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Raise Successful Children; Raise Children That Will Protect Our World
Literature Review of The Geography of Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places. Written by Gary Paul nabhan and Stephen Trimble
Ask the next 10 children you come in contact with where their favorite place is.
– I would be utterly shocked if they didn’t describe a fictional place, or a real place that they have yet to see. If you live in an area like I do (in a city or its suburbs) at least, 9 out of 10 times children will describe a place that they have seen on TV, or learned about it books. I took on this challenge on myself. While volunteering at Chamberlin Elementary School in South Burlington Vermont I asked 10 children grades 2-5 where their favorite place was and 9 of them described a place in which they had never been or did not exist. The one that did described a place she vacations every year. This is only one example of the disconnect from nature that this generation of children are experiencing. Children are increasingly depending on media as a source of environmental education and therefore are missing out on the true understanding on natural processes.
Ask the next 10 children about the land they live on
– They are not going to describe the history behind the land, the wet areas of the land, or the plant species that could be found of the land .The age of storytelling is disappearing. Information about ones land is not being passed down from generation to generation. Kids are not exploring and therefore not learning about their land. “This diminished hands-on involvement with nature is strongly correlated with diminished sensory and intellectual engagement with their biological environment (91). The way children learn about their environment is from exploring it, and using it as a resource for play or a resource to survive. The authors describe a scene where children under the age of 12 could tell you what trees on their property produced ‘the good smoke’ when burned. They learned that from experience. You don’t retain information about land when taught it in school. It becomes part of you when you hear stories from family members, then personally work with the land.
Ask the next 10 children where they like to play
– They will say that they like to play outside. They enjoy being able to use nature to make up stories in their heads—let their imagination go wild. Children use the wilderness for comfort, creating forts in which can see others, but people passing cannot see them cannot see them. These forts act as a home base for them while exploring, always returning back there for a sense of where they are. Kids play by collecting the physical attributes of nature. Whether it is frogs or dandelions, we could all give an example of a living species we collected as a child. “In a word, ‘playfulness’ may be the essence of wilderness experience (12).” A child learning through nature isn’t considered learning—its considered play with a hidden message of knowledge.
Checklist of what Children Need Where to find it- Nature
☐ Intimate places
☐ Places to tunnel, climb, fall
☐ Place to play
☐ Empowerment
☐ Place to express themselves- Wild Settings preferred
☐ Connection to their home
☐ mental maps on area they live
☐ Special places
☐ Bonding with live others
☐ Emotional security
☐ Sense of trust
☐ Freedom from fear
☐ Sense of worth
☐ Learn what to fear and what not to fear
☐ Place of refuge
☐ To learn tolerance
☐ Installation of a sense of wonder
☐ Understand where home is
☐ Instilled passion to develop a capacity to absorb details
☐ to develop a capacity to absorb details
☐ A place to be themselves—to use their imagination
☐ learning patience
☐ Self-esteem
☐ Physical and social survival skills
☐ Understanding of the world
Gary Paul Nabhan and Stephen Trimble conclude that for the previous to develop or occur in children they must be allowed to explore and learn in natural settings. Spending time in nature allows for children to learn about themselves and the world around them. Children are robbed of proper development if they are excluded from time in wild places. The Geography of Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places consists of multiple stories that when pieced together explain why it is necessary for children to grow up in natural areas as they learn and develop. These stories also include the sad truth of the disappearing connection of children to the land. In young years of life socialization is occurring that will stay with individuals until their time of death. At this young age they are vessels that are waiting to absorb information that is fed to them through their surroundings. By taking away immersion in nature we are taking away the one tool that is necessary for children to learn—“ In order for a child to understand something he must construct it for himself, he must reinvent it…if in the future individuals are to be formed who are capable of creativity and not simple repetition (27).” The authors feel we are living in an era that could be defined as an extinction of experience. We are losing direct contact between children and wildlife that is leading to a state where affection does not develop and skills and stories of the past are being lost. Children are being taught through books instead of immersion in nature. Our children are learning to be scared of the world, as humans increasingly can’t cope with environmental situations. We are taught that a girls place is not out in nature as social issues are developing. Children are being neglected, their needs not met and brains not given the best situations in which they can develop. They are losing the grounding that allows for stable emotional development, “By foraging connections with plants, animals, and land, by finding ways to experience some relationship to the earth, individuals can gain a sense of worth (22).”Children’s right to express themselves is being taken away with every move away from the land. We need to increase children’s connection with the land to prepare the next generation of adults for a successful future. Raising children that have contact with nature leads to awareness and appreciation of nature, and future stewardship of the natural world human lives are intertwined into.
