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Kyle's Earth Day Lesson
by Lori Dake, 2002
Kyle's Earth Day Lesson, by Lori Dake, 2002
Kyle is a little boy who lives in a big city. He lives in big apartment building with 12 other families, and every family is very different, but they all get along. Kyle has a mom and a dad and a big orange cat named Sneaky. Like every other family in the big apartment building, Kyle's family is different, too.As Kyle sat at the table eating his breakfast, he looked out the window to watch two squirrels play. He thought they were so funny the way they raced back and forth across the telephone poles. "I bet they're just happy that it's such a nice day," Kyle thought to himself. Back and forth the squirrels ran - some so daring that it reminded him of the acrobats he saw on television. "How much fun it must be to be a squirrel," Kyle thought to himself again as he continued to eat his breakfast.
Kyle finished eating, rinsed out his dishes in the sink and grabbed his backpack. He threw it over his shoulder and kissed his mom good-bye. Kyle walked out the door and headed down the stairs. As he was walking towards his bus stop, Kyle saw his good friend Alejandro. "Hiya, Alejandro!" Kyle said as he approached him, but Alejandro seemed too busy to notice. Alejandro was crouched on the sidewalk, but Kyle couldn't figure out what his friend was doing.
"Ummm," Kyle said, "what's up?". Kyle then kneeled down next to his friend and waved his hand over his face. Alejandro looked up and said, "Check this out!" Kyle looked and saw a blob of messy green plastic. Kyle was very confused. "What is that stuff?" Alejandro made a funny smile, and Kyle knew his friend was going to get into trouble.
As Kyle peered closer, he realized the green mess had partly melted army men. Alejandro then showed his friend a magnifying glass he got from his older brother. "Jorge said you can melt and burn stuff with this, "Alejandro said, "but I didn't believe him." Alejandro looked at his creation. "Now I do!" Kyle shook his head, because he knew making messes like that was wrong. Kyle's parents always said that anything he did needed to be cleaned up when he was finished, and Kyle couldn't figure out how to clean up this mess!
Kyle looked up and heard a familiar sound - the school bus! Alejandro suddenly became worried, so he stood in front of the melted plastic in hopes no one would notice. The bus pulled up and opened the door. Kyle hopped on, and Alejandro boarded as well, though much more slowly. "Good morning, Mrs. Campbell," Kyle said to the bus driver, who smiled and replied, "Good morning Kyle." Alejandro followed his friend and sat next to him. Normally Alejandro said good morning to his bus driver as well, but today he just hoped she would drive off and not notice the mess he had made.
Mrs. Campbell thought Alejandro was behaving oddly. She pulled the latch to close the door when she noticed the big green blob outside, right where the two boys were standing. Mrs. Campbell glared at them, but didn't say anything. The bus statred up and the children on the bus were on their way to school.
When Kyle and Alejandro arrived at school, they realized there was still plenty of time to play before the bell rang. It was such a bright sunny day, so the boys were very happy to have the chance to enjoy the weather.
Alejandro set down his backpack and reached inside. He pulled out the magnifying glass and a few army men out of his pocket. Kyle looked at his friend and shook his head again. Alejandro crouched down and stood one of his men up. He started holding the magnifying glass over it, redirecting the sunlight onto the toy. "This takes a couple minutes to get going," Alejandro said to Kyle. "But once it does, it just keeps getting hotter!"
Kyle kneeled down and watched. Within a couple minutes, the plastic man began to smoke. After a couple more minutes, the man's face started to become distored. Kyle was actually quite impressed, because it reminded him of how his mom's candles melted.
Suddenly, a large shadow cast over Kyle and Alejandro's project. Alejandro looked up to see who or what was interrupting his fun! Kyle suddenly fel a sense of dread when he realized where the shadow was coming from. "Errrr, Mr. Collins!" Alejandro said. "I wasn't doing anything!" Kyle added. The boys' teacher had a very stern look on his face. "I think you boys need to come with me," he said. Kyle and his friend slowly stood up and grabbed their backpacks.
They followed Mr. Collins into the school. They followed him up the first flight of stairs. Then the boys followed their teacher up a second flight of stairs. They were both confused, because they both knew the higher floors were for the bigger kids. They then climbed up to the third floor! "Where is he taking us," Kyle thought to himself.
Mr. Collins led the boys down the hall and into one of the classrooms. "Why don't you two take a seat in the back there," Mr. Collins said as he gestured to a table in the back row. Kyle and Alejandro didn't say anything as they sat down and rested their back packs. Mr. Collins stepped out, and soon, they were alone... or so it seemed.
One by one, some of the big kids started walking into the room. Kyle and Alejandro felt very wierd, because the big kids were looking at them funny. Then, an older woman walked in and clapped her hands. Everyone faced forward and began opening their notebooks.
"Good morning class," the older woman said. "Today, we have a couple of our younger students among us, who will be sharing in our discussion." The older woman walked towards Kyle and his friend and smiled warmly at them. "What are your names?" she said to the boys. "I'm Kyle," he said shyly. "And I'm Alejandro," his friend replied as he looked at his shoes. "Well I'm Mrs. Stark," she replied to the boys and smiled at them. "Please face forward and pay attention." Kyle and Alejandro looked up and did as they were told.
Mrs. Stark returned to the front of the room and began to open all of the blinds. Many of the big kids squinted as the sunlight poured into the room. Mrs. Stark looked at the boys and smiled at them. "Alejandro," she said, "why don't you explain to the class what you were doing to the sunlight this morning." Alejandro swallowed hard, looked at his feet and cleared his throat. "I was melting stuff," he said. Mrs. Stark smiled brightly as the big kids began to giggle. "Well, Alejandro," she said, "it's nice you've discovered how to harness a natural, clean and renewable source of energy, but perhaps it could have been put to better use?" Alejandro sighed and returned to looking at his feet.
