Growing up going to public school, I noticed that our schools were not as sustainable as they could be. Here, I’m going to present some possible ways to make schools greener.

1. Limit Disposables in the Lunchroom

Schools produce a lot of waste, and most of it is in paper/card waste and food waste. When students purchase lunches from there school, not only do they have to throw away whatever food they received but didn’t eat, they also have to throw away disposable trays, silverware, cups, and containers included with their food. If the food was served on reusable trays and plastic products eliminated, students would create less waste in the cafeteria.

2. Encourage Composting

It’s never too early to learn about leading sustainable lifestyles. The benefits of implementing a composting program at schools go beyond just reducing waste. These programs could help to teach children to think about food as more than just what is on their plates.  Composting systems can teach students about the cycle that food goes through, from farms to factories to schools to waste, and, if composting is involved, back into the soil to serve as organic matter. Plus, there are already guides available online that illustrate all the ins and outs of starting these programs.

3. Only Use Paper When Necessary

Obviously, there are some things that require the use of paper. Personally, I find it impossible to do math problems without writing them down. However, this does not mean that teachers need to print out a hundred copies of every single math worksheet. Instead, students can view homework problems in textbooks or online and write them in notebooks, as many students already have notebooks and can, therefore, do the activities on paper without creating unnecessary extra waste. Plus, schools could save money on printer ink and paper. In addition, when students are assigned readings, why print out a copy of something they’re going to throw away as soon as class is done. If students are given online access to reading resources, they can choose to print it out if they desire, which will reduce paper waste. This works particularly well in schools which provide computers, laptops, or tablets to students to ensure they have access to online resources.

4. RECYCLE!!!

If printing out papers and worksheets cannot be avoided, one of the best things schools can do is recycle. Paper, plastics, glass, and metal can all be recycled. There are guides available which show how to set up recycling programs, which also explain some additional benefits, such as reduced costs of waste management.

Similarly to composting, there is lots of opportunity to teach students about the planet and sustainability through recycling programs. Students are taught about pollution, and many of them are told not to litter. By implementing recycling programs, schools could, in turn, teach students about how recycling reduces waste. They could also talk about the recycling process and how things are remade into new products.

Recycling can also encourage student leadership. A recycling club could help to spread the word about recycling and encourage other students to take up the habit. Depending on their age and ability level, students themselves could even collect all of the recycling or organize the recycling program itself. This would provide students with more opportunities which could be listed on resumés or college applications.

5. Water and Lights

This might seem rather obvious, but when the water is left running or the lights left on, it can be wasteful. Because schools are filled with so many people, it is not hard for one of them to forget to turn something off. Therefore, if schools replace regular faucets with ones that turn off automatically, whether they be motion-activated or metering faucets that return to the off position shortly after the user turns them on.

The same is true for lighting. Firstly, there are some lighting options which are more sustainable than others. The most sustainable, of course, is leaving the lights off. So, if it’s a nice, bright day outside, why not leave those blinds open and let the light shine in? To maximize the effect of natural lighting, stick to light colored walls and surfaces in classrooms. These are the most reflective and are more likely to help that natural light illuminate the whole room. Plus, the nice bright room would create a calmer, positive learning environment for students. When natural light is not possible, there are other good alternatives in terms of sustainable lighting. Additionally, by adding motion detector systems where the lights turn off when motion is not detected, schools can reduce the number of times when the lights are accidentally left on by students.

The trend of automatic appliances reducing wastefulness is not true of toilets. Toilets which flush when they are triggered by motion often cause people to activate the motion sensors accidentally. If the regular old handle flush toilets are used instead of automatic ones, it could probably prevent wasting water through extra unnecessary flushes.

These are just a few of the easiest ways schools can reduce waste.

Of course, there are many more. The first step, in many cases, is simply making students, faculty, and community members aware of the need for greener schools in the first place.

Generally, I consider myself to be a very self-motivated student. I am driven by my desire to learn, and I perform well in my classes because I want to succeed. Most of the time, I am driven to learn by a mix of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Of course, I want to get good grades, which constitutes the extrinsic. However, in many subjects, I am often inspired to learn because I’m interested in the content and excited to broaden my horizons. I also want to succeed for my own internal reasons, not just to get good grades but to do the best work of which I am capable. This is how I am internally motivated.

In certain subjects, I lose that sense of intrinsic motivation. Right now, for example, I am enrolled in a course where I am not doing as well as I would like to. I don’t fin the subject interesting nor am I inspired to learn it on my own since I do not see it being very beneficial to me in the long run. So, I am motivated to do well in that class solely for the sake of my GPA.

Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation play a role in the classroom. Students who find both intrinsic and extrinsic reward in participating in a classroom setting are, obviously, going to be more motivated to succeed. This blog post aims to explore the role of each type of motivation in the classroom and the ways in which teachers can promote success.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation in the classroom is easy to understand in terms of both what it is and how it motivates students. Extrinsic motivators are those things that look good on college applications: good grades, high GPAs, test scores, awards, and other accolades. While these sorts of rewards can highly motivate students– everyone wants their grades to show they were successful– they also come with their own set of downsides. If students are always receiving awards for their work, they could become dependent on it. Then, when they enter the workplace, where there are no grades or tests, they might not find that same motivation to succeed and quickly lose steam.

