A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action

Okay, I know what you may be thinking...a line from a cheesy Elvis song? What does that have to do with climate change? Well, let me explain...

I am a 7th grade life science teacher. Yesterday, I arrived on campus and opened my email where I found two messages from the National Science Teachers' Association, both of which referred to climate change.

Next, I traveled to my teacher mailbox. Lo and behold, what did I see waiting for me there, a magazine all about the melting polar ice caps, and of course, climate change.

When I walked back to my classroom, I noticed that the film, An Inconvenient Truth, waited on my desk. I lent this movie to one of my colleagues so that she could send her students off on their winter break, thinking and talking about the all important topic du jour, climate change.

It seems to me that the phrase, 'climate change,' often dances across our lips and through our thoughts these days. As a matter of fact, when you Google the phrase, it provokes over 22 million hits! If that isn’t proof that 'climate change' is a topic worth talking about, I don’t know what is.

Don’t get me wrong, I am glad everyone is talking about it. Climate change to me seems unbelievable, scary, and necessary to understand. In fact, I believe that it is vital to our own survival to know the causes and effects of what is happening on our planet today.

But, I also wonder if we couldn't learn a thing or two from the "King."

As a 7th grade science teacher, I realized that I should talk about climate change with my students. They are the future, and will ultimately be responsible for cleaning up the mess left by past generations.

But, as a citizen, and Elvis fan, I realized that I should do more than talk. And as a teacher, I can inspire and facilitate change within my students.

While Elvis calls this "action," and Jim Cummins, notable educational researcher, calls it transformative pedagogy, I call it responsibility. So, I decided that today, I will be responsible. I will begin to put into action what everyone has been talking about, and I will do it as an example for my students.

Eventually, transformative pedagogy will lead to major projects and community-wide action by my 7th graders, but today, I will start small. Al Gore suggests 'Ten things you can do to help solve the climate crisis.' I am adapting that into 'Ten things you can do in your classroom TODAY to help solve the climate crisis.'

Today I will put the "King's" advice into action. I hope you will too.

1. Switch to a more energy efficient bulb. Change the bulb in your classroom in front of your students. Discuss why you are doing this. Encourage them to share what they learned with their families.
2. Don't waste paper. Ask students to turn in an essay electronically. Do not require a paper copy. Provide students with feedback via email.
3. Switch to a thermos. Students watch you. They see you with your plastic water bottle. Today, bring a reusable thermos. Be explicit about what you are doing and why.
4. Recycle.
5. Start an 'ecology club' at your school.
6. Plant a tree. Make it a class project. Watch it grow. Measure it. Collect data.
7. Ride your bike to work. Students will be impressed and inspired!
8. Re-use old project materials. Encourage students to do the same.
9. Support an environmental group. Organize a fundraising drive on campus.
10. Turn off computers and lights when they are not in use.
11. Ask students to be the "climate police" of the class. Students can point out when energy saving efforts are not being made. They love to tell you when you are doing something wrong!