At our February meetings we discussed two critiques of environmental education, plus an example of a lesson plan: Beyond Ecophobia, The Failure of Environmental Education (and how we can fix it), and How Watersheds Work. We were fortunate to have several experienced teachers and environmental educators attend book club this month, so we had very well-informed discussions!
In "Beyond Ecophobia", David Sobel argues that emphasizing dire environmental problems in environmental education causes children to disconnect from the natural world rather than connect to it. He also says that environmental education is sometimes plagued with "premature abstraction"--teaching too abstractly, too early. Both have the effect of causing "Ecophobia", a fear of ecological problems and the natural world. Sobel advocates an approach that lets children enjoy and explore nature, and that introduces concepts in accordance with developmental stages.
"The Failure of Environmental Education" by Daniel Blumstein and Charlie Saylan takes a very different approach. The authors start with the assumption that the purpose of environmental education is to get society to change its behavior and become sustainable. This has not been accomplished, they argue. The article recomends seven ways to improve environmental ed, including teaching critical thinking and testing to see if lessons have had an effect on behavior.
Sobel's article was well liked, and people agreed with his approach to environmental education. We discussed the value of teaching in an interactive, hands-on, age-appropriate way, and the harm of introducing huge environmental problems to young kids. We looked at the sample lesson plan, How Watersheds Work, and were amazed at how abstract this K-2 lesson plan was for such young children. We discussed how interactive nature play is sometimes challenging for teachers because of fears and liability--what if a child falls, what if they get a tick??? This turned into discussions of fearfulness in our society. Michael Moore's discussion of fear in the movie Bowling for Columbine was mentioned both nights (Moore was inspired by Barry Glassner's The Culture of Fear).
"The Failure of Environmental Education" provoked more debate. Is the purpose of environmental education to get kids to want to "save the environment" and make sustainable choices? Is it the role of the schools to teach morals? What about morals and ideals that not everyone agrees with, such as environmentalism? Some think it is inappropriate and some think it is essential and urgent. We all agreed with the authors on the importance of teaching critical thinking. We realized that there are several types of teaching that can all come under the umbrella of environmental education, including science, nature play and exploration, conservation and values and that different teachers and programs may emphasize different things.
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Next month we discuss The Swamp by Michael Grunwald, a book on the history of the Florida Everglades. If you've already picked up the book you'll know it's a fascinating read! See sidebar for schedule.
Happy Reading!
July Lewis
Thursday, February 19, 2009
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