ASSIGNMENT

Offer a brief personal response to the Orion books. It could include something of your own experience with the natural world that was recalled in the reading, or something of your experience with students around these ideas. Take it where you wish.

Response

Reading David Sobel’s books brought many feelings, ideas and concepts to mind. I was reminded of the days when I went away for 2 months every year to camp. My parents would take me to the edge of the city, where I boarded a bus and off I went. I spent 2 months in glorious New Hampshire, where I had the opportunity to play in a lake, hike on a trail, get bitten by mosquitoes (bug spray was optional not required) and basically have a great time and connect with nature. Reading his stories provoked sadness in me, sadness that my own son probably wouldn’t have the same camp experience. While writing this paper I looked at some camps online and I saw descriptive words like “structured, on-line, WIFI, comfortable living, state-of-the-art and academics” I didn’t see the same earthy like environment that I had gone to.
One idea that was also brought to mind was the concepts of Green Schools Initiative. Green schools are also called high-performance schools. They are healthy and productive learning environments which are cost-effective facilities that conserve energy and use renewable resources. According to the studies, these schools are energy efficient, are more cost-effective in the long run than traditional buildings, are better for the environment and provide better learning spaces for children. For more information go to: http://www.mtpc.org/RenewableEnergy/green_schools.htm
I was very interested in his discussion about how children at the Harris Center for Conservation Education don’t just study random units on perhaps prehistoric animals, or endangered species, but rather their entire 12 years of education is spent with units that are scaffold by other units to develop an appreciation, understanding and love for the world we live in. This scaffolding builds a deeper understanding and ultimately a deeper bond with the natural world.