-Larissa
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Changing Way of Life for Americans
I never visited a fitness center or gym until the summer after my senior year of high school. I played sports my whole life and before that, well, I played outside. While at the gym around Christmas time I was running on the indoor track when a child elementary age was running on the track next to me. I was shocked to see such a young child running at a gym. I then looked around the rest of the gym and saw a young boy on an elliptical machine. They both appeared to be overweight and I felt happy for them but sad at the same time. I was happy that they were trying to do what was best for them by getting exercise, but sad that they had to turn for an indoor gym for this. When I was their age I received all my exercise through jumping into my snow gear and chasing my brother with snowballs. I realized that we are in a changing time—I was part of this, but I don’t feel as affected by it—that is becoming increasingly more obese as our time outside is decreasing. As I have been observing the world around me, I keep coming back to this one incident in which these young kids were at the gym. I might add, They were working out for exercise not for fun or for camp. They didn’t look like they were enjoying it…who enjoys running on an indoor track?
When I read an article that pieced together multiple studies performed over many countries, the effects of the disconnect occurring between children and nature brought my mind back to the two kids I saw at the gym that day in December. Children today are not meeting current nutrition and exercise recommendations. Childhood obesity has been increasing and cardiorespiratory fitness has been decreasing. Many infants, children and adolescents today are vitamin D deficient and at risk for rickets and many chronic diseases (Huh, Gordon 2008). Not only are children effected physically from this lack of time in nature, they are effected socially and psychologically. Children are becoming stressed or even depressed earlier and earlier in life. They are not recovering from trauma as quickly and not reaching optimal psychological functioning. The list can go on and on as to why it is necessary for children to have exposure to natural environments in order to be healthy functioning individuals in the present, as well as future. Part of this list is what brought those two kids to the gym for an area to workout.
These issues are due to a changing lifestyle for many around the world. With the largest portion of people now living in cities, there are fewer areas where kids can play near their house. Historically, children play with their neighborhood on the land near the houses. This is becoming less possible for the majority of children. Many people don’t own any land, or even yards for children to play in. Even when there is available space for play, parents don’t feel safe letting their children restrictively play outside in many areas. Children are not walking to school, an activity that allowed them to meet friends, learn about their neighborhood, and start their day with physical activity. Divorce rates are increasing, the number of women entering the workforce is increasing, and families are moving further away from other relatives. This is leaving fewer opportunities for children to be taken into nature with family members. Children spend less time at home, therefore less opportunity to play outside.
Life at home isn’t the only thing causing the decrease in time outside. While time at home isn’t spend outside, time outside in schools is decreasing as well. Recess is becoming increasingly short and the area to play in is shrinking. Open fields where kids used to play are being replaced with turf grass, and concrete. This lifestyle needs an intervention. I think we should turn to schools to change this because it is the only place where time and resources would allow for all children to be able to enjoy fresh air and all the positives nature provides. When placed outside to play, they will get the exercise they need to be healthy. Kids need to learn more about the work around them, and less about pokemon. With children’s lives at such risk, why are we doing nothing to address this issue?
Articles compilied at
http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CECCNNWorldwideResearch.pdf
Archives of Disease in Childhood, 95(1), 46-47. This study may be available in a library near you or can be purchased online through the publisher at: http://adc.bmj.com/content/95/1/46
Balmford, A., Clegg, L., Coulson, T., & Taylor, J. Why Conservationists Should Heed Pokémon. Science, 295(5564), 2367-2367, 2002. This study is available online at: http://bioteach.ubc.ca/TeachingResources/GeneralScience/Poke monWildlife.pdf
Gleave, J. (2010). Making it our place: Community views on children’s play. Play England. http://www.playday.org.uk/playday_campaigns/2010_theme.aspxHuh, S. Y., & Gordon, C. M. (2008). Vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents: Epidemiology, impact and treatment. Reviews in Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders, 9(2), 161- 170. This study is available online at: http://www.vitaminedelft.org/files/art/huh2008.pdf
Sandercock, G., Voss, C., McConnell, D., & Rayner, P. (2010). Ten year secular declines in the cardiorespiratory fitness of affluent English children are largely independent of changes in body mass index. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 95(1), 46-47. This study may be available in a library near you or can be purchased online through the publisher at: http://adc.bmj.com/content/95/1/46
– Larissa
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Interview with Joan Haley
Park Education Coordinator
Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historic Park
How do you programs with elementary grade student’s work?
