Celine Cousteau: Environmentalism Should Be Taught In Schools

It must be eco-school day. This morning, we wrote about a contest for America's Greenest School and 5 Green Tips For Students, and now we come across Celine Cousteau -- that's Jacques Cousteau's granddaughter -- saying kids ought to be taught environmentalism at a young age.

It's part of a longer interview in which she discusses what she's up to. Read the whole thing here, or check out the salient parts below:

What would you advise parents who want to educate their children about environmental issues during their travels?

First of all, I don't understand why environmentalism isn't part of every curriculum in schools. You teach biology, so why not make that connection for the kids? In terms of travel planning, I would really pay attention to where you choose to go and teach the kids why you decided to bring them to a particular place: because they compost, because they have solar panels, because they have educational eco programs, etc. The consumer demand has to be the driving force for places to go green.

What are some eco-focused kid's programs you would recommend?

Not just to plug my father's non-profit, but I really do think the Jean-Michel Cousteau "Ambassadors of the Environment" (www.aote.org) programs are really great for kids. And they've been really successful in promoting awareness and educating. At the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, for instance, they launched the kid's program but soon the parents started coming along, so they had to expand the program. Another place I have heard about is a program called Green Chimneys (www.greenchimneys.org), based in Brewster, NY, where city-kids learn about nature and the environment. Clean up the World (www.cleanuptheworld.com) is another program I am involved in as ambassador; they have tangible programs with partners around the world and anyone can get involved.

Comments

[RightWingMarine]

01:06 PM on 02/06/2009

we should probably concentrate on teaching our children the three R's first and once they master that move on to fluff. American public education lags too far behind other countries.

[slycowboy]

07:54 AM on 02/05/2009

I was just reading about a new eco preschool tv show called Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly. I don't know if it's on yet but it looks interesting. Teaches kids about reusing and recycling, Says they made it out of reused garbage whatever that means. The site is a production blog so maybe not on the air yet.. http://www.magicdrawerworkshop.blogspot.com

[baddadd47]

01:09 AM on 02/05/2009

Thanks God mine are hem schooled by the wife as libs would like nothing more than to have public indoctrination centers, and thats why so many kids go to private school or are home schooled.

[cardineau]

09:07 PM on 02/05/2009

And that's why they end up with low IQs and turn out to be re pub li cans.

[PoliticalRockChick]

10:52 PM on 02/04/2009

They do, it's called earth science.

[loosehead]

10:17 PM on 02/04/2009

Not another "ism" even environmentalism, but environmental science and ecology so educated decisions can be made.

[williamina]

09:41 PM on 02/04/2009

there is nothing that says smack, like drinking Sam's Club water in a cobalt goblet

[iblogleft]

07:50 PM on 02/04/2009

Are those plastic disposable water bottles?

LOL

[mamacat]

07:16 PM on 02/04/2009

Most of the kids come out of the public schools barely able to read.

[mabinog]

11:10 PM on 02/04/2009

Our last President could barely speak English clearly, what is your point?

[mamacat]

04:03 AM on 02/05/2009

We discussed what the environment consisted of back when I went to school, but back then the classrooms had fewer than 30 students per teacher. How is any teaching supposed to happen when the student teacher ratio is at or above 40:1?

How can we talk seriously about teaching anything meaningful in public school when they are so underfunded?

[hedgewytch]

05:40 PM on 02/04/2009

I've been teaching environmental education for 30 years, mostly through non-profit and volunteer work. While I think many schools are teaching EE, most are fairly limited in what they can do. There are many schools, in particular inner city schools, who don't have the time, money or resources to do it, especially when they are being mandated to "teach for the test" and other NCLB fun stuff.

I believe that environmental stewardship should be taught along side a basic science curriculum. The problem is keeping at bay the religious philosophy that creeps in when you teach that humans are an intricate part of the ecosystem, not separate and above it.

The main challenge with environmental education is bringing forth facts not opinion. For example as a resident Prince William Sound, Alaska, I have some very firm opinions about oil development and oil company's politics. When I teach about the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, I am very careful to check my personal feelings at the door as much as possible and let the facts speak for themselves and let the children come to their own conclusions. My goal is to instill a sense of ownership in the environment and a sense of it's intrinsic worth in of itself, instead of its component pieces, i.e., the resources it can "give" us.

[hedgewytch]

05:31 PM on 02/04/2009

Opps, you messed up; Celine is Jean-Michel's daughter, she's Jacque Cousteau's granddaughter. The picture is of Celine and Jean-Michel.

[locavore]

04:50 PM on 02/04/2009

The first thing they should teach our kids is the high environmental cost of drinking bottled water - really?!?!? a picture of an environmental discussion with how many plastic bottles of water on the table? - actions speak louder than words - how did they all get there? in their private jets? give me a break.

[orangepetal]

04:36 PM on 02/04/2009

I think these things are already finding their ways daily into schools. Serious promotion of enviromental studies at higher levels of education IMO are good. I think it is much more imperative to keep the focus on actually tackling enviromental, resource, sustenance and human waste issues.