“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.”
– Jack Sparrow
Examples of Local Treasures:
Pirates and children have something in common. They are treasure hunters! You may find other common characteristics in a list that’s familiar to our teacher partners: Childhood and Nature Design Principles.
Truth be told, we are all in search of treasure. “What treasure?”, you ask. It can take many forms. Jack Sparrow had that one right! And it will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood (Note examples of local treasures depicted in this post). It’s up to you and your students to seek out treasure, developing skills and concepts in the process, being further enriched by it.
Recognizing that these treasures exist beyond the boundaries of the school, in the school neighborhood and surrounding region, Litzsinger Road Ecology Center is offering a new workshop this summer: Place-based Learning.
Workshop participants (who currently partner with LREC) will apply the principles and practices of Place-based Education and the Foxfire Approach to Teaching and Learning to design curriculum based on what is nearby, beyond the schoolyard; curriculum that supports your own learning standards. This workshop provides some tools and strategies for engaging with your community, a fundamental component of Effective Outdoor Learning.
For instance, note how a slight change to an essential question can take on a neighborhood focus:
- “What is democracy?” becomes “How does our city council make decisions?”
- “What is history?” becomes “Who are the history-makers in this place?”
- “What is art?” becomes “How do people around here express themselves?”
(Examples from Amy Demarest’s book, Place-based Curriculum Design: Exceeding Standards Through Local Investigations.)
In seeking out answers to such questions, we awaken the universal desire to really know a place, especially if it is our home place, our own neighborhood. Such schoolwork might even be inspiring!
We have a limited number of workshop openings for Litzsinger Teacher Partners. Register at this link: Place-based Learning. Don’t dawdle! As Jack Sparrow also said, “If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it.”
Questions? Call or email your LREC staff contact.