– As an Education Coordinator I have lists and lists of lesson plans for each grade level. Sometimes these lesson plans are used, but our goal is to work with teachers and allow them to define what lesson plans they want for their students. All classrooms are unique, and all teachers have different ways they want to portray information. They know the students best, and know their curriculum. When we partner with teacher and attempt to integrate this outdoor learning with their curriculum. We, those working for the park, know the resources in the area, and tools we have for kids and feel our job is to give the teachers all the tools they need to be successful when using the park. We want to show the teachers the opportunities for their needs then allow them to develop the lessons. In our eyes, this helps both the teachers and the students feel comfortable.
Can you give a few examples of the type of activities the children do while at the park during school?
– There are many themes that stay consistent through the visits. As a natural park, our main theme is conservation. That is very broad, but it has to be when serving many different types of students. We want students to learn about stewardship—and this looks very different if a group of first graders were to come in versus fifth. Graders. We had a group of fifth graders come in and the teacher really wanted to focus on habitat. We sectioned off an area of a forest and looked had different lesson plans in that section every time they visited. One example was a treasure hunt looking for different things in the forest. We had them bring around a camera and take pictures of what they found. This was in hopes to improve their observational skills. With this same group, we had them looking at what’s living inside the pond. They had to infer from what they saw on the exterior to make predictions about the composition of the pond. Whether kids are learning about migratory birds or forest landscapes, our programs have a focus on art. Art plays a big role in stewardship and we feel it is important to convey this to the children and allow them to express what they are learning through art.
Based off what you have said already, do students usually come for more than one visit throughout the school year?
– We strongly encourage it. We think this has more of an effect on the students and teachers say that the students get more excited about the visit the second or third time. I will give another example, from sixth grade. All the teachers in the district bring the students every year. They come for four days in the fall in which they get to study a new topic everyday. The teachers stay at the area they want to specialize in then pass the kids around. Doing something different everyday on the same piece of land portrays the many different uses of land. The students really get to see the patterns in nature. While one day they are studying astronomy, the next day they are looking through microscopes at dirt they collected. This gives them an understanding of scale and how we can study units smaller or later than humans. This same group of sixth graders then visits in the spring and gets to choose their favorite topic from the fall to look at again.
What is the cost of this program/ what are the obstacles to teachers participating in these programs.
– These programs are free through the park. This allows us to get visits from very diverse schools, some private, others public. However, we don’t cover transportation. This is an obstacle for many teachers. They might only get funding for one field trip per year, in which they will not be able to return many times to the park. I think the biggest obstacle is the amount of work this type of program takes for the teachers. They have to put in a good amount of time up-front trying to plan the lesson plans. Schools are not run with an administrator breathing down your back to get the children outside. They are however repeatedly told about what the students need to pass. They are told things a to z, none of which are to get the kids get outside to learn. This can be overwhelming for most teachers already and even if they know the importance of experiential education, some just don’t have time for it.
What do you see in the importance of this form of education?
– There is much research that suggests that the more students are engaged in what they are doing, the more they learn. Students do well outside the classroom. They gain passions that you can’t find when staring at a whiteboard. I also think the positives of this type of education boil down to learning styles. Some kids aren’t meant for the classroom. I hear over and over again from teacher ‘this did never did this before.’ Kids that don’t shine in the classroom, shine when outside. It is a different type of intelligences that is missed in the classroom. I also think they grow to love the world they are growing up in when they are out here. Students drag there parents back to the park after they leave these kinds of programs. They are proud of their knowledge. They leave with a greater understanding of the world around them.
Anything else to add?
– Although we have talked a great deal about when the students come to the park, I think our teacher training programs are just as important. We have educator workshops available, mostly in the summer, where we help teachers learn about community based education. We try to give them the tools necessary in which they can get kids out of the classroom. Children need an extension for in class work, and they need help. We see teachers regaining the passion they have for their jobs throughout these programs. I think as a park it is our responsibility to help support the teacher. To bring a famous quote into this ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ Teachers need support. These types of programs are at an initial cost of time and effort for the teachers, but I they are willing to work, we need to help. They have a lot on their plates, and need support.
-Larissa