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Schools turn green, as eco-education takes centre-stage
Schools get proactive when it comes to inculcating green values in their students.......Archita Wagle Earth Day, which is observed today, is a reminder to act — to protect our planet. And for many, the power lies in the hands of our students, who know more about global warming, greenhouse effect and carbon footprint than their parents. But the people who play an important role in developing and nurturing the right kind of attitude are the teachers, and in this respect they seem to be doing a bang-up job.
The government has made environmental science a mandatory subject in the school curriculum. But city schools have taken it one step further, focussing on extra-curricular activities to make the students aware about issues like environmental degradation under the guidance of teachers who have been specially trained in environmental sciences. The University of Mumbai, for instance, also offers a special diploma in environmental pollution and control for teachers.
Sucheta Bhavalkar, Principal of IES's VN Sule Guruji School says, “We have independent and group projects for students on environment-related themes. We also have workshops for teachers to keep them updated on the curriculum requirements.” The school has also started an Eco Club, which ensures that students participate in various extracurricular eco activities.
And educating students is not restricted only to classroom lectures. An increasing number of schools are making it a point to take students to various science exhibitions so that they can learn more about the environment. Shubha Vinekar, principal of Manik Vidyamandir, says, “Apart from the mandatory two periods a week for environmental studies, we have various activities like poster making and elocution competitions based on environmental issues.”
Vinekar believes that practical knowledge is also very important. “Hence we organise activities like planting a tree or even take our students on outdoor trips.” Once again, teachers are expected to be up to date on current issues. For this, the school has a trainer-in-charge who focuses on environmental studies for teachers. According to Vinekar, the trainer has attended national-level seminars and programmes on environmental education, and he is in charge of guiding the other teachers.
But it is not only the teachers who are responsible for inculcating an environmentally correct spirit in their students. Parents, too, have a role to play. Dr Snehalata Deshmukh, former vice-chancellor of Mumbai University believes that “there should be a programme which targets parents and educates them about the damage caused to the environment by harmful activities like burning crackers or lighting bonfires” during the festival season. She feels that youngsters are very aware of the problems, but sometimes parental pressure can be a problem. The solution, she believes, is to educate parents who in turn will instill the same values in their children.
Or maybe the children can go home and teach their parents. The process and the progress may be slow but it is happening steadily.
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