The article I want to spotlight is called "Leave No Child Inside" You can find it at: http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/240/
"Within the space of a few decades, the way children understand and experience their neighborhoods and the natural world has changed radically. Even as children and teenagers become more aware of global threats to the environment, their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading. As one suburban fifth grader put it to me, in what has become the signature epigram of the children-and-nature movement: “I like to play indoors better ‘cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are.”
Think about it: we live in one of the most geographically remarkable and beautiful places on earth. We actually have the space still to get kids out into the bush, which is a luxury many people are losing. Shouldn't we be making the most of our opportunity?(And, if you want a real scare, look up how much time the average kid spends in voluntary outdoor play vs. the amount of screen- computer or tv- time they get.)
Orion- it's got some good stuff, so take a look around.
Posts
2 comments:
Thanks, Georgia, for that great post and link! I grew up at the foot of a mountain on the BC coast and spent every waking moment running around in the bush, building forts, declaring war on the neighbours, and improving my archery and slingshot skills. I knew my territory like the back of my hand and wished I could live in the forest forever.
Then the developers came. Our version of "pulling the stakes up" was digging holes which we somehow imagined the developer's diggers could fall into, and occasionally throwing rocks at dumptrucks. We even bargained with the developers to leave us one tree, which was our chief fort. Surprisingly, they agreed; but in spite of our other efforts, the beautiful plot of forest was denuded. Our trees were heaped up into enormous piles and burned, and we began to call the place the "Elephant's Graveyard", because it reminded us of those creepy scenes in the Lion King. My little brother went to go "play" there one day and ended up in the hospital after left-over hot ash poured into his shoe. Then the developer ran out of money, and the land is now overgrown with Scotch broom and blackberry bushes.
Why do I share this story? Not because I'm particularly against development, but because thinking about the way I grew up makes me question the validity of the SCHOOL. Think about it: we take a bunch of active, growing, curious, imaginative kids, and put them into a system that is almost programmed to inhibit their natural tendencies. "Stand up straight, sit still, don't fight, don't climb the tree, don't go explore the muck in that ditch..." Why do we think that we can take 20-30 unique kids, teach them all using the same methods (with some modification to our delivery in some cases), and expect them to thrive? I remember Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, before the Widow Douglas got a hold of them. Their "real" life happened outside of school, like mine did.
I wonder whether I'm not a great hypocrite, to be going into the teaching profession knowing full well that when I have children I'll probably homeschool them and let them run wild in the bush. I've had experience tutoring home-schooled kids and was blown away by their imagination, action, and level of academic achievement. Is it even possible to give our students the kind of childhood education they could thrive on, in a classroom setting with 20 other students and one over-burdened teacher?
The answer, increasingly, is no: diversify education and give choice, and education will improve. In another post I commented that I was excited about the new amount of power students have through the accessibility of on-line learning and school choice. But another part of me is worried that the new push towards computer-based learning translates into even more hours stuck in front of a screen.
As long as we are teachers, we are complicit in "the system". Within that context, we can try as much as possible to enable our students to learn in more natural ways. But there are limits to such instruction, limits which are insribed in the very role we assume as "responsible adult" rather than as playful co-learner. On-line learning certainly isn't a panacea and it may be a cop-out. There's a limit to how much I'll go along with public education. It may sound defeateist, but when my own childrens' education is at stake, I can see myself lighting out for the territories with Huck.
Thanks for such a great comment, Monica.
I especially agree with your part about investigating stuff in the muck. When did we get so paranoid about being sued by angry parents?
Remind me to ask you in class where you grew up (so you don't have to post it here if you don't like).
Post a Comment