Echo
Environmental education: Problems and solutions
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By Andy Balaskovitz, abalaskovitz@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
June 30, 2009
Environmental education changes how kids learn. And educators integrating it into other subjects say it’s worth the effort. A nationwide study – Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning – found environmental education raises standardized test scores and reduces discipline and classroom management problems.
The economic downturn makes it tough for such programs to flourish in Michigan and elsewhere. But there are hopeful signs. Recent legislation diverts some civil fines into a state Environmental Education Fund.