Place-Based Education

Restless, always on the move, few Americans, rural or urban, have developed the sense of connection to the land or their communities upon which an ethic of care and responsibility can develop.  Place-based or rooted education offers a means for changing this.  Children are losing their traditional play environment, which was always outdoors and in nature.  The play environment has been compromised due to population pressures, pollution, and the dangers of congestion   Place is nebulous to educators because to a great extent we are a displaced people for whom our immediate places are no longer sources of food, water, livelihood, energy, materials, friends, recreation or sacred inspiration.

Articles on Place-Based Learning

1. The Power of Place: A Grantmaker^s Perspective, Katherine S. McHugh, Program Director, Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust, March 2001 2.  All of a Place: Connecting Schools, Youth and Community, Jack Chin, Funders^ Forum on Environment and Education, June 2001 3. The Benefits of Place-Based Education, Jack Chin, Funders^ Forum on Environment and Education, 2001 4. Best of Both Worlds: A Critical Pedagogy of Place, David A. Gruenewald, 2003