Oakland – A teacher’s perspective
The following story was submitted by Sue Morgan, teacher at Glenview.
At Glenview Elementary in Oakland, California, teachers and students alike are very excited about the new photovoltaic array that has been in the process of installation since Spring Recess in April. We were fortunate to be one of 20 schools in California in 2005 that were awarded (thank you Karen Cohn) a 1kW photovoltaic (PV) array that will produce electricity on site.
As the Science Prep teacher, I have all the students from 1st – 5th for a 50 minute period once a week. During this coming year I look forward to teaching all of my students about the system and how it produces electricity AND reduces pollution at the same time. Depending on grade level and comprehension, students will be learning a great deal about how energy works, electricity, and what our system is doing at any given time…
This pole mounted array allows students and adults alike the ability to see the solar panels and components that make up the roof mounted systems around town. Most of those are fairly invisible and the pole mounted variety creates a way for students to observe the system up close and personal, gaining a feel for how it works. The system comes with an online monitoring program so that students can avail themselves of real time AC generating figures and compare those to other schools across the state, the nation and eventually the world.
How exciting to realize that we are producing our own clean/green electricty using the sun. It is so exciting to me on many levels as it affords the opportunity to teach about how solar can assist in increasing electricity production to PG&E at the same time that we are reducing greenhouse emissions (CO2) into the atmosphere. With the additional attention this year to global warming, high fuel prices, hybrid car mania, weaving those stories into the solar array on our campus will truly allow students to comprehend the necessity of clean energy. It is their future, that we are talking about, their water, air and land that needs to be clean. With the upper grades I will certainly be showing them parts, if not all, of “An Inconvenient Truth”, and seeing how they connect the dots between our installation and the documentary.
I went on a trip to the Arctic Refuge in June of this year and will also be teaching students about the wilderness that exists there and its importance to creating cleaner alternative fuel sources. The rhythms and systems that have flourished there for 10,000+ years should not be disturbed so that fuel unconscience folks get gain a few more drops of oil which easily spills and despoils land, water, air and homes for many animals, plants and humans in close proximity and millions more across the globe as it leaks into the ocean and travels far and wide.
Our students are at the forefront of a technology that is finally getting more attention and they will be able to explain to their parents and grandparents the benefits of solar energy not just from a book or a field trip, but because their school has a 1kW system that they experience everyday and can monitor its production at any time on any computer. How cool is that?!? They can compare amount of production along time continuums, ( the 10AM vs 2PM generation figures) or with other systems within the PG&E Solar Schools family. They will be in their own neighborhood, but be able to access a system just like theirs in another part of the country/state/world. Talk about a virtual field trip.
Personally, I had a solar electric system installed on my roof this summer and I am so enjoying seeing how much energy PG&E is buying from me at certain times of the day, and I look forward to seeing what my coming electric bill will look like. Hopefully my personal experience will allow some Glenview community members to gain more indepth information about the whys and where fors of solar electric and solar hot water and get first hand information, instead of just theories. I am also hoping to have students feel comfortable in bringing their electricity usage figures in and predict where we can reduce some of those numbers. I would like to get students involved with the Pledge and actually get families to commit to changing ALL possible light bulbs in their homes.
(Journal story submitted by Sue Morgan, teacher at Glenview.)