Energy future depends on educating children today

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension and rural electric cooperatives have teamed up for “Energy in Today’s Classroom,” a two-day workshop at MU to “teach the teachers” about energy production, sources, economics and efficiency.

Sarah Gurney, a science teacher at Willard Middle School near Springfield, plans to take a lot of information back to her students.

“Thinking about going forward in their lives and all of the people that we are going to have to accommodate as time goes on, it is really important to teach them about energy efficiency and the ways we can be more efficient,” Gurney says.

Science teacher Amanda Jackson agrees. “They are going to be our future, they are the ones that will be developing new ideas,” says Jackson, who teaches at Bevier Middle School in Macon County. “It is great learning how it all works so I can provide them a framework so they can start developing their own ideas, which is what will keep our energy rolling.”

During the workshop, teachers were urged to contact their local MU Extension centers for the resources available, which both Gurney and Jackson plan to take advantage of.

“Any time you can, bring in outside resources and community members to come in and work with the kids,” Gurney says. “They can give them real-life examples and help them apply things to their everyday lives.”

“Energy in Today’s Classroom” is in its third year. More than 60 science and vocational-agriculture teachers took home the curriculum, hands-on experiments and lots of ideas. Gurney plans to work with her students on magnetism and electricity, while Jackson wants to focus on wind and water.

“We don’t have nuclear fission plants accessible to us in the classroom, but wind and water we do” Jackson says. “Those both produce a lot of electricity, so I’m hoping to come up with an idea to let them create their own electricity with those things so they have that experience to take with them.”

For more information about “Energy in Today’s Classroom,” contact Brian Robertson, extension associate and instructor in agricultural systems management, at 573-882-3915.