Learning at an early age

I have recently started a new job at an elementary school as a teacher’s assistant.  I’ve always worked with children and I have always been really fascinated with how much they like to learn and how much they look up to older people.  In this week’s concept I want to stress the importance of teaching sustainability issues at an early age.  I want to be able to educate children about over consumers and how being an over consumer can affect our environment.  When addressing an over consumer, I want children to learn that an over consumer is one who “uses more materials or products that are unnecessary to use”. 

This concept would work as a class for children during the school year.  At the school I work at, every class has an hour set aside for a “special” which is consider to be free time for either P.E., computer class or the counsel comes in and has an attractively planned out for them to do.  I think an environmental class would be a perfect way to educate children at an early age.  This class could be designed to be a “special” class so that children at an early age could learn the basic knowledge about living a sustainable life and helping out our environment.  

The concept of this class would carry on into junior high and high school level but would actually be consider a required class so that kids would continue to learn about ways we can prevent harming our environment and ways we can help our environment to become more sustainable. 

Fuad Luke states “sustainability is learning about living well but consuming (much) less; it is a social learning process and will involve moving from a ‘product – based well being ‘ to thinking about products, dematerialized product, services and enabling solutions to satisfy our needs”.   This is a great explain on how this class can be developed as children move into junior high and high school.  The basic concepts of living a sustainable life style can be taught during an early age and as they move on to junior high the class could require the children to develop a product and apply the their sustainable life style to the product or their concept.  They can continue to develop their concept as they enter high school and finalize their product for a senior project it they chose too.

Using our Resources

When I started to read this weeks readings, I was sitting in my living room when I noticed how much glass is used in the interior industry.  We use glass for windows, decorative fixtures, light blubs and many other appliances (ex. televisions, DVD players, computer screens, iphones…etc.) Of course I imminently thought what happens to all of this glass once the consumer is done using it?

Normally this is what the recycling process of a glass bottles would be like:

I thought I would share a couple of interesting facts about glass. 

• ·      Glass is one of the only materials that never wears out and can be recycled forever. 
• ·      As well as being recyclable, it also reduces pollution by 14-20%.
• ·      Recycling one glass bottle saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.

As you can see, glass is one of the most efficient resources out there.  The question is why aren’t we using glass as a main source in other products or materials in order for them to be recyclable and reusable?  Glass has inspired me to use the method “technical nutrients”, which are products that are manmade and can be fully recycled into high quality materials for subsequent product generations. 

In the interior industry glass is highly used in many products.   After doing some research I found that they are already making glass that is stronger than steel and is known to be the toughest, strongest material to be produce.  This glass is known as metallic glass.  Since glass is a recyclable product, I believe that we should start designing more products that contain glass in order for them to be recycled and reused.  For example one concept that has already been in the works is Corning’s Gorilla Glass.  This glass is used in cell phones, laptops and TV's.  This glass is chemically strengthened with compressions, which helps prevent cracks and chips.  To better understand the ability of this glass, I’ve provided a video for you to watch. 

 http://youtu.be/6Cf7IL_eZ38

This video provides a vision of what 2050 could potentially be like, but it’s also one that is far technologically advanced.  The concept behind this idea is to start designing structures, furniture systems and other components with glass that would be integrated into a house or a commercial building in order for this materials to be recyclable and reusable and for us to move towards a sustainable environment.