Additionally, if students are only working towards a reward, what happens when they get it? Suddenly, that motivation disappears. There is no more incentive to go above and beyond, to continue learning for its own sake. In this situation, cognitive reasoning and creative thinking skills have very little opportunity to flourish, as students who work merely for reward or recognition might be motivated only to complete assignments only to the degree necessary to get a required grade. They may do simple, straightforward projects instead of more complicated, creative, or innovative ones.

Finally, providing only extrinsic motivation cultivates competition between students. They may find themselves comparing their performance to one another, trying to outdo one another rather than attempting to succeed for themselves.

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is much harder for educators to encourage within their students. Grades and scores are easy to measure, and also easy for students to see to quantify how they are performing. Students are always going to be motivated by grades. However, students are bound to enjoy the activities in the classroom if they find some intrinsic reason to participate in them.

One of the biggest ways to inspire intrinsic motivation in students is to encourage personal goal-setting. These goals have to expand beyond just getting good grades and passing tests. These goals have to be centered around learning or improving by itself. For example, if students set goals to read however many pages a day from a book of their choosing or to research topics that interest them, they are more likely to be intrinsically motivated. It is not possible to eliminate grades and tests, however, so these externally-motivating tasks can be mixed in with intrinsically-motivating ones for each and every subject.

Additionally, if students are given some sort of power over their classroom environment, they might feel more motivated to make the best of it. Giving students a sense of control in the classroom, such as by allowing the class as a whole to decide how they want to study certain subjects or learn certain topics, can help students be more motivated to learn because they’ll feel as if they had some say in what they’re learning.

Finally, giving students specific feedback on their work can allow them to find motivation. If they get specific criticism, such as weak word choice in an essay, they can incorporate improving vocabulary into their personal goals, thereby adding to intrinsic motivation in the classroom setting. Positive feedback means that students will feel as if the effort they are putting into their work is not all for nothing. If students feel their work is pointless, they will ne less motivated to complete it.

According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 4 people will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their life. This large percentage of the population includes many school-aged children. Specifically, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that 21% of kids aged 13-18 and 13% of kids aged 8-15 experience severe mental disorder. It’s also possible that this percentage is larger if some students have mental health issues that go undiagnosed.

So, while many students are dealing with these issues and need the support of educators, not all teachers are prepared to deal with mental illness in the classroom. So, this blog will discuss the ways educators at every level can support students dealing with mental illness.

Elementary Schools:

Elementary school occurs during a critical time in a child’s life. To have serious mental problems go untreated during this time in a person’s life could lead to serious issues later on.

First, the burden of recognizing mental health issues in students falls on educators. Many elementary-aged children do not yet have the vocabulary to talk about mental health. This means that teachers should be educated on the warning signs of mental health issue in young students. If teachers are able to recognize these problems, this allows steps to help the student to be taken.

Second, it’s important to begin to educate elementary students about mental health. While there are often some harsh realities in talking about mental health, slowly introducing children to some of the vocabulary involving their own mental state, showing them ways verbalize how they’re feeling and informing them that it’s okay to not always feel okay can allow children to give voice to what’s going on in their heads.

Finally, study shows that children benefit from receiving mental health services in their schools. If students have undiagnosed mental disorders, they might not be receiving help in a clinical setting outside of school. Additionally, children from low-income households may lack the resources to receive care. So, by integrating mental health programs into classrooms settings, such as those that target behavioral problems, and having trained mental health professionals at schools, such as counselors, schools can attempt to help children get the help they need.

Middle and High Schools:

In middle and high schools, health classes often have some amount of mental health awareness integrated into the curriculum. However, this does not mean that schools are doing everything they can to help students with mental health issues.

Students at this level face a steady increase in stress, as the pressure is on to balance school, homework, having a social life, extracurricular activities, and taking the necessary steps to apply for college and make an after-graduation plan.

By this point, students have likely learned how to vocalize their mental health concerns. So, the first step in combatting the rising trend of mental health issues in adolescents and teens at schools is for educators to listen to the concerns of their students. While it is important to recognize the warning signs of distress in students of every level, it is especially important for students to feel like they’re being taken seriously when they come forward with mental health concerns.

Teaching students methods for coping with stress and distress can be helpful for those dealing with mental health problems. By incorporating some manner of education on mental health and wellness into the curriculum, schools can support those students. By allotting time to teaching students about the benefits of healthy eating, exercise, and productive outlets for stress such as art, yoga, or meditation, schools can help inspire habits that can over time improve mental wellbeing. Making mental health a priority for students can help address these health concerns.

Finally, when students are in a period of distress, they should be given accommodation. Even though having a mental breakdown might not come with a doctor’s note, when students are having a crisis in terms of mental health, their grade should not be negatively impacted from it.

Colleges and Universities:

College is a time of transition for many students. Leaving the world of childhood and entering the land of adulthood can be a stressful situation. Mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and disordered eating have been on the rise, leading to increased rates of suicide, which have tripled since the 1950s.

One of the biggest things colleges and universities can do to combat the mental health crisis is encouraging healthy habits. This means both educating and encouraging healthy habits and offering healthy options. So, by offering healthy food options in dining halls and closing down campus buildings at a reasonable hour to encourage healthy eating and sleeping habits, respectively, universities can attempt to help students act on well-meaning advice on staying healthy. Providing plenty of opportunities for physical exercise is also critical.

Improving access to mental health facilities and support groups can also offer college students an opportunity to get help when they need it.