Maryland Is First State To Require Environmental Literacy In Schools

In a deliberate act of foresight, so desperately missing from our grossly underachieving public education system, the Maryland State Department Of Education has included an “Environmental Literacy” requirement in their school curriculum for all enrolled students as of 2011.

The Maryland Partnership For Children In Nature, the state agency in charge of the programming, defines Environmental Literacy as: “students that possess the knowledge, intellectual skills, attitudes, experiences and motivation to make and act upon responsible environmental decisions as individuals and as members of their community.”

The Environmental Literacy requirement is not a state law, it’s a policy decision from the state Department Of Education, which allows local school boards the freedom to select their own criteria, incorporating local issues into teacher’s lessons. No new classes are required, so no additional funding is required.

The Far Right, ever-resistant to anything that remotely smells like change, has attacked the Maryland policy as “eco socialist propaganda”, “Indoctrination and junk science”, and this doozy: “…equipping them with the tools to live the life of …. a 14th century nomad!” (exclamation point in the original).

Seriously? Are our children going to regress because they learned how to follow a trail or how to map hills and valleys in science class? (two of the lessons proposed)

“The postmodern notion that reality is only a construct—that we are what we program—suggests limitless human possibilities; but as the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of human experience.

Yet, at the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical, and spiritual health directly to our association with nature—in positive ways. Several of these studies suggest that thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can even be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorders and other maladies. As one scientist puts it, we can now assume that just as children need good nutrition and adequate sleep, they may very well need contact with nature.” – Richard Louv, “Last Child In The Woods“

In 2010, high school students across America turned in the worst SAT scores in history. That’s startling, considering that 2002’s No Child Left Behind Act was intended to achieve just the opposite outcome.

Kids In The Fields

When I was a boy, our home lay on the edge of a cornfield. Just beyond the field were groves of apple trees. My cousins, my brother and I would parade through those fields and orchards, finding what we could find, seeking out new and exciting things, because those fields and orchards were forever changing, forever renewing, forever teaching us about the ecosystem that literally sat outside our door. Spending time in those fields and groves taught me to always observe and listen. We encountered skunks, groundhogs, wild dogs, foxes, an army of insects, snakes, gophers, pheasants, crows, owls, sunshine and air – and from each of our experiences we learned.

Those years taught me a great appreciation for the natural world: its wonders, its hazards, its beauty, its constant change. It sharpened my senses like nothing else in my life has. In fact, if I try really hard, I can still smell those Fall apples.

Teaching students to be responsible stewards of the environment, a precept of every religion in the world, opens eyes, hearts, and minds. Kudos to the education policymakers in Maryland for their environmental literacy decision – you’ve given me hope.