Greening the Curriculum

The green concept has tremendous value in schools, especially when it reflects the central purpose and mission of schools: educating young people to participate and civically engage in society. School communities that keep greening the school on the periphery of their awareness will reap advantages, but those that align this idea with the curriculum will engage and empower students as proponents of a safer and healthier world. The key to greening the curriculum is to move beyond simply studying the environment to taking purposeful action with youth applying what they have learned to their environment while creating connections among subjects. Service learning provides a flexible framework for integrating green concepts across interdisciplinary content areas. With service learning, students: (1) Investigate issues with authentic research methods; (2) Prepare for the future with rigorous academics and leadership skills; (3) Take action that has meaning and purpose, applying knowledge and skills; (4) Reflect throughout the process; and (5) Demonstrate to tell the story of the learning (metacognition) and the service. This article describes how schools are applying these ideas, what they are accomplishing, and the key elements of success.