Title: Environmental Education: Using the Power of Education to Create a More Sustainable Future
Intro
-refer to last blog
-still touching it up, but I will probably just get rid of half of it before I start going into facts about phys ed classes already mandated. I will go more in detail to why we need to care about our future.
–Thesis?: One way to engage students with climate science and related topics is through the implementation of American state mandates on requiring courses to be taught about environmental literacy in grades k-12. This can help young people grasp the reality of the climate crisis and push them to be more involved in reaching a climate-safe future for themselves and those who come after them.
Note: Still researching the feasibility of this idea. Instead of mandating that the course be required for graduation (which may run into political/religious conflicts and be an “extreme” change), I might make the claim of making sure that every school has at least one environmental related course offered and push that educators bring up environmental conversations.
The Climate Crisis
-this section will go further in depth at what the intro talked about relating to the urgency of climate change (what is the issue, why is it happening, and who should be concerned). I will also talk about how many people are concerned about the environment, how many learned about the environment growing up, and any related statistics to show that this is an issue many are starting to be wary of.
– https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/16/many-globally-are-as-concerned-about-climate-change-as-about-the-spread-of-infectious-diseases/–> Will use data from here to talk about how many people are concerned. May also talk about the yale climate survey.
How State Mandates Affect Curriculum
-this section will talk about what classes are required for graduation in most schools/ which ones are mandated. Planning to talk about Earth science and its similarities. The importance of them will also be talked about and then in the next section I can compare to why environmental classes should be mandated.
– https://www.ecs.org/high-school-graduation-requirements/#:~:text=Nearly%20all%20states%20require%20students%20to%20complete%20a,outside%20of%20exit%20exams%20and%20diploma%20options%20vary. –> Will be using data from this website to create graphs and/or statistics about what schools in the states require for graduation already
Environmental Literacy
-this section will combine everything and talk about studies done on how environmental education will positively benefit the students and the future.
– https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2019/september/teach-our-children—about-climate-change-/ –> Will use info from this website about the survey conducted on how many people already support mandating environmental classes
Future Implications
-this section will talk about how skills learned relating to environmental literacy are also skills about being an engaged, globally aware citizen. This will probably be a subsection of environmental literacy.
Conclusion
Bibliography
Note: Title headers are subject to change and gain subheaders as I look to see how the research spreads out.
1). Answer any questions the writer may have posed about the draft
-N/A
2). Comment on scope of the thesis and whether or not it was convincingly argued. What improvements are needed to make it more convincing?
-oooo I like your thesis! Well done and I don’t have any other comments on it to be completely frank.
3). Comment on the evidence for the policy or its implementation. Does the draft need stronger sources to support the arguments? What kinds?
I don’t think there is anything wrong with the sources you have, and I think they will be great in supporting your argument. However, I think you would benefit from MORE sources. This would increase the likelihood that your data is accurate.
4). Did the piece handle questions of feasibility or objections to the policy? Hmmmm unless I missed something, I don’t think you addressed those.
5). Comment on any improvements to arrangement that could be considered.
-I would throw a paragraph of counterarguments into the end somewhere.
6). Comment on the structure of the issue brief, including subtitles.
-I think you have great headings, I’m not entirely sure what this question means by subtitles, but your headings and structure seem good.
7). Make one recommendation for something that could be moved, changed, added, or deleted.
-Again, just add a counterargument and your are golden. Sorry that I don’t have much advice but it seems pretty good to me.
1). Answer any questions the writer may have posed about the draft
No questions.
2). Comment on scope of the thesis and whether or not it was convincingly argued. What improvements are needed to make it more convincing?
I think you have a great thesis and it’s pretty convincing for the scope of this issue.
3). Comment on the evidence for the policy or its implementation. Does the draft need stronger sources to support the arguments? What kinds?
You’re on the right track with looking at a lot of surveys that deal with opinions on this issue. My only concern is that the graduation requirements across the US may significantly vary, so much so that it may not be helpful. Are there any federal education requirements?
4). Did the piece handle questions of feasibility or objections to the policy?
Kind of, you mentioned in a note that there may be issues with making it a graduation requirement and I think if these issues were brought up in the brief itself it would be beneficial.
5). Comment on any improvements to arrangement that could be considered.
I like the arrangement of the piece.
6). Comment on the structure of the issue brief, including subtitles.
The headings are clear and simple, which will help with the appearance of the issue brief. I’m interested to see what subheadings you’ll have.
7). Make one recommendation for something that could be moved, changed, added, or deleted.
Something very small, but I think it may be beneficial to change the position of “American” in your thesis. For Americans who are reading it, it just sounds a little odd. Maybe you could state “American students” at the beginning of the thesis?