They need the skills to investigate and evaluate problems, and to take effective action. They need to develop habits of mind that will enable them to become wise, empowered citizens who will act to keep the planet healthy and functioning in order to meet the needs of all its denizens. The Challenge Developing environmental literacy is a major task for us as a society. Achieving the necessary environmental literacy is a major task for our schools. This document focuses on the roles that elementary, middle, and secondary schools can play in developing environmental literacy and will be followed by a second document that focuses on the role of higher education in assuring adequate levels of environmental literacy for college and university graduates.
Environmental education is the tool for developing environmental literacy.
As a society we need to know how well our environmental education efforts are doing in developing increasingly sophisticated levels of environmental literacy. In this case, benchmarks are standards established for knowledge, skills and attitudes that indicate progress toward a mature environmental literacy. We are encouraged by recent developments in school reform in Massachusetts . We do have concern, however, that in basing the curriculum frameworks process on traditional disciplines, the critical message of the need for interdisciplinary approaches to environmental issues will not be well conveyed to teachers. Our intent in this document is to contribute an interdisciplinary curriculum perspective that focuses on the development of environmentally literate citizens in Massachusetts schools.