In the history of human development, not the last, if not the key, role is played by the ecological education of the population, which allows us to talk about the importance and necessity of instilling a careful attitude to the surrounding space.
- The need for environmental education
- Tasks of ecological education of a child
- “Green” moments in everyday life
- Stages of environmental education
- Formats of interactive education in children’s educational institutions
- Eco-education and its variants
- Rules of ecological behavior in the metropolis
- Participation of teachers in environmental education
The need for environmental education
Ecological education of children is required not only in view of the crisis state of the planet (for a minute, only in our country about 70 million. tons of waste), but also because responsibility cannot be brought up without paying attention to caring for nature.
In the modern world, the issues of environmental education have long come to the fore and need considerable attention due to the fact that anthropological activity in the space surrounding a person, for the most part incorrect and illogical, quite often causes an imbalance in the ecological balance.
The current situation with ecology has a detrimental effect on nature and society and needs to form environmental consciousness.
Tasks of ecological education of a child
In the development of ecoculture, preschool age is a serious moment in development, because it is during this period that the beginning of the personality is laid including the positive attitude to the space surrounding the person.
It is at this age that a child realizes himself as a person, distinguishes himself from the surrounding space and begins to form an emotional and value perception in himself, due to which an ecological position is formed and this attitude is manifested in the interaction of the baby with space and unity with nature.
Thanks to this process, it is possible to easily form a child’s baggage of environmental knowledge, as well as the basic rules for interacting with the environment, cultivate empathy and increase activity in relation to environmental issues.
And for preschool children, the necessary condition for the formation of an effective attitude to the world is precisely the moment of accumulation of knowledge, and the constant process of forming an ecological culture in a child and awakening an interest in research guarantees a responsible attitude to the environment.
Children from an early age need to be helped to understand and accept their relationship with the surrounding space, to feel nature as their homeland, where it is impossible to be a foreigner.
And there are a number of interconnected points that help achieve the goals in the field of education and development:
This is usually associated with illustrating what is happening with vivid examples that are accessible to the understanding and perception of the child in accordance with his age development.
“Green” moments in everyday life
A correct ecological attitude to the surrounding space also implies the formation of ecological habits in standard everyday life:
Stages of environmental education
In the environmental education of a child, as a rule, several points and stages take place:
- The preparatory stage, which involves a story about the existing environmental problems in nature, focusing on the harm that seemingly ordinary everyday moments can cause to nature.
It must be understood that care for the surrounding space cannot be taught if the child does not have at least an initial concept of nature. Ecology is the science of the interaction and connections that exist in natural systems, which is what needs to be told to the child in a playful and attractive way, introducing him to the surrounding nature and instilling a sense of love for it.
And the following actions will help to achieve this task:
There may well be daily evening rituals and occasional competitions.
Understanding that the paper is made of wood, and they help to breathe, the child will be more careful about available technological benefits and the need to save resources, and acquaintance with the device of technology will help to realize the need to save electricity. And then the economy will cease to be an abstract concept.
- Familiarization with the tools that provide solutions to global environmental issues, which is closely related to the sense of belonging to nature, and formed in children at an instinctive level: they just need to show possible behaviors and changes in everyday habits.
- Restructuring of consciousness aimed at preventing environmental problems after realizing the benefits of a new way of life.
Formats of interactive education in children’s educational institutions
Children perceive any information more actively in the format of interactive communication: and first of all, this also applies to the environment, where there are ample opportunities for such formats as lessons, creativity, games and performances.
Eco-activities can be in the following formats:
Eco-education and its variants
Eco-education is directly related to environmental education, and helps to tell the child about existing issues, about ways to solve them and help them realize how not to create new problems. For example, the problem is the availability of landfills, the ways to solve it are recycling, and everyone can donate recyclable materials to solve it.
Today, the world has changed dramatically and rapidly: more and more often we begin to sort waste, limit the consumption of plastic, and consciously approach consumption issues. Moreover, such environmental responsibility in other countries has become the norm for a long time, and we are only taking the first steps in this board.
Each of us has the opportunity to use the simplest actions that can be easily explained to a child and shown from personal experience, and with the help of which you can introduce elements of environmental education into your family:
Particular attention in environmental education is played by books: about history, about nature, encyclopedias and dictionaries, which have an unlimited impact on the upbringing of a small person. With their help, you can form a really careful and careful attitude to the surrounding space, which then the child will keep for the rest of his life.
Rules of ecological behavior in the metropolis
Ecological life in a huge metropolis is distinguished by special rules that a child also needs to know for a favorable interaction with the environment.
They have already, for the most part, been listed, but here there are some small aspects and nuances. Paper and plastic waste (packaging, candy wrappers, tickets and other small items) and trash cans, use of personal vehicles without the need to reduce the level of gas pollution. Do not forget about your pets (we are talking, of course, about cleaning up waste).
Parents together with the child can participate in general collective events for the improvement of the territory and other activities related to any environmental issues and actions, which are held in a large number in today’s city.
Participation of teachers in environmental education
The child needs constant confirmation of the correctness of his actions and even if these actions regarding the ecology of the planet are minimal, you must always emphasize the need for such actions, which will serve as a significant motivation.
Today, the upbringing of an environmentally literate younger generation is very important and this process should begin from preschool age.
At the same time, the main task of teachers can be recognized as the formation of a conscious approach to the surrounding space and to any actions for the protection of nature. Eco-education is able to form in the population awareness of themselves as part of the surrounding space and such work is distinguished by a large number of nuances. The main goal of pedagogical influence in terms of ecology can be recognized as the formation of a socially responsible representative of the species, and, therefore, the formation of the desire for knowledge of nature.