Earth Day

It isn't often that we are in school on Earth Day because of our regularly scheduled district spring break so I was quite happy to be able to incorporate a little of the real world into my writing class this week. We began with a discussion of Earth Day - what it is, why we celebrate it, where it came from. Of course all that was very humorous especially when my young academics discovered that I was a mere 15 years of age on the first Earth Day. I don't recall it being a very big deal in the heartland of America but as the years have passed I have grown to love it. It's just nice to take a day and recommit myself to the prolongation of our beautiful planet. As a first, second and third grade teacher I always tried to find a way to celebrate Earth Day with a combination of activities that increased students' knowledge of the planet along with a feeling of enjoyment such as sharing a cup of "dirt" along with a few gummi worms. We might paint the blue planet, make posters to remind ourselves of ways to respect our planet, take a tour of a recycling plant or pick up trash around the school grounds. So my expectation for 6th grade was pretty high. I figured they had had at least 6 years of these activities along with exposure to countless public service announcements to build a level of knowledge about numerous strategies to save the planet. I quickly learned that they knew the phrase Reduce, Reuse, Recycle but their written explanations to differentiate between the three processes were pretty vague. Most of them thought that using a water bottle over again was the perfect example of recycling. When pressed about the difference between recycling and reusing I got that funny look that only a 6th grader can make with absolute precision accompanied by a deep resonating "Huh?" So today I gave them my quick but complete explanation of how a plastic bottle goes from the bin they put in front of their house on Wednesday or Thursday mornings to reappearing on the Safeway shelf filled with their favorite sweet drink of choice. As I got to the conclusion of this little saga, a few heads started nodding slowly in that "Oh yeah. I remember hearing this before" rhythm. As we continued the discussion, it became a little easier for them to now grasp the difference between reusing a plastic bottle and repurchasing one that has been here before. Mission accomplished!

This has probably been my most fascinating observation of the move from 3rd to 6th grade. I am constantly caught off guard because I assume a certain level of knowledge based solely on them being in the world for 11 or 12 years. I introduce a topic believing that this is probably the hundredth time that they have heard it and must surely know what I'm talking about but quickly realize that the deafening silence in the room proves to me that once again I am all alone. I readjust my delivery and with only a stumble or two am back on track. I came to middle school thinking I'd be challenged by the ability level and at times that little dream has come true. But for the most part I am reminded that my big 6th graders are still young kids and have lots to learn about this big beautiful world.