Monday, May 28, 2007

Students and social responsibility...

A story that appeared in Boston.com today is one of the main reasons why being a teacher is--in my opinion--the best profession in the world!
The opportunities that await through the classroom door each year are endless. From my experience, kids become so passionate about social issues--which is something that all of us adults can learn from--and their passion can be transformed into action.
The story is about a seventh grade social studies class. This class took action on the idea that banning school bus idling is a way to save fuel and protect the environment.
They took this idea and passion to their government, and the government pulled through. Gov. Jim Douglas signed into law a bill to ban school buses from idling while parked on school grounds.
"Throughout the legislative session the students argued the merits of banning idling... schools will save over $300,000 that would have been spent on fuel for buses that are idling... [and they] helped the health of 75,000 school-age children"
This is a great story!
Furthermore, "In addition to banning idling, the new law asks the Department of Education to develop a model policy to encourage school districts to restrict idling on school grounds by all vehicles."
I like a quote by JFK and find it suiting to this post: "Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future."

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