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Dec

31

Place-based Education: What makes Sunnyside special?

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by Becs Boydplanting+bulbs

On 16 November I made a return visit to Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland, Oregon, the K-8 (kindergarten to age 14) which I first visited back in May. This time my conversations with the principal, Sarah Taylor, and with teachers and pupils, focused on what makes the school special, and on how best to help other schools keen to start along the path of Place Based Education. Read more

Dec

27

“Meet a Tree” is Boring

Filed Under Blogs, Tony Deis | 2 Comments

MeetaTree

The Arboretum Trust

Do you know Meet a Tree? The exercise where you blindfold one kid and their buddy leads them to a tree. Then, after the blindfolded is removed, the child goes and finds their tree. Yawn.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen kids enjoy this. I believe they do get some value out of it. I also believe that many outdoor educators abuse this like they do all other stock and file-card activities. It’s something for kids to do. It’s in the nearly official Environmental Educator’s Game Guide.

I’m an animal tracker. I teach it to both kids and adults. I use all my facilities and gut instincts to follow bears, cougars and bobcats across epic landscapes. I deftly understand the reasoning behind sensory based curriculum. It’s great that these kinesthetic activities begin to receive more and more credibility in a world of water quality testing and DBH. Unfortunately any game or activity can also be a crutch for educators. Read more

Dec

24

The Heart of Sustainability

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Big Ideas from the field of Environmental Education and their Relationship to Sustainability Education — or — What’s love got to do with it?

By Donald J. Burgess and Tracy Johannessen

ForestGroveCS(large)

Introduction

A common raven suddenly begins to call from Cornwall Park. I rush to the front porch trying to see what the commotion is all about. Two adult ravens are flapping high over the green canopy, croaking vigorously. Like vigilant Block Watch captains protecting the integrity of a neighborhood, ravens exhibit exceptional observational prowess coupled with intense fidelity to family and place. I scan the forest with binoculars and notice three raven fledglings perched in a scraggly birch tree at the edge of the forest. Scanning higher, I finally detect a distant bald eagle circling over the urban park where the ravens have nested for a decade. Ravens recognize an opportunistic predator like a bald eagle as a “threat to the neighborhood” and they act decisively to protect their home. The raven’s objection is clearly articulated through their vocalizations and aerial antics and the bald eagle soon circles out of sight.

Why is it that when human observers experience an ecological threat and speak out in alarm (warning against drilling oil 5000 feet below the ocean surface or climate change) that our most heartfelt appeals remain ineffective? Is it an inability to understand the true threat to our children? If we truly perceived the ability of humanity to survive as linked to the ecological integrity of our surroundings, would the human response to these cries of alarm be different? What roles do love and caring play? Read more

Dec

22

Just Games

Filed Under Blogs, Outdoor education, Place-based Education, Tony Deis | Leave a Comment

Spear fishing invasive species is not a game

I’ve been teaching in outdoor education for nearly 18 years. I’ve also been a both a participant and facilitator in many workshops for teachers. There seems to be both a written and unwritten series of stock games and routines educators use to engage kids. Otter Steals Fish, Eagle Eye, Fox Walking and the list goes on and on.

They may make fantastic transitions and summations of experience, unfortunately this stale deck of cards often becomes the lazy crux of how teachers work with their students.

That’s the  topic for my  Trackers Kids blog.

Read the full blog at TrackersPDX.com>>

Dec

15

Kennedy High School: Turning stragglers into leaders

Filed Under Place-based Education, Programs, Resources, Service learning | Leave a Comment

Kennedy+cons+2010+0062

Exploring Place-based Education Programs in the Pacific Northwest

by Becs Boyd

A visit to Kennedy High School in Cottage Grove, Oregon on 18 November, turns out to be one of the most uplifting days I have spent in a school, perhaps ever.

Formally known as AL Kennedy Alternative High School, the school was founded in 1998 by a forestry teacher who wanted to help students aged 15 to 18 who were struggling in mainstream education. By 2008, when current principal Tom Horn took over, the school was sinking under an attendance rate sometimes as low as 23%, serious drug problems and alarming drop out rates. Now, little more than two years on, Tom’s vision, and the perceptive and caring approach to the students which shines through the principal and his team of committed and talented staff, have completely transformed the culture of the school. Attendance rates are around 90% and the drop out rate has fallen dramatically, while test results show an upward trend. The school serves a maximum of 75 students, but there are 190 further students waiting for a place. Read more

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