Maryland approves environmental literacy graduation requirement

[Zoooma]

Md. Board of Education approves environmental literacy graduation requirement

By Associated Press, Published: June 21

BALTIMORE — High school seniors in Maryland will have to be literate on environmental matters to graduate from now on.

Maryland’s Board of Education passed the environmental literacy graduation requirement on Tuesday. Gov. Martin O’Malley says Maryland is now the first state in the nation to have such a requirement. The No Child Left Inside Coalition, which pushed for the requirement, says 48 other states are considering similar requirements, a sign of the increasing popularity of environmental education.

Under the graduation requirement, public schools will be required to infuse core subjects with lessons on conservation, smart growth and other environmental topics. School systems will be able to shape their programs, but they must align with state standards.

Md. Board of Education approves environmental literacy graduation requirement - The Washington Post

 

[AceHero]

This is great. Ecological literacy is extremely important to have in this day and age. I certainly didn't have it when I was in high school.

 

[Ringo84]

Uh oh! Time to freak out!

How DARE we teach high school seniors to be good stewards of the earth!
Ringo

 

[EdwinWillers]

Md. Board of Education approves environmental literacy graduation requirement

By Associated Press, Published: June 21

BALTIMORE — High school seniors in Maryland will have to be literate on environmental matters to graduate from now on.

Maryland’s Board of Education passed the environmental literacy graduation requirement on Tuesday. Gov. Martin O’Malley says Maryland is now the first state in the nation to have such a requirement. The No Child Left Inside Coalition, which pushed for the requirement, says 48 other states are considering similar requirements, a sign of the increasing popularity of environmental education.

Under the graduation requirement, public schools will be required to infuse core subjects with lessons on conservation, smart growth and other environmental topics. School systems will be able to shape their programs, but they must align with state standards.

Md. Board of Education approves environmental literacy graduation requirement - The Washington Post

Sample Exam Questions:

1) The greatest perceived threat to the world today is:

a) Global Cooling
b) Global Warming
c) Climate Change
d) All of the above, depending

2) Which of the following are results of which ever answer you chose above:

a) Hurricanes
b) Droughts
c) Floods
d) Blizzards
e) All of the above

3) The sea level worldwide has already risen:

a) 9 feet
b) 3 yards
c) 108 inches
d) All of the above

4) T | F - The environment may or may not be in trouble.

5) Y | N - Do you recycle?

6) If you answered "N" (No) above, provide your reasoning why not in 5,000 words or more.

 

[oldbetang]

Sample Exam Questions:

1) The greatest perceived threat to the world today is:

a) Global Cooling
b) Global Warming
c) Climate Change
d) All of the above, depending

2) Which of the following are results of which ever answer you chose above:

a) Hurricanes
b) Droughts
c) Floods
d) Blizzards
e) All of the above

3) The sea level worldwide has already risen:

a) 9 feet
b) 3 yards
c) 108 inches
d) All of the above

4) T | F - The environment may or may not be in trouble.

5) Y | N - Do you recycle?

6) If you answered "N" (No) above, provide your reasoning why not in 5,000 words or more.

 

[Ringo84]

Sample Exam Questions:

1) The greatest perceived threat to the world today is:

a) Global Cooling
b) Global Warming
c) Climate Change
d) All of the above, depending

2) Which of the following are results of which ever answer you chose above:

a) Hurricanes
b) Droughts
c) Floods
d) Blizzards
e) All of the above

3) The sea level worldwide has already risen:

a) 9 feet
b) 3 yards
c) 108 inches
d) All of the above

4) T | F - The environment may or may not be in trouble.

5) Y | N - Do you recycle?

6) If you answered "N" (No) above, provide your reasoning why not in 5,000 words or more.

Straw man.
Ringo

 

[EdwinWillers]

Straw man.
Ringo

The Cylons want their hybrid back.

 

[FaithLikeARock]

I think that's a better requirement than a lot of the ones they force on you in high school - personally I think they should start requiring a lot more classes actually related to a larger array of careers and environmental issues, green jobs, geology, all very widely expanding fields. Do you know how stupid I thought it was that psychology was considered an elective when nearly every occupation employs some theories of psychology (any that deals with people in any way)? Instead they have to concentrate on shoving the same concepts of English down our throats and we still aren't vastly improving our literary rates - if you can't give an application it will never work.

Alright I'm done ranting.

