Wachstumshormone

Jun

27

Oregon Launches Environmental Literacy Plan

Filed Under Environmental Literacy | Leave a Comment

envlitplancoverOn October 1, 2010, the state of Oregon completed its first environmental literacy plan for students in grades K through 12.  State legislation passed in 2009 and supported by the No Oregon Left Inside Coalition created the Oregon Environmental Literacy Task Force, chaired by Traci Price, which was charged with creating the Oregon Plan.  It is designed to ensure that students in Oregon are prepared to address environmental issues related to the challenges of climate change, energy, national security, and health risks.  Now, joining Nebraska and Maryland, Oregon strengthens its commitment as a leader in environmental and sustainable practices by applying environmental literacy in classrooms starting at a young age.  Not only will the Environmental Literacy Plan increase the connection between youth and the environment but environmental literacy helps develop knowledge and skills necessary to address complex environmental issues while contributing to students overall academic achievement.

Having an environmental literacy plan in place will position Oregon to be eligible for pending funds through federal No Child Left Inside legislation which is gaining ground daily.  As part of the Oregon Environmental Literacy Plan, the Task Force is charged with several tasks, including preparing students to understand and address the major environmental challenges facing Oregon and the United States; help establish programs that promote healthy lifestyles through outdoor recreation and sound nutrition; and create professional development opportunities for teachers to improve their knowledge of environmental issues and skills in teaching about environmental issues.

Jun

13

The “Creative Non-Fiction” Conundrum (and Opportunity)

Filed Under Children's Literature, Resources | Leave a Comment

blues3cover_small2by Glenn Hovemann, Editor
Dawn Publications

Let’s say you are in a library or bookstore and you want to find a book that will inspire a child to connect with nature in some way. Should you head for the fiction or non-fiction section? This may seem like an obvious, straightforward choice (paper or plastic? credit or debit?) so you head for non-fiction because—well, because you want something about nature.

But on the way to the non-fiction section you pause, remembering the attention span issue and how some plugged-in young ones seem prefer to be bedazzled, and how that last book of facts and photographs just didn’t quite catch on. So you turn toward the fiction shelves. But then you pause again. Wait! I really want to inspire a love of nature—an ethic of caring for the Earth, you say to yourself, not wanting to repeat some of the unenlightening fiction that you’ve read aloud recently.

What to do?

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Jun

7

The Social Studies of Spirituality

Filed Under Outdoor education, Perspectives, Spirituality | Leave a Comment

spiritualityBy Kasey Christian
IslandWood

(photo from silouanthompson.net)

Where are the boundaries between Social Studies, Science, and Spiritual beliefs? Where do these distinct practices intersect? How does a teacher model equal respect for each?

As professional educators, how do we teach about intrinsically interdisciplinary (and sensitive) topics such as the basic foundations of life and death?  Both alternative and popular cultures have explored the intimate intersection between natural sciences and spirituality since the earliest discoveries of humankind.  Through exploration of cultural customs and beliefs, a similarly fascinating intersection can be found between social studies and spirituality . As an outdoor educator in a formal, non-traditional setting, much of the curriculum I teach is based on the cultural history of the land.  As I respectfully acknowledge both the facts and beliefs of particular cultures, I am repeatedly challenged to articulate the similarities and differences between social studies, science, and spiritual beliefs.  In my desire to regard each subject area with equal respect and value, I am currently grappling with this dynamic, mysterious and sometimes perplexing crossroads between disciplines.

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