Reprinted with permission from Zhuravyl.
Today, the problems of environmental education are being not only discussed, but dealt with. It is good that ecology has been recently introduced in school programs as a special discipline, but is it necessary to consider what is appropriate for each grade level.
I believe that Environmental Studies must be a required class in elementary school, because the foundation of all things, such as tidiness or messiness, is laid in us when we are young children. Such classes must also be required in high school. Before entering the adult life, a person must not only understand the importance of ecology and know how to behave him or herself in this big home called Earth, but also be well educated about the environment. As for the middle school, I believe that students already receive enough information in chemistry and biology. It is possible to teach these disciplines without connecting the scientific information to existing environmental problems. Students of the middle grades must be involved in real, practical projects, under the leadership of adults, that help them connect the information and the problems.
I am very concerned with the condition of the coast of our beautiful rivers, Amur and Zeya. Is it so impossible to organize our older students to do a clean-up of these banks?
When we all love cleanness in our common house, then we start to keep the environment clean. This should be instilled in our children while they are still young. If the children come to love all living creatures around them, and learn to clean up after themselves, then when they grow up they will not destroy all that surrounds them. Instead, they will love and protect the rivers, the air, and the skylark in the blue skies!
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