Rationale
I teach gifted fourth grade students in an affluent neighborhood at an International Baccalaureate World School (IB). The goal in an IB school is to promote global thinking and action. We are always looking for the action students can take based on their learning.
My students are extremely motivated and very interested in the world around them as most fourth graders are. Our school is unique in that almost fifty percent of the population is identified as gifted and I have an average of seventy students per year. I see all seventy fourth grade students each day for about an hour (six classes per day of twelve to fifteen students). In order to best serve these students without too much disruption to the classroom teacher's schedule I am responsible for their reading instruction and grade. I provide instruction in all subjects by delivering the state standards with an emphasis on problem solving, creative thinking, research, and each student's unique contribution to society.
The social emotional realm (affective domain) is important in gifted education as many of these students don't relate to typical kids their age - so many times they feel "different". They feel deeply about the world around them and tend to be quite compassionate and knowledgeable about current events. They pick up on adult conversation and comprehend "grown-ups" better than typical kids their age. I am not saying that typical kids don't have this ability just not usually to the same degree. This can lead to depression and anxiety. I want my students to have an outlet to express their feelings. They can do something about what they see going on in the world. They have a voice and they can make a difference.
Since, I am particularly passionate about environmental issues and futures studies I tend to delve into these areas with my students. Fortunately, the state standards for fourth grade fit nicely with my interests. Reading comprehension, vocabulary, research skills, and writing are among the reading standards. Ecosystems and human impact on the environment are part of our science standards. This allows for an in depth study of our environment when coupled with the gifted standards (problem solving, creative thinking, research, and each student's unique contribution to society).
The students have the luxury of travel, access to the Internet, books, and highly educated families. However, they are still quite sheltered as many nine to ten year olds tend to be therefore, many aspects of life go unnoticed such as: what happens to their trash. So, when I expose them to the issue of waste they will be moved to action as they will be quite concerned when they start to think about it and study the issue especially when they realize they are contributing to the problem.
Unfortunately, their trash ends up in landfills on the other side of town never to be heard from again by them. However, the residents of the other side of town have to live with the trash that has ended up in the 5 major (now closed) landfills and waste transfer stations in their backyards. My students' neighborhoods do not have any landfills or waste transfer stations nor would they ever stand for one. The land is too expensive and not zoned for waste disposal as well as the considerable financial and legal ability on the part of the residents to fight.
I am interested in my students' awareness of their effect on the environment, particularly our local environment. Since their trash has ended up in the now closed landfills I wonder how they would feel if our cities' trash ended up in their backyard? This will never happen therefore, is it okay that their trash ends up in someone else's backyard? If not, then what can/should be done to minimize the impact?
Since my students do recycle paper, plastic bottles and aluminum what are we throwing away? I tend to look in my trashcans each day wondering where it will all go and is there anything that could be recycled that was accidentally thrown away. The majority of it seems to be food wrappers.
The children come to school each day with a snack. They bring everything from health bars to store bought sliced apples in individually wrapped packages (which were sold in a larger package). So, they are buying packages of packages for convenience. Many of these wrappers are some sort of plastic that is not of a recyclable grade. These wrappers fill my trashcan each day and I am sure every other classroom as well. What is the material that these food wrappers are made of? It seems to be plastic so, why can't we recycle it?
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