 

[Umaro]

I think that's a better requirement than a lot of the ones they force on you in high school

I'll agree with you there. It certainly would help more than some classes I had to take, like carrying that stupid egg around as a "baby."

 

[RedDead1981]

Hey now, I've still got mine. *pets rotten egg* There there, baby, he didn't mean it.

 

[citizenthom]

Now we just sit back and wait for the first graduates to be denied their diplomas for giving the "wrong" answers on a fundamentally subjective "test."

If this was a "moral literacy" requirement, the left would be burning couches in the street in front of the Maryland state capitol.

 

[FaithLikeARock]

I'd like to know where in this article it says this is going to be based on "subjective" evidence. The only individual concept it lists is conservation - are any of us really going to question that one? Don't think I've heard anyone complain about recycling.

 

[MattRose]

I think that's a better requirement than a lot of the ones they force on you in high school - personally I think they should start requiring a lot more classes actually related to a larger array of careers and environmental issues, green jobs, geology, all very widely expanding fields. Do you know how stupid I thought it was that psychology was considered an elective when nearly every occupation employs some theories of psychology (any that deals with people in any way)? Instead they have to concentrate on shoving the same concepts of English down our throats and we still aren't vastly improving our literary rates - if you can't give an application it will never work.

Alright I'm done ranting.

I hate to point this out. If you are going to complain that schools put too much emphasis on english classes, please construct your sentences more carefully. A few of your sentences lend credence to the opinion that not enough emphasis is placed on english classes.

 

[FaithLikeARock]

I don't tend to care when I'm on the Internet - I make things legible and after that I'm not writing an essay for school, so I'm not going to concentrate on making my grammar perfect (my grammar wasn't that bad, just lazy).

Besides, they stop teaching you grammar Freshman year and it's all comprehension, and when I say "the same concepts" I meant the exact same concepts of comprehension and that you happened to miss that part and concentrate solely on my grammar, makes me question if you don't still need an English class.

 

[Zoooma]

I'd like to know where in this article it says this is going to be based on "subjective" evidence. The only individual concept it lists is conservation - are any of us really going to question that one? Don't think I've heard anyone complain about recycling.

The way I see it, it could include subjective evidence if liberals are in charge of creating the curriculum to be taught. If you have someone like van Jones in charge, that's bad, really, really bad.

There's nothing wrong with teaching a kid that dumping toxins in a river or throwing your aluminum can out your car window is wrong. But when you get into anything dealing with Global Warming and Al Gore and polar bears will be extinct in the wild before you graduate and if America doesn't start driving electric cars, world poverty will rise exponentially, then you're indoctrinating.

 

[MattRose]

I don't tend to care when I'm on the Internet - I make things legible and after that I'm not writing an essay for school, so I'm not going to concentrate on making my grammar perfect (my grammar wasn't that bad, just lazy).

Besides, they stop teaching you grammar Freshman year and it's all comprehension, and when I say "the same concepts" I meant the exact same concepts of comprehension and that you happened to miss that part and concentrate solely on my grammar, makes me question if you don't still need an English class.

No, actually most of your posts are fine with good writing. That particular one had a few rough spots. It's just that if you are going to say that we don't need X and then exemplify the need for X, I will poke fun. I can't help it. Really!

 

[FaithLikeARock]

The way I see it, it could include subjective evidence if liberals are in charge of creating the curriculum to be taught. If you have someone like van Jones in charge, that's bad, really, really bad.

There's nothing wrong with teaching a kid that dumping toxins in a river or throwing your aluminum can out your car window is wrong. But when you get into anything dealing with Global Warming and Al Gore and polar bears will be extinct in the wild before you graduate and if America doesn't start driving electric cars, world poverty will rise exponentially, then you're indoctrinating.

The article doesn't even mention global warming so that's a horrible assumption. You don't know anything about what this curriculum will be and you're fueled ENTIRELY by how much you hate liberals when you clearly don't know anything about them.

 

[Ringo84]

I'll repeat what I said above: how dare high school kids learn to be stewards of the earth!
Ringo

 

[Cute Tink]

I wonder how many kids will pass this requirement and fail math...

 

[blueapplepaste]

I'll repeat what I said above: how dare high school kids learn to be stewards of the earth!
Ringo

Well everyone knows Jesus wants us to rape and pillage the earth and ruin it!! Taking care of the environment is for communists, Marxists, socialists, fascists, and hippies. Not for Real™ Americans!!