‘Kids really do love science, they just don’t know it’

Ira Flatow, host of National Public Radio’s “Science Friday,”recently moderated a panel on how to use climate education to build a resilient community at the brand-new Cohen SoundWaters Harbor Center located in Stamford’s John J. Boccuzzi Park.

Flatow was joined by educators from the region as well as Leigh Shemitz, the president of SoundWaters, and Corey Paris, the State Representative of District 145.
Shemitz noted that Flatow is a Stamford resident in addition to being a noted journalist with a voice that many people across the country associate with discussions of scientific issues.

“I believe that the answer to climate change really does belong to the young people,”Flatow observed as the panel started. “There’s an old saying in climate science that we are borrowing the future from our kids, our grandchildren. We are only borrowing it because they’re going to be living it, and they need to be equipped to know how to deal with climate change. And the best way to do that is through science education.”To underscore the need for that education, Flatow cited a United Nations study that found that 75% of 10,000 surveyed students found the future frightening due to climate change. He noted that Connecticut was ahead of the curve in terms of climate education.

Arlyn Kilduff, a science teacher at Ridgefield High School who once worked as an educator at SoundWaters, discussed the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a multi-state program that establishes 67 pieces of science education that students need to fully grasp, five of which pertain to climate science.

“The students need to understand how earth system works, how humans have influenced climate change and biodiversity,”she explained. “Students are asked to research, evaluate, and design solutions and technology to address these concerns. And the concerns that we’re really looking at are how do we reduce our impact on the environment through resource management, technologies and living sustainably.”Kidluff emphasized the value of “circular teaching”where cross discipline lessons can help reinforce ideas and impart information. Kilduff said this is apparent to her because her classes are mainly freshmen and seniors.

“When I get my kids back as seniors, I would say a third of my job is already done because they’ve gone through all of these other classes and they’re coming to the classroom from social studies. They’ve already learned a lot of the basic stuff. So, the great thing is that we can take that and build on it,”Kilduff said.

Dr. Tamu Lucero, superintendent of Stamford Public schools, held up SoundWaters as a prime example of an educational organization that can make a major difference in the lives of students, recounting students who were rarely engaged with lessons swept up in learning through doing, telling her they wish “every day at school could be like that.”Lucero also said that the students continually surprise her with their engagement on climate topics.

“I had a student who said to me, ‘You know Dr. Lucero, we are wasting so much food at the high school,’ so she came to me and started talking about composting,”Lucero recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, how are we going to get that done?'”It turned out that the student was able to organize a composting program on her own with only the suggestion by Lucero to speak to another school district that already had a program.

“She didn’t just come back with a recommendation,”Lucero added. “The next time I heard from her composting was happening at West High School and she did it on her own.”The role of schools in Lucero’s view, is both to provide the education that students need to understand the concepts of climate change, but also the space and support to actually combat it, at least on a local level.

Cara Addison, a former SoundWaters educator and also a graduate of the Stamford public schools, said she wished a similar program had existed when she was a young student ““ but stated that she was also glad that others were discovering the track she now follows. Addison is currently pursuing a graduate degree in marine biology from Jacksonville University in Florida.

Addison described herself as a perfect example of how science education and programs like SoundWaters or other places she has served as an educator can make a difference in the trajectory of a student’s life.

“I’ve always asked the students, ‘Do you like school? Do you like science?’ And there were always like 20 kids that told me, ‘I hate school. I hate science.’ Until we do the, the climate science program and we teach about the water,”said Addison. “Then we go out on the boat and do the observations and they’re like ‘never mind, we love science.'””That’s the dark and dirty secret of science,”Flatow observed. “Kids really do love science ““ they just don’t know they do. They don’t call it science.”Much of the evening’s discussion turned on the topic of encouraging student engagement, and highlighting ways that students can feel involved and empowered in efforts to protect the environment. Audience questions, however, raised concerns that the hope students have might not be able to overcome adults who still deny wildly accepted science.

Rep. Paris told the rest of the panel that he is taking climate issues into account while he serves as vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

“If I had a blank check, I would build a multi-million-dollar innovation center for resiliency and sustainability around climate right here in Connecticut,”Paris said, noting the impacts of climate change are already being felt in Connecticut as farmers and fishers see businesses that have lasted almost a century facing new threats.

“If we don’t get the environment right, our economy will not just face another great depression. It will face depression unlike ever before. And that’s why it was so important for Connecticut to be a national leader on this issue,”Paris declared, urging the audience to press their elected officials to work towards ensuring environmental projects and education are top funding priorities.