11 March 2007

Newsletter - March 10

Our goal with this edition is to get you up to speed with the changes on the web site, which has been up for just about 12 weeks. In that time the responses we received exceeded what we expected. The down side is we are playing catch up. The good side is that we are connecting with sincere folks like you that have similar education goals to ours: 1) integrating green education in the classrooms and 2) improving education.

Giving students opportunities to be global citizens means building character, which in turn helps improve education. There is work to do in making sure that the stakeholders in education understand the basic issues at a classroom perspective. Putting a mechanism in place that provides feedback directly from people involved in day-to-day school activities is the intention of our work. Your voice, the feedback you provide, contributes to that intention.



Table of Contents
1. Update on Integrating Green Education in K-12 Classes
2. Collecting Voices to Improve Education
3. Membership Services Enhanced
4. Earth Day Resources
5. Believe It or Not



Update on Integrating Green Education in K-12 Classes
The new Green Vendor Marketplace connects teachers and schools with green vendors. As a member you can explore the links to review green products and green services. Our intention with this marketplace is to disseminate information that supports schools to initiate green projects and make campuses healthier and more eco-friendly. We want to facilitate students and teachers working with opportunities to learn and build life skills while they work on green projects and become better global citizens.

We will be hosting a Green School Symposium in December with the help of our sponsors. Check the web site for more details. This promises to be a ground breaking meeting in the area of curriculum, campus facilities and green guidelines for K-12 classes.

Are you doing a green project at your school? If so, tell us about it. We want your news on the web site. Send us an email to describe your green project today.



Collecting Voices to Improve Education
Additional reports cards have been introduced and are available. We need your help to collect relevant feedback to help define the specifics around improving education. Who knows best? Teachers, students and parents do. They are the people involved in the nuts and bolts of education everyday.

Is more better? Congress is now considering making US schools open for business longer each day. Read about it now by clicking here.


Membership Services Enhanced
FREE member services are more comprehensive. Members have access to FREE tools to support them in integrating green education into class curriculum and improving education in their classes. We have posted several links to "green" projects underway at specific schools, which gives students a chance to see what their peers are doing.



Earth Day Resources
Celebration of our wonderful planet is just a few weeks away. Teachers can use the Student Green Survey form, which is a free download offered to members. When the form is completed each question is worth points. The total score at the end explains what level of effort is being made to protect out environment. Log on to member services and get the form today.

Have an incredible and informative Earth Day resource? Send it over and we'll post it for everyone.



Believe It or Not
You can see these and other articles at our site in the News and Research section.

Think recycling works?
Watch this car crusher create bits and pieces from an entire car. Click here
.

In 2006 the US reached a historic milestone -- 300 million people. Over the past century, the population has tripled, making the United States the fastest growing developed country in the world, and the third largest overall. Click here.

If students believe they can improve their intelligence - they will. Click here.

Project based learning works. High school robotics team turns heads as they exceeds beyond the possible. This is what teaching is all about. Click here.

1 comment:

The Elementary School for Sustainable Design said...

At the Elementary School for Sustainable Design we will take the concept of incorporating green issues into the classroom many steps further. Our pedagogical foundation will be Project Based Service Learning which will be consistently informed by "green" issues. Embedded within all projects at the ES4SD will be some aspect of sustainability, alternate energy, green architectural design, energy use and consumption, the environment, and/or water related issues. For more info, visit our new blog at: www.es4sd.blogspot.com or go to our Project Based Service Learning blog at: www.guerillaeducators.typepad.com