NAAEE Publications

   Excellence in

   Environmental Education —

   Guidelines for Learning (K-12)

Strand 4--
Personal and Civic Responsibility

References to Standards:
Civics and Government 105-109
Economics 19-20
English Language Arts 44
Social Studies 124-129, 139-141
Guidelines:

A) Understanding societal values and principles--Learners know how to analyze the influence of shared and conflicting societal values.

Identify shared political values and principles that unite U.S. citizens and analyze conflicting views about their meaning and application. For example, examine conflicting views about how to protect general welfare and private property rights in a specific land-use decision where a lawsuit has been filed alleging a "taking" of private property rights by the government.
Analyze how societal institutions, such as banks, corporations, nonprofit organizations, lobbying groups, government agencies, and the courts, embody and perpetuate certain societal values and principles.
Describe and suggest ways that individuals can work to change how societal institutions function and, consequently, to change their environmental impacts.

Civics and Government 128-137
Social Studies 139-141
B) Recognizing citizens' rights and responsibilities--Learners understand the importance of exercising the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Evaluate conflicts between individual rights and other societal interests such as a healthy environment. Discuss when individuals' civic obligations require them to subordinate their personal interests or desires to the public good.
Explain the importance and evaluate the usefulness of civic dispositions such as trust, patience, self-discipline, respect, and open-mindedness to individuals and to society.
Explain the influence of citizen action and public opinion on particular policy decisions that affect the environment.
Reflect on the impact of citizen participation-- particularly learners' own--on public concerns related to the environment and on the community.

Social Studies 124-126
C) Recognizing efficacy--Learners possess a realistic self-confidence in their effectiveness as citizens.

Evaluate the extent to which individual and group action creates change, meets individual needs, and promotes the common good.
Identify ways in which learners, individually and collectively, are able to help maintain environmental quality and resolve problems and issues. Provide examples from the range of communities (e.g., family, club or group, school, town, state, nation, world) in which learners see themselves as members.

Civics and Government 131-132
D) Accepting personal responsibility--Learners understand that their actions can have broad consequences and accept responsibility for recognizing those effects and changing their actions when necessary.

Evaluate the effects of their actions (and the actions of the larger social groups of which they are part) on the environment, other humans, and other living things.
Explain ways in which the decisions of one generation create opportunities and impose constraints for future generations. Illustrate this idea with examples from the past, and incorporate it into their analyses of issues.
Evaluate the importance of fulfilling personal responsibilities for themselves, society, and the environment.
Demonstrate a willingness to work individually and collectively toward the resolution of environmental issues and to participate thoughtfully and effectively in environmental decision-making.

The Environmental News
From: Teaching Naturally, Office of Environmental Education, Tallahassee, Florida
Grade Level: High School

Correlating Guidelines:
Strand 1 A, B, C, D, E, G
Strand 2.2 A, C
Strand 2.3 A, B, C, E
Strand 2.4 A, B, C, E
Strand 3.1 A, B, D
Strand 4 A, B, C

A high school journalism class published a series of articles about the environment for their own and other student newspapers throughout Florida. The students researched and wrote articles about local, state, and national environmental issues. In composing their articles, students practiced elements of the writing process, such as prewriting, drafting, and editing documents. Students gathered information from a variety of print and electronic media. In addition to developing skills in language arts and small group work, the science and social studies teachers worked on related learning objectives in their respective disciplines.

In one instance, students researched and wrote articles describing laws affecting water quality and their effects on local industry. Using investigative reporting techniques such as interviewing and library research, students learned about the cycles of seasonal rainfall and nutrients that affect Florida Bay's water composition, the laws guiding government agency decisions concerning freshwater flow to the Bay, and how the Bay's water quality in turn affects the businesses associated with the tourist industry. In addition to writing and researching, students used the school's computers to design headlines and sidebars, and insert photos and captions.

A student-produced news broadcast for the school's closed circuit television channel allowed the journalism students to record and air public service announcements about their articles.

The project was partially funded by a grant from the Florida Advisory Council on Environmental Education.

Appendix

	Strand 4-- Personal and Civic Responsibility
References to Standards: Civics and Government 105-109 Economics 19-20 English Language Arts 44 Social Studies 124-129, 139-141	Guidelines: A) Understanding societal values and principles--Learners know how to analyze the influence of shared and conflicting societal values. Identify shared political values and principles that unite U.S. citizens and analyze conflicting views about their meaning and application. For example, examine conflicting views about how to protect general welfare and private property rights in a specific land-use decision where a lawsuit has been filed alleging a "taking" of private property rights by the government. Analyze how societal institutions, such as banks, corporations, nonprofit organizations, lobbying groups, government agencies, and the courts, embody and perpetuate certain societal values and principles. Describe and suggest ways that individuals can work to change how societal institutions function and, consequently, to change their environmental impacts.
Civics and Government 128-137 Social Studies 139-141	B) Recognizing citizens' rights and responsibilities--Learners understand the importance of exercising the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Evaluate conflicts between individual rights and other societal interests such as a healthy environment. Discuss when individuals' civic obligations require them to subordinate their personal interests or desires to the public good. Explain the importance and evaluate the usefulness of civic dispositions such as trust, patience, self-discipline, respect, and open-mindedness to individuals and to society. Explain the influence of citizen action and public opinion on particular policy decisions that affect the environment. Reflect on the impact of citizen participation-- particularly learners' own--on public concerns related to the environment and on the community.
Social Studies 124-126	C) Recognizing efficacy--Learners possess a realistic self-confidence in their effectiveness as citizens. Evaluate the extent to which individual and group action creates change, meets individual needs, and promotes the common good. Identify ways in which learners, individually and collectively, are able to help maintain environmental quality and resolve problems and issues. Provide examples from the range of communities (e.g., family, club or group, school, town, state, nation, world) in which learners see themselves as members.
Civics and Government 131-132	D) Accepting personal responsibility--Learners understand that their actions can have broad consequences and accept responsibility for recognizing those effects and changing their actions when necessary. Evaluate the effects of their actions (and the actions of the larger social groups of which they are part) on the environment, other humans, and other living things. Explain ways in which the decisions of one generation create opportunities and impose constraints for future generations. Illustrate this idea with examples from the past, and incorporate it into their analyses of issues. Evaluate the importance of fulfilling personal responsibilities for themselves, society, and the environment. Demonstrate a willingness to work individually and collectively toward the resolution of environmental issues and to participate thoughtfully and effectively in environmental decision-making.