Environmental Ethics In High School

To change the world, an individual will need to start small with the people around them and the perceptions among them. With that, my question is; should high school require students to take an environmental ethics class to graduate? For most, high school is a time were the curriculum is being mastered through the student’s studies, the students in this new curriculum will be challenged to question their anthropocentric mindset. I believe yes, high school should have environmental ethics as a core holism class that each student must take. The criticisms that have been brought to my attention for this question are merit but astonishing. Though respectable I strongly believe that by the school district impetus, students will be able to gain …show more content…
Thus, proving why we need an environmental ethics class to teach the youth. My research found two articles that was to pertain why, the critics were another reason for the necessity of the class. The article says that; Environmental ethics is the philosophical discipline that considers the moral and ethical relationship of human beings to the environment. While ethical issues concerning, the environment have been debated for centuries, environmental ethics did not emerge as a philosophical discipline until the 1970s. Environmental ethics helps define man 's moral and ethical obligations toward the environment (Gillapsy, N.D). Another article found to enhance the need for this class says that; we found that 63 percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, but many do not understand why. In this assessment, only 8 percent of Americans have knowledge equivalent to an A or B, 40 percent would receive a C or D, and 52 percent would get an F. The study also found important gaps in knowledge and common misconceptions about climate change and the earth system. These misconceptions lead some people to doubt that global warming is happening or that human activities are a major contributor, to misunderstand the causes and therefore the solutions, and to be unaware of the risks. Thus, many Americans lack some of the knowledge …show more content…
Not only for human species but for many other species and organisms. As described earlier with using dead trees for paper, that would create more jobs for the rangers in the winter time, while increasing public safety and create some volunteer work for the community and students. The forest service already takes down these dead trees, now we can use tree restoration for school districts paper and health programs. Another great benefit for this class is the curriculum. The basis of this class is to introduce new ideas and values to students who have little understanding and lack knowledge about the environment and how to treat it. This class could be a field and indoor class, we could create jobs with the YMCA for students to learn about the biodiversity community. While also giving the student the chance to be a part of our national parks or our oceans. For those who have neither, many biodiverse community live and students can study these communities for better understanding of what they do and how they thrive. Also, this class could use methods of urban farming for their schools and have compost and recycling for the cafeteria. With the schools practicing urban farming, it may begin to arise in the communities and the local homes, with this the possibility to reduce produce and inflation can occur. This arise in duty for the students could create a club within the school and