How can STEM Education Can Transform the Environment of Tomorrow?
When it comes to STEM education, the first thing that comes to mind should be environmental health. That’s because environmental and STEM education go hand in hand. How? Well, because environmental education deals with the organized efforts of teaching humans how to protect Earth from harmful pollution, global warming, and many other multidisciplinary fields. This is what ties environmental STEM and education together: It’s the science that connects the two. Make sense, right?
Although we know the importance of maintaining a healthy environment, we still need to do a better job of bringing more awareness to the subject. One of the most effective ways to promote a healthy environment is to offering proper STEM education to every one of all ages. Remember, environmental education and protection are two things that aren’t just important to us, they’re also important to the environment by helping sustain life as we know it.
What role does STEM education play in the long run? Marie Curie reminds us, “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” This means that STEM education not only has the ability to modify our society, but it also has the ability to change it completely by presenting us with better knowledge when it comes to protecting it. Education is the one thing that can also stand as the only solution to solving many of the environmental health problems that exist in our world today. In short, education plays a huge role in protecting the planet and preserving life as we know it.
If you still aren’t sure how a STEM education can help, the following tips below should help you put all the pieces together and increase your knowledge on how environmental education can help our planet down the road:
STEM Education Raises Self-Awareness
When it comes to protecting the environment, the main goal of education is to spread as much awareness as possible; fortunately, education and proper resources can do just that. The best part is that everyone in a community, neighborhood, or society can learn about it in their own way. For example, an older person might prefer to read a book or newspaper on the topic, while a younger person might prefer to increase their knowledge by grabbing their iPhone X and checking out different blogs and videos to share with their followers. On the other hand, an adolescent might learn about this subject through various kid shows, musical games, and school programs. In today’s world, however, the vast majority of people gain their knowledge about the environment through school programs and social media.
So you see, there is a variety of ways people can learn about this subject and further their knowledge.
Throughout the “STEM education awareness” stage, you should do your best to learn about the natural environment and how it’s supposed to function. You should also explore ways humans can deal with certain environmental changes – like man-made disasters – that come up. These are all important for sustaining life.
STEM Education Teaches Us How to Protect Our Habitat
Education plays a vital role in saving the environment by raising awareness, and by teaching individuals various ways to protect their natural habitat. That said, saving the environment doesn’t just involve sharing links on social media accounts, it involves educating others and most importantly, changing your way of life. This can range from having a better understanding of eco-friendly products to changing the way you commute to work every day. Whatever the case, saving the environment should become more of a practice than anything else – a practice that encourages you to look after your planet and all of its natural resources.
How can education help with habitat conservation? By teaching us how to conserve, protect, and ultimately restore the areas we live in. Environmental education can also teaches us how to prioritize the habitats that need the most care and help solve some of the bigger ecosystem problems like climate change, acid rain, global warming, and many others. Education on this topic should typically start in primary school, and continue throughout a child’s life.
In order to do this successfully, however, it’s important for the parent, guardian, or teacher to lead by example and implement practices into their lives. You’re never too young to learn about STEM education.
STEM Education Can Help Minimize Environmental Issues
Perhaps the best part of environmental STEM education has to deal with its ability to help solve some of the world’s problems. What does that mean? It means since environmental issues are the main cause of diseases, illnesses, and livelihood problems, education in this scientific field can help reduce that. So by incorporating environmental education into lesson plans and hosting community events, people can come together to discuss these issues and do their best to find solutions. Education is what will guide people to take this topic seriously and force them to tackle it head-on.
STEM Education Can Enhance Widespread Appreciation
Improved economic growth and prosperity enhances the widespread appreciation of STEM education in the United States. More prosperity equals betters STEM education, and better education equals more awareness. This means that by enhancing appreciation of the environment publicly, community leaders can encourage positive behavioral change in return from residents.
So, education today is just as important as it was three decades ago since it allows people to learn skills and take certain steps towards reducing the environmental waste both individually and collectively. This is important, considering the fact that the planet is experiencing increased water shortage, water pollution, air pollution, improper disposing of waste, limited groundwater, and land and soil degradation. These are just some examples of the environmental issues we face on the daily basis that we aren’t even aware of.
In the end, education is the key to self-empowerment because it allows us to take action effectively. Environmental education, in particular is what leads people towards a better future and pushes them to make a change for the better.
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Thanks for the read! Did I miss anything important? What are some ways STEM education can help improve the environment? I’ll be checking for comments, so feel free to leave a comment below.
Herman Davis is passionate about K-12 education and loves exploring different ways to make learning a fun experience. If you can’t catch him online, you might be able to find him at the gym, or watching football (Go Broncos!).
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