Schools and Educators: We are still teaching when we throw things away!
Let's face it. Educating children takes a lot of stuff. Sure, we could be boring and use worksheets day in and day out, use a set standard of textbooks in all subjects, fill in the blanks and go through a daily mundane routine all to limit what we use. Great educators do not teach that way.
Educating in a fun, engaging way uses things - markers, crayons, paper, poster board, boxes, craft items, LEGOS, K'Nex, building items, marble runs, games, rubber bands, duct tape, ribbon, buttons, clay, and the list goes on and on! Then there are the displays of projects, the word lists, the class charts and diagrams, the colorful bulletin board materials, and the neat teacher idea books.
But, eventually, the stuff comes down off the walls, the projects need to be taken apart, the idea books have been used up and you as a teacher need new ideas...and where does the used stuff* go? Well, it better not go in the trash! Educators and other adults need to realize that we are teaching all of the time, even after the teaching is completed. When we toss these used items into the trash, we are teaching the students to throw away things when you no longer need them or want them. Is that what we really want to teach children? We need to teach the responsibility of discarding responsibly. Trashing is the easy way (but we will pay for it in the long run later).
Now, some teachers will say, "Oh, I do that when the kids are not in the room." But this is still a problem! When will children learn how to recycle, reuse, repurpose, and reduce? We are missing the point. We need to TEACH children how to recycle by recycling WITH them.
We need to teach children to recycle what can be recycled, repurpose and reuse when possible, and donate to places such as Leftovers Etc. or Kidsmart so others can use our items again or in a different way.
Staff members and parents need to join together to make this process easier. Maybe schools can contact Goodwill for a monthly pick up at the school of unwanted items. Maybe staff members or parents can volunteer to drive unwanted items to donation sites. Maybe all staff members in a building need a refresher on what is recyclable, what bins to place items in and what dumpster the recycled items go into. Could schools have 'competitions' to see who has less waste and more recycling? Could classrooms have recycling monitors to remind students and staff what needs to be recycled?
When recycling, repurposing and removing items from your school, please consider these sites and possible resources for finding new homes for used things:
Leftovers Etc.
Kidsmart
Goodwill
Crayola Marker collection
Teracycle
Salvation Army
Crayon Recycling
The more we teach children to recycle, reduce, repurpose, and reuse, the less they will have to redevelop ways to deal with the trash later in their lives. Landfills keep filling up. When does it stop?
*Please note: School district purchased items are not for donating! I am referring to teacher purchased, paper items, and other consumables. School districts have a process for collecting and redistributing unwanted or unused, purchased items.
Educating in a fun, engaging way uses things - markers, crayons, paper, poster board, boxes, craft items, LEGOS, K'Nex, building items, marble runs, games, rubber bands, duct tape, ribbon, buttons, clay, and the list goes on and on! Then there are the displays of projects, the word lists, the class charts and diagrams, the colorful bulletin board materials, and the neat teacher idea books.
But, eventually, the stuff comes down off the walls, the projects need to be taken apart, the idea books have been used up and you as a teacher need new ideas...and where does the used stuff* go? Well, it better not go in the trash! Educators and other adults need to realize that we are teaching all of the time, even after the teaching is completed. When we toss these used items into the trash, we are teaching the students to throw away things when you no longer need them or want them. Is that what we really want to teach children? We need to teach the responsibility of discarding responsibly. Trashing is the easy way (but we will pay for it in the long run later).
Now, some teachers will say, "Oh, I do that when the kids are not in the room." But this is still a problem! When will children learn how to recycle, reuse, repurpose, and reduce? We are missing the point. We need to TEACH children how to recycle by recycling WITH them.
We need to teach children to recycle what can be recycled, repurpose and reuse when possible, and donate to places such as Leftovers Etc. or Kidsmart so others can use our items again or in a different way.
Staff members and parents need to join together to make this process easier. Maybe schools can contact Goodwill for a monthly pick up at the school of unwanted items. Maybe staff members or parents can volunteer to drive unwanted items to donation sites. Maybe all staff members in a building need a refresher on what is recyclable, what bins to place items in and what dumpster the recycled items go into. Could schools have 'competitions' to see who has less waste and more recycling? Could classrooms have recycling monitors to remind students and staff what needs to be recycled?
When recycling, repurposing and removing items from your school, please consider these sites and possible resources for finding new homes for used things:
Leftovers Etc.
Kidsmart
Goodwill
Crayola Marker collection
Teracycle
Salvation Army
Crayon Recycling
The more we teach children to recycle, reduce, repurpose, and reuse, the less they will have to redevelop ways to deal with the trash later in their lives. Landfills keep filling up. When does it stop?
*Please note: School district purchased items are not for donating! I am referring to teacher purchased, paper items, and other consumables. School districts have a process for collecting and redistributing unwanted or unused, purchased items.
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