Kyle watched intently as Mrs. Stark continued. "Kyle," she said as she pointed at him. Kyle felt like he had just been jolted from a deep sleep. "Yes?" she replied. "Can you name me another renewable source of energy?" Kyle thought about things his parents discuss. "Corn?" he replied. With that, the classroom was filled with roaring laughter. "Oh pu-lease!" one of the big kids said as she rolled her eyes. A big kid sitting in front of Kyle turned around to face him. "Okay corn boy," he said smugly and faced the front again. Kyle felt his cheeks begin to glow a bright red as he sank deeper and deeper in his chair.
Mrs. Stark clapped her hands again to quiet everyone down. "Is he right?" she asked the class. Her reply was a resounding "No!" One of the big kids sitting up front blurted, "Corn is a vegetable, not a source of energy!" Mrs. Stark then addressed the class again. "Actually," she began, "corn is both something you and your family's car can use for fuel." Instantly, the class quieted in disbelief. "Ethanol can be extracted from corn to produce fuel, which many states have begun to use." Kyle looked up and raised his hand. He realized his parens were correct so he decided to try again.
Mrs. Stark called on Kyle again. Kyle stated that air, fire, earth and water can all be used as renewable sources of energy. Mrs. Stark thought a second and then agreed with him. "Windmills have been around for centuries," she replied, "and fire has been around since the beginning of man." She then went on to educate the class on how dams are used to create energy. "The city of Las Vegas, with its unending use of electricity, is powered by the Hoover Dam. And the first trains were powered by steam, which required the use of burning wood and coal to make it run." Mrs. Stark then smiled at Kyle again. "So yes Kyle, you are correct."
Kyle smiled ear to ear, and the big kids became impressed with the little boy's knowledge. Alejandro was impressed, too! Mrs. Stark then continued with her lesson. "With Earth Day being tomorrow, perhaps we should discuss other ways of gaining energy." She then pulled up a map which was hiding a symbol of three arrows truning in a clockwise motion, or deosil, as Kyle's family called it. "Have any of you seen this symbol before?" Mrs. Stark asked the class. Many of the big kids raised their hand, but some didn't. "It means recycling - using what we already have available again and again." She then went into explaining different methods of recycling, such as cleaning paper, melting down aluminum, and washing bottles.
Mrs. Stark also pointed out the importance of conservation. "Some things we use can never be replaced. Does anyone know what a big one is?" The class thought hard, and a few hands were raised. Mrs. Stark again called on Kyle. "Kyle," she said, "what do you think?" Kyle smiled and replied "Gasoline". Mrs. Stark once again smiled at her student for the day. "Very good," she replied, and then went into explaining what fossil fuels are, and why Kyle said they canot be replaced." Mrs. Stark then began discussing how people have already begun to use renewable sources of energy instead of fossil fuels, in order to conserve what is left.
Mrs. Stark also touched on pollution and air quality. "Did you know that trees are our friends?" she said to the class. Most of the big kids laughed, but Kyle nodded in agreement. "Trees make oxygen for us to breathe, they provide us with wood to make lots of things, some provide food for us to eat, and they all help keep the Earth cool with shade." Kyle smiled because he already knew this. "But do you know how long it takes for a tree to grow?" Some of the big kids raised their hands, but Mrs. Stark didn't call on anyone. Intead, she began to pass out sheets for everyone to study. On it was all sorts of information on trees. "I want you to study this, as there will be a quiz tomorrow."
With that, the bell rang, and the big kids all began to hurry off to their next class. Kyle and Alejandro remain seated, because they didn't know what they were suppost to do. Mrs. Stark walked to the back where the boys were sitting. "Thank you for being a part of my class today," she said. "You may return to your class now."
Kyle and Alejandro picked up their books and went down to the first floor and into their own room. Mr. Collins gestured to the boys to take their seats. "Alejandro," Mr. Collins said, "please tell the class where you and Kyle were." Alejandro began to talk about all of the things Mrs. Stark had taught him, and his class hung on every word. Kyle was happy not to be the center of attention this time, so he sat quietly and listened to his friend speak.
Later that day when Kyle was home, he began telling his mom and dad everything that happened at school. He then asked his parents what they could do for Earth Day. They all came up with a great idea, and gathered everything they would need.
The next day after school, Kyle came home and immediately began to help his mom and dad with their Earth Day project. They grabbed the rake, the shovel and the hoe. Kyle's mom grabbed a bag of grass seed, and his dad took a box of trash bags. They walked dow the street to the ugly, abandoned lot that everyone hated. They began to clean up all of the broken glass and crumpled paper. Kyle's dad then rotated the soil and pulled out all of the rocks and weeds. Kyle's mom then sprinkled grass seed everywhere.
Soon, the ugly lot just looked like a bunch of dirt - now very pretty, but a big improvement. Some of the neighbors saw what Kyle's family was up to, and started helping out. An eldery woman from next door brought down some of her potted flowers to plant. A man next door dragged out his hose to water the seeds. Another man two doors down came over with a hammer, nails and some paint to repair the old fence.
Kyle was so happy to see other people join in his project! By the end of the week, a gazeebo and a bench were built, and a section was dedicated to a flowering garden. Kyle couldn't wait to see the new lot in summer!
As he looked on, a butterfly rested on his shoulder. Kyle smiled as he looked at it gently open and close its wings. Kyle smiled and felt the Gods looking down on his good deed, and thought the butterfly was their messenger. He knew the lot was going to last for many years, because he believed the neighborhood, as well as himself, had learned how to care for the Earth, even in the smallest of ways.