Conley-Wilson+Film+Entry+13+Kids+and+Chemicals

//Watch (Bill Moyer's) [|Kids and Chemicals] (50 minutes), list five points in the film that sparked your attention, then use the film to complete the long view chart on sustainability education. Paste the chart into your journal entry (last one!) -- filling it in by drawing from __all__ your journal entries. //

Word Count 591

Kids and Chemicals is a film about the effect of exposure of chemicals on children. Bill Moyer is the narrator of this film and states his personal concern for this issues as he has four grandchildren himself. This issue of chemical exposure many children face can have a correlation to illnesses common in the youth of America such as asthma and cancer. This film follows several communities across the United States, who are struggling with finding a balance between health (relating to both children and adults) and chemical usage (of the society). Lead contamination, community activism, studies on pregnant women and health of babies, and the impacts of prescription drugs on pregnancies and the children birth from these pregnancies are showcased in this film. I found many, if not all of these stories and studies interesting however 5 points sparked my interest.

Five points that sparked my attention include: A. In the community in Nevada suffering from children cancer clusters, they had a list of the toxins that were potential causes but they don’t know how it affected their community or how the cancer cluster was created. B. Out of all of the cleaning products only 10% thoroughly test for toxicity of thousands of chemicals that have health effects on children and only 44% of them have been tested at all. C. The research on the urban areas of the boroughs of New York City of environment of pregnant women and the development of the fetus and the effects that may have on the baby upon birth. I was unaware of New York City was once # 2 on the EPA’s list of cities with the highest amount of air toxins. D. Discovering that in a European country that expecting women were prescribed a drug given to prevent morning sickness was appalling to me because it just seems like such common knowledge today that pregnant woman cannot consume alcohol or drugs. The children that were produced from these pregnancies had birth defects in the limbs caused by taking these drugs. It was interesting that the studies following this epidemic that it depended not on the dosage of the drug but when during the pregnancy dictated the type of deformation. E. The fact that lead Paint has been the most heavily studied toxin however it still is being exposed to children in schools, homes, and other places children often are is shocking. It was shocking, but not too surprising that the Lead Industry tried to ruin a scientist by accusing him of fraud. The groundbreaking, factual work performed by Dr. Needleman proved that lead was danger to children was vital to the scientific evidence however even to this day little has been done for protection of children from lead poisoning.


 * Stakeholders in US Education || What should US K-12 education accomplish? || Forces shaping US K-12 education ||
 * Upper Level Administration (ie. Superintendent) || Have students graduate on time from 12th grade no matter what || State/Federal Regulation/Expected Numbers set for the schools, ie State Test, Low Dropout rate, etc ||
 * Place Based Educators || Cultivate learning/love for nature || Curriculum Requirements, access to outdoors during school time ||
 * Poor kids || Support students in ways that allows them to excel and ‘make it’ || Budgeting issues, lack of funding, shortage of ‘good teachers’ in the area ||
 * Children in any school or doctors who specialize in treating children with cancer || Not expose children to harmful chemicals || EPA & other government agencies appointed to create national environmental laws, where the school gets their products ||
 * Free School Advocates || Cultivate communication skills, give students a choice in how and what they learn || Structure of public education and federal/state regulations for learning/curriculums ||