Undergraduates majoring in Childhood Education (Grades 1 to 6) must select a 30 to 32 credit academic specialty from the Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum. Such study complements the Childhood Education courses and provides you with specialized knowledge in one particular discipline. This adds depth and breath to your level of teaching expertise. As a teacher, you can transmit your enthusiasm for the focused subject to young learners, helping them to grow intellectually and socially. You may select Earth System Science from among the Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum. Earth System Science Concentration - In this program you will examine the interrelations of the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water, including oceans), lithosphere (solid earth), and biosphere (life), recognizing the influence of human beings as agents of change. Through required courses in geology and geography as well as earth and environmental science you will gain a scientific understanding of how the earth and its components function. You will discuss how humanity can limit harm to, as well as enhance, the physical realms on which we depend. The broad choice of electives, including ''Natural Disasters,'' ''Plate Tectonics,'' and ''Applied Conservation,'' will open all sorts of possibilities in exploring and analyzing our world and people as modifiers of their environments. With this grounding, you should be prepared to introduce students in the early grades to the basic principles of understanding and caring for our home planet. Students take 30 credits in Earth System Science to satisfy the liberal arts and sciences requirements for the B.S. in Childhood Education degree program.