Editor, Times-Union: Citizens of Warsaw, I fear we are headed towards a point of no return. What I am talking about is the tax our human race placing on the Earth. I don’t mean to place all the blame on Warsaw; however, after studying abroad with peers from all over the country I have noticed a major failure in Indiana schools: the lack of environmental education. After investigating the K-12 Indiana state standards, I saw nothing remotely related to the environment. I looked up state standards of Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, all having state standards directly related to the environment. Why is educating students about the environment important? Our generation has been placed in a time where the current lifestyles of today will not be possible in the future and it will be up to us to find the solution. It is the job of educators to prepare students for the future. Environmental education may have not been as important years ago, but now it is just as vital to learn as Math or English. Our generation needs to learn this subject, plain and simple. Let us not fail this generation and adapt to meet the current needs of this day and age. What can we do? Lobby to the school board, Department of Education, or superintendent for the implementation of environmental education. And if the schools will not teach students, it is our duty to inform ourselves and teach each other. If God’s greatest gift to us is life on this Earth, then we need to start taking care of it. Katherine Dawson Purdue University student Warsaw, via e-mail
