Molly Barnicle
Secondary Education – Family and Consumer Science
K-State College of Education
What is your concept of the meaning of sustainability?
Why are you interested in sustainability?
Sustainability is preservation of the natural resources that we have now, so that in the future there will be resources left to use. I am interested in sustainability because people are so wasteful of all items in today’s culture. The United States should be thankful for all the resources we have available and not take them for granted.
What kinds of lessons do you think you could craft to address issues of sustainability in your particular content area?
What do you think students should learn about?
A lesson that I crafted was how to use a potato to make stamps and get young children away from the electronic world of video games and TV. I think students need to look at the world around them and learn about the environment. I think other lessons could include concepts dealing with recycling, going green, or how to reuse food to make other options to eat (not be wasteful).
How might you collaborate with other educators in different content areas in developing lessons or units of study that include issues of sustainability?
I could collaborate with a science teacher about doing an environmental “going green” unit. In math, we could calculate all the food and materials that are sent to the dump every year. Language arts and FACS (family and consumer sciences) could develop a lesson on recycling by having students read articles and develop new ways to save resources. In the classroom, teachers could have students collect papers they did not need or want, and use the reverse side of the paper for printing again.
How might you involve community organizations, businesses or individuals in furthering education about sustainability?
Communities could hold a day that just focuses on recycling. Teachers could hold conferences to educate businesses about sustainability and how to change wasteful practices. Another idea would be to hold a community picnic with sustainability resource booths that explain why it is important and how to improve on sustainability. If organizations and businesses like the ideas, they could advertise about how to improve the environment.
What do you see as the most pressing, crucial issue that involves sustainability?
I think the huge jump in the population is the most crucial issue, because as the population increases, so does the amount of resources being used. Also, most young children and adults have no knowledge of sustainability, so the world’s resources are dwindling quickly.
→ Potato Stamps [pdf]
[7th grade Family and Consumer Sciences]
Created by Molly Barnicle
This lesson is not only fun, but creates a bond between the parent and child.
Attachment is one of the most important aspects in a child’s life growing up.
Television and video games are such an easy way for parents to lose that quality
time with their children. Activities such as potato stamping sway away from
electronics and allow for a relationship to form. These activities are the ones that
children will remember when grown up.