Green Options

For 12 years, I have been a teacher at a very small school (7-25 students, grades K-8) in northern California.  I have never felt unsafe or threatened in my isolated community, so I was shocked to learn that teachers in a small town in Texas can carry guns to school.  With the increase of school shootings lately, this just seems ludicrous.  How can we tell students not to bring guns to school when their teachers can?

Harrold, Texas is a town of about 300 residents (70 more than my community). Harrold has become the first town to allow its teachers to bear arms.  School superintendent David Thweatt explains, “We are 30 minutes from law enforcement.  How long do you think it would take to kill all 150 of us? It would be a bloodbath.”  Of course, Harrold’s teachers will receive training in “crisis management”.

In my experience, one of the hardest places to green our family’s life is our children’s school.  As a parent and a teacher at this school, I am constantly met with resistance when I suggest ways we can green our children’s education.  The excuses from lack of money to health regulations never cease, but I never stop trying.  Ironically, these excuses are actually reasons why schools should become more eco-friendly.  Green schools reduce sick days for staff and students, as well as cost 2% less to run, according to the Organic Consumer’s Association.  Here are five ideas to help you change your child’s school:

1. Start a the top with the school board: All policies for school districts are set by the board of trustees.  The administration takes their directives from the school board. If you can get the school board’s support, your schools will go green.  Compile a packet of information on the benefits of green schools and submit it to the board. You may look to other schools or states as models, such as New York requiring the use green cleaners, and New Jersey requiring all new schools be built according to LEED standards.   OCA also has materials available you could use, and Green Schools has a sample school board resolution.  Have parents write letters supporting these changes (letters are more effective than petitions).  Request to have an agenda item listed, then organize a presentation with parents asking the board to adopt a green schools policy or resolution.
2. Work your way down the school’s hierarchy: If you can’t get support from the school board, go to the site’s principal.  If you can’t get the principal’s support, go to your child’s teacher, etc.  Don’t forget the teachers’ union, as they may include in their contract negotiations a reduction in chemical exposure, etc. 

You’ve heard about how to introduce your friends and family to Fair Trade, and how to build the movement within your community. Now let’s look at how to bring this important education into your school.

• Fair Trade fundraising. With many different options and rewards, it’s easy to make the switch to selling a sweeter chocolate.
• Raise awareness and funds with a Fair Trade bake sale. Check out the many delicious recipes at

[...]

Environmental sustainability is a truly interdisciplinary subject, incorporating science, mathematics, sociology, ethics, economics, philosophy, history, government, health, reading, writing, and critical thinking. Few schools are fortunate enough to have entire courses devoted to sustainability, but most schools have teachers who are, and for those teachers, there are a plethora of resources to infuse sustainability education into their everyday lesson plans.