What
They Don't Know...
Could Hurt Us
by
Stacie Bland
As
a high school student, I see environmental
apathy everywhere. The basic concept among my
peers seems to be "why worry about it --
we're only here for a short time". I
believe this attitude could be severely affected
by the child's family.
If
you don't believe that children don't respect
their environment, take a visit to any local
high school. If it is anything like mine, you'll
find trash everywhere. Don't expect the
janitorial staff to pick it all up; too many
kids are littering for a small maintenance staff
to be able to pick up after them. It shouldn't
be their responsibility anyway. The children
themselves need to learn not to litter.
At
lunch one day, I became truly frustrated with
this dilemma. I saw a girl outside toss a tray
still laden with food into a packed parking lot.
When I approached her and asked her why she
didn't throw it away when there was a trash can
only a short walk away, she simply replied,
"Why should I care what this place looks
like? It's only school." She didn't seem to
understand that litter doesn't just affect one
place. This shows a true lack of environmental
education.
Recycling
and All of We
You
need to have an active role in your child's
education about the world around them.
Children who never have environmental issues
discussed with them seem to not care one way or
the other. The influence of a parent or guardian
on a child is immense.
Children
learn their manners and form opinions based a
lot on how they were raised. If your child
observes you littering, what is to stop them
from doing the same? If you recycle, your child
will probably grow used to it and continue the
good habit of recycling in their later years.
Recycling is something I think my family has
done for most of my life. I doubt I would ever
stop recycling.
You
Can Make A Difference
Explain
to your child that they can make a difference.
Too many kids are walking around thinking
they're too insignificant to make any real
change to the environment. They need to
understand that just by picking up one piece of
litter a day, they could help preserve the
environment for years to come.
If
your child believes they shouldn't bother with
the environment because they doubt it will be
affected while they're living, take time to ask
them how they'd like their children living in a
smog ridden world where you can't walk without
stepping in litter. You could also point out how
drastically pollution has affected our
environment since the beginning of the
industrial age. It's only been about a hundred
years and the ozone layer is already depleting.
Getting
Involved
I'm
sure this has been recommended several times
over, but involvement will open up your child's
eyes. Have them participate in cleaning up a
park. Join the GreenPeace
Foundation. Anything to let your child see
the problems facing the world today.
Maybe
the problem isn't even your child; maybe it's
you. Do you care what's happening to the world?
If not, how can you expect your child to? As
I've said before, just look at how much our
environment has changed since the industrial
period -- maybe you will realize a few things
for yourself.
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