Inspiration from Kevin Honeycutt's lecture

What an animated and entertaining speaker. Too bad there was no video to accompany Kevin's lecture. He is fascinating and quite motivating. He'd make a great speaker for a Superintendent's conference day.


I was quite challenged to come up with a collaborative lesson, which is surprising as that is a bulk of what I do as a support teacher. Then it came to me, though it would be more suited for next year's Exhibition.

This year, two groups of students pursued the inquiry of reducing cafeteria waste. One group suggested recycling more, including the milk cartons, and switching to biodegradeable or reusable trays instead of foam. After last year's group's visit to the county's recycling center, the students knew that milk and juice cartons, cardboard packaging, and straw wrappers are recycleable and can/should be sorted for pick-up by our local waste management provider. This year, they learned that the RCSD recycles their milk cartons. The other group suggested beginning a composting area and composting uneaten food, or donating it to a pig farmer. They found a farmer locally who was interested in their idea. They researched what was involved in buying a compost bin, looked into grants for purchasing and operating it, and brainstormed where the composted soil might be used in our community.

Sadly, both groups were quickly dismissed by the director of Buildings and Grounds as well as our cafeteria manager with little regard to the students' data and suggestions. The reasons given by these "authorities" indicated to the children that there is a great deal of misinformation about recycling procedures and policies. They felt they were not taken seriously and were given excuses about costs or issues of pests, though the students thoroughly researched and compared the costs and had solutions to the problems that were brought up by these individuals. They also found out that our district does have a written recycling policy, that it is outdated, and that it is not followed. Our district staff as a whole, is misinformed about what and how to recycle and this leads to less efforts in recycling. Greater efforts with recycling means more money to spend elsewhere.

I think if a group of students could pick up on this next year where these two groups left off, they could be steered into researching and collaborating with other NYS schools that have met with success in this area or are interested in implement these changes. Such a partnership might increase their chances, especially as attention and focus are heightened using a more global and collective bank of resources and audience. They might create a forum to share resources, data, strategies, and be able to unite and problem-solve together.

This communication online involves creating a wiki or through real-time interviews using technology. Local colleges and many elementary schools across NYS and many other states, such as California, already have worked out these issues and can offer ideas. Kids could gather and post supporting data along with locating a greater and more appreciative grass-roots audience with whom to share findings and foster appropriate change.