Lights out at private Cedar Park school

CEDAR PARK - They’re just children, only four and five years old. Yet already, they carry the weight of the world on their backs. At The Goddard School of Cedar Park , a couple of dozen of them don little “recycled” vests, paper grocery store bags cut out so they can be worn and then decorated by the kids themselves. Then Sparkles, the City of Cedar Park environment mascot, waves his hand and the march is on. Down the long hall comes the parade of children, their eyes wide with wonder at the TV camera in their faces, their minds momentarily scrambled by the chaos of it all. They find their way to their small gym and plop down on the floor, exchanging high fives with Sparkles.

The school, part of a franchise chain of private schools numbering more than 325 campuses in thirty-seven states, is participating in the World Wildlife Fund “ Earth Hour ,” an annual event, scheduled this year for 8:30 PM Saturday, March 28th. The goal is to have 1 billion people around the globe turn off their lights for one hour. The idea is to pressure world leaders to adopt meaningful steps to counter global warming when they gather in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

Back in the gym, the grownups produce a large banner as a gift to the city of Cedar Park. It proclaims the school’s intention to “Step Up for the Environment” and it’s festooned with little “carbon” footprints, created by the children when they stepped in finger paint and then stood on the paper. It’s typical of the Goddard School philosophy that champions “learning through play.”

Nearby, stands a child-size model of an electric wall switch. Two children approach and school co-owner Butch Aggen sounds off, “One, two, three, off!” As if by magic, the lights in the room go off. The kids cast sideways glances of wonder and begin to clap and cheer. Some daylight drifts through windows, but something is noticeably different and it slowly sinks in. The applause fades away and most of the children return to their classrooms, leaving a few behind to chat about all this with the TV news crew.

There is some preliminary chit-chat about ages and birthdays. Then, as if someone opened a faucet, the words pour forth.

"We're saving the Earth," said one.

"That's part of what we're talking about at school right now," said another.

"If we throw trash down, the Earth is going to die," said a third.

"Wasting water is bad for the Earth," came the stern warning from another.

And finally, "Keep the Earth healthy by picking up litter and saving electricity and helping not waste water."

No cue cards, not grownup prompting. Just spontaneous heartfelt testimony. They are four and five year-old kids, carrying the weight of the world on their backs, with ease and grace.

Down the hall, teachers and children gather in a darkened room. They put “glow stick” necklaces around their necks and grab some flashlights. They crank up the music in the dark and dance with abandon.