21 June 2012

WHAT'S GOOD IN MY HOOD?: An Urban Approach to Environmental Education



There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.
- Aldo Leopold.
WHAT'S GOOD IN MY HOOD?
The Industrial Revolution and urbanization has given us an amazingly complex and wonderful world. But all the wonders of technology have not come without a price. We have lost our connection to the land. Very few of us own farms anymore; none of us in North America hunt and gather our food in the wild. But we are still dependent on the land. The tragedy is that we do not see it; and, as a result, most of us are unaware of the tremendous impact we have on the Earth. Every time we turn on a faucet, take a shower, wash the dishes, drink a coke, take out the trash, turn up the heat or turn down the cooler, or open the refrigerator, most of us do so, oblivious to the impact we are making on the world around us. Nowhere is this disconnection more apparent than in our urban environments. Because of the lack of green spaces, the lack of natural things, many think environmental education in the city is irrelevant. But it's not. It is, in fact, more relevant. I would like to highlight a resource from a friend of mine; Akiima Price. Her "What's Good in My Hood?" curriculum is an urban-based environmental education program that gets kids in the city outdoors. It encourages students to look at the urban environment in new ways. To help them interpret the world around them and see the connections we have to environment. For more information click on the link above and learn how you can get a copy of "What's Good in My Hood?"
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My Philosophy of Teaching

My Philosophy of Teaching:

I just finished my masters in Curriculum and Instruction. I have a firm commitment to my continuing education and strong love of teaching. My greatest draw to education is the opportunity to work daily with students, particularly students for whom success has been elusive or who struggle in the academic setting. I strongly believe in preventative behavior management and, as a student teacher, I have turned the success of lower performing students around using differentiated instructional techniques including collaborative learning, project-based learning and service learning. I do not accept the notion that some students fit a profile of failure and should be side-tracked. I am committed to the success of each and every one of my students. I believe no student should be given up on. I love that none of my students are the same and I value their diversity, linguistic, behavioral, cognitive or otherwise. I do not accept the notion that a student's difference is, necessarily, a hindrance towards their learning and hold the onus upon myself to find ways to facilitate learning for all of my students. Finally, I am aware of the importance of collaboration between faculty and staff. Cross-content instruction is not only important for the student's cognition, but is also important for a teacher's professional development. I believe strongly that a teacher's classroom is a place of constant innovation and improvement, and the sharing of ideas between faculty and staff, as well as the close cross-content collaboration of teachers, is important in improving the overall success of teachers, and, by proxy, our students. We are all responsible for the success of every student in the school, not just those who are in our classroom.