The natural proximity of the Edgewood Park and the West River to Edgewood School creates an outdoor classroom for extended and comprehensive research and observations. Our students are the perfect explorers to ride the rivers, document the environment and present their results. Their perspectives will engage their peers, encouraging them to claim ownership, pride and responsibility for the park, its wildlife, vegetation and watersystems.
Wildlife and water systems in our urban area have been underused and under appreciated. This has an adverse effect on public access, habitat restoration and research. If the community members do not feel connected to the natural environment they will not feel responsible for it either. For this reason public outreach and education is the key to the success of our preservation and evolution of public areas such as Edgewood Park.
I believe students and educators must experience Edgewood Park on a minimum of three levels to achieve ownership:
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Esthetically:
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The production and creation of a schoolwide exhibit.
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Scientifically:
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The study of currents, erosion and land sculpting .
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Physically:
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Field exploration of Edgewood Park and the West River.
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Our 8th grade will begin a 10 week study posed with a single question: What is an honorable relationship with nature? (1) Their task will be to present an answer , in the form of an exhibit, that includes evidence of scientific and historical research as well as a basic knowledge of currents, erosion and land sculpting of the West River. Weekly readings and discussion sessions will be based on Lester Milbrath's, Learning to Think Environmentally: While There is Still Time. It is important that a balance between individual and group experiences be facilitated by the lead educator. These dialogs will be the scaffolding that supports and nourishes the ethical perspective of the individual projects.
The exhibits will represent the individual's perspective, learning styles and interest. Progress will be monitored by the educator and student through weekly meetings. This team will produce rubrics for exemplary work, striving to measure individual progress.
Students will establish working portfolios containing individual rubrics, in progress work and conference assessments. Each of these documents will hone skills in the following areas; goal setting, editing for publication and research. The exhibit will be opened to the public, with our 8th grade students acting as docents.
The exhibits will fall under four main categories:
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· Publications: children's literature, historical fiction, poetry or playwriting.
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· Film/Photography: a slide/photography presentation, or original film.
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· Two Dimensional Art: botanical drawing, painting or political cartooning.
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· Three Dimensional Art: sculpture.
Communicating historical, political, scientific and ethical perspectives in such a manner naturally creates literate individuals. Literacy is often associated solely with reading and written communication. Readings and writing are tools to achieve literacy, but true life long literacy depends upon the acquisition and application of historical, political, scientific and ethical concepts and experiences. Lev Semenovich Vygotsky's theory of social and cultural experiences is that all uniquely human, higher forms of mental activity are jointly constructed and transferred to children through dialogues with other people (2).
Educators, as well as students need to become comfortable with and gain an intrinsic understanding of a common core of political, historical, scientific and ethical language in order to carry on such dialogues. Therefore, it is imperative that we acknowledge the importance of language acquisition in these areas if we hope for our children to become literate adults. This interpretation of literacy is based on the vision that each individual has the right, in a democratic society, to guide their own destiny. Students regardless of gender, economics or race are entitled to and deserve such an educational environment.
As students identify the audience they wish to address, as well as the desired outcomes, they will be engaging in and leading import discussions as they answer the question:
What is an honorable relationship with nature?