinquency. Between that and liability concerns, as well as development (loss of wild areas) most of the vacant lots of yesteryear are now off-limits to youngsters. Kids are so disconnected from nature now that many kids, especially urban children, have true fears when in natural areas, from being eaten by a wild animal to being harmed by bugs. All this while global warming, consumption, and trash generation are rapidly growing ravages on the pla

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12:31 PM MST on Fri., Aug. 10, 2007 re: "Lawmaker: Teach kids about environment"

Lawmaker: Teach kids about environment said:
Here we go again. Lawmakers "throwing money" and legislation at something so simple to resolve. Why are people trying to re-invent the wheel? There are a number of youth programs already in place that promote outdoor activity. Two that instantly come to mind are the Boys Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of America. The shame of it is that these two groups have been "attacked" by the liberal "elite" for their founding principles and fail to see "the forest for the trees" that the real good of these groups are doing what they have done for MANY years - getting kids outdoors.

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