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Vision
Legacy Environmental School Projects
Everyone recognizes the natural world is hurting and needs multiple interventions. Most acutely aware of these important issues are the young people who internalize these problems on a daily basis through the unrelenting media blasts everywhere they turn. School-age students know they are the ones who will most suffer the consequences and live with a lack of hope about their future. This is evident to many of us who work closely with them.
We at The Bay Institute have a vision. What if every school community in the US committed to carry out a legacy environmental project aimed at healing some aspect of their local environment? This project would be developed by the students and staff together and continue year after year. The school principal would build the project into the annual school plan, the parents would see this work as an important part of their child’s education and community resources would provide expertise and support. If every class did a small part, the project work would not take a lot of time. We have to open up our vision of what school is for and what it is about.
Many of us in STRAW are former educators and know it is possible to teach many disciplines more effectively with a science theme, particularly one that resonates with student’s interests. There is no more complex or exhilarating classroom than the natural world. So what about good scores you ask? When students feel they are adding value to the community outside the school, they grow in confidence, skillfulness and self worth. This attitude translates to every aspect of their lives including testing. When students are proud of their communal efforts and their school, they want to do well on tests and not just for themselves.
An important aspect of this approach is adults actually collaborating with students as equal partners. Everyone is a teacher and a learner. This means not underestimating what students can do. They can do many tasks usually given to adults with the proper instruction. This means allowing for failure and a chance to try again. This means asking for and taking student’s suggestions seriously. This place-based education approach builds student’s competence, risk-taking and leadership skills.
If you would like to see our version of place-based education in action, please click here for a trailer of the documentary, A Simple Question.
If you would like to get started, click here to see Start Your Own STRAW Project.
Let us know what you decide to do and if we can assist you. We welcome all fellow travelers in this movement.
