Photo by Pat McEachen
I spent last Friday with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. I am still not tired of sharing the TRACKING TRASH story with young readers, and I am especially thrilled when a group of kids who don’t have any idea who I am or why I am in their classroom leave school thinking hard about ocean pollution and how to address it.
One student asked during my presentation why concerned scientists couldn’t simply use a plastic magnet to pull floating plastic debris out of the ocean. I told him it was a good idea, but someone needed to design an object that would attract plastic the way a magnet attracts metal. He was not entirely satisfied with this answer, and I watched him chew on it throughout the rest of my talk.
Later, at a luncheon for me and twenty-some student writers, we talked about writing and science and, of course, trash. (They brought it up, I swear; I do not force trash conversations over lunch!) Anyway, the boy with the magnet idea spoke up (I’m paraphrasing his thoughts here):
“I’m still thinking about the magnet. First, it’s not that I am obsessed with magnets. It’s just that I had a sliver under my thumbnail yesterday and was thinking how useful a splinter-attracting magnet would have been. And when I heard you talk about small plastic pieces floating in the ocean, I thought how useful a plastic-attracting magnet would be.”
I let him keep going, because this kid was GOING …
“So, I’ve been thinking. What if we put metal into plastic, so that it was easier to collect with a magnet?”
Okay, let go of the logistical limitations such an idea might have and just marvel at the fact that this young man is thinking hard about solutions to the ocean plastic problem. Could miniscule metal shavings be incorporated into plastic recipes? I have no idea. But if they could, a giant magnet being pulled through the ocean might someday be able to collect floating plastic debris in a way we humans are currently unable to collect it. This germ of an idea is brilliant, and I would not be surprised if its young creator figures a way around all the pesky logistics.
Thank you, Solomon Schechter Day School, for inspiring me. You are a thoughtful and intelligent bunch, and it was my pleasure to spend a day with you!