Energy Sciences

Rationale

The Kayenta Unified School District’s science curriculum is not as high a priority as it should be. Science content only becomes embedded if time allows. Many students fall far below grade level in reading and math. Because of this, these foundation skills supersede science. Research states, hands-on activities stimulate students’ brains and they absorb learning based on these experiences.¹ Demanding a child to read out of a book is not the same as hands-on learning; this also applies to math rote drilling. For a successful classroom experience to take place, students need to experience in-depth study of content exploration over a wide range of subjects.

One such activity is teaching students about the land and understanding respect for it, because it affects their livelihood. Diné students are adept in bridging science education when they are grounded in their own “cultural knowledge.” They are then capable of acquiring and understanding science concepts much more easily.²

I teach fifth grade students at Kayenta Middle School. Our school district serves a little over 1,800 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The majority of the students are Diné with a few other ethnicities. Most students come from low-income homes, where maternal grandparents are typically the care takers. Many students come from single parent homes or have a parent who is employed in a job outside of the home town. Over the past two decades, I have had a diverse group of students; out of all my classes only one student would fluently speak and understand the Diné language. Although most students have little knowledge or are non-Diné language speakers, most do still participate in traditional teachings and events.

Integrating Diné Culture and History is important to this unit. With a majority of students being of the Diné Nation, orienting students to their cultural knowledge basis connects them through Navajo thought content with Mother Nature. Our Navajo elders strongly emphasize respect and knowledge for Mother Earth and Father Sky because of their sacredness. Oral traditional teachings are the way to make meaning out of one’s own identity and a balanced connection with our environment, when we make sacred offering for continued existence. Times have changed tremendously from the time our ancestors lived without electrical power.

Our ancestors lived off Mother Nature without endangering the environment. Today, Western Philosophy of education has opened our minds to a convenient way of getting energy. For future generations, people need to regulate their activities in a conservative manner to restore and maintain respect for the land. Such Diné teachings say living in disharmony with the universe develops an imbalance and may cause major health issues.

This unit will take place over four weeks. It will begin with building background key concepts of air pollution. Visual representations will be used to convey their understanding of the topic and are excellent tools for students to think with pictures and encourage elaborate responses.

By including an introduction to the teachings of Diné Culture and History, I hope to elevate students’ minds to make a connection with the kinds of effects we are having on Earth. In this way, students are establishing a relationship with Mother Earth (Nahasdzáán) and Father Sky (Yádiłhił). My goal is to focus on the impact of human activities putting stress on the planet.

Throughout the activities, students will be constructing their thinking and communication skills to understand their responsibility in the world. Science experiments are excellent ways of teaching and molding the thoughts of students to form their own hypotheses.³ The unit will encourage students to think in a proactive mode. Then, they will understand the need to protect the environment and to prevent further damage.

The study will look to determine how an increased level of CO₂ effects the environment, humans, plants, and animals. The experiment will teach how the increased level of CO₂ can trap the sun’s warmth in the lower atmosphere. A diagram of a “Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen Cycle” will be utilized to demonstrate how the greenhouse effect works. The Diné and Hopi reservations entered a lease contract with Peabody Coal Company for coal. An enormous amount of mineral stored beneath Mother Earth was stripped and N-Aquifers were used to slurry coal 300 miles. This process produces carbon dioxide, mercury oxide and sulfuric oxide that get trapped in the atmosphere. This affects global climate change and is a growing threat to society.⁴

As a Diné educator, I know I must do my job, like the government and state entities, to educate people to be mindful of the health of the ecosystems because all living species are dependent on it. I have been taught the harmonious traditional teachings of the Diné Way of Life and with the universe by my elders.