The Green FACS Classroom
Check out all of the great green resources available from Fresh FACS.
"The Quality of life depends upon the ability of society to teach its members how to live in harmony with their environment–defined first as family, then the community, then the world and its resources."
Ellen S. Richards
The word ecology was introduced in the US in 1892 by Ellen Swallow Richards, the founder of Home Economics. Ms. Richards devoted her remarkable life and career to applying scientific principles to everyday life in American homes. Green living is historically and practically an integral part of the FACS curriculum.
Why make green living a component of the FACS curriculum?
- As a society, we must change our over-consumptive habits and the best place to affect that change is through the next generation–our students.
- Many of the responsible changes that we as individuals can make involve personal choices and actions. The products we choose to buy, the cars we drive, the homes we live in and the food we eat and how we prepare it have global impact.
- The climate crisis could potentially produce catastrophic consequences that will impact our future and the future of the students we teach.
Implement these simple steps to make your classroom an example of green living principles in action:
- Turn the lights out anytime the classroom is not in use.
- Power down computers when not in use.
- Set up a recycling area in your classroom.
- Use non-toxic cleaners and laundry products.
- Write a green living section for your school newsletter or web page.
- Set the refrigerator in your foods lab to the economy setting.
- Keep a plant on your desk to combat indoor air pollution.
- Use dishcloths and clean rags in place of paper towels when possible.
- Encourage students to switch off the oven a couple of minutes early and allow food to cook by residual heat.
- Teach students not to waste water and other consumable resources.
- Print on both sides of the paper.
- Encourage students to cover saucepans when cooking on top of stove to contain heat and speed up the cooking process.
- Encourage students not to peek at food cooking in the oven. Every peek causes a 25 to 50 degree drop in temperature.
- When cooking on the stove top, match the size of the pan to the size of the burner to increase efficiency