So how can our children's schools bring nature into the classroom? How can we bring school back to nature?
First we need to create the listening inside the classroom on the topic of conservation, and before you can do that we have to create a relationship between the current state of the environment and explain to children where it all began.... History? Anyone Anyone?
I'm not talking about the story of creation or suggesting any religious story. I am suggesting that teachers and educators create a "context" for children within which this conversation will reside. There is in fact so many great history lessons within this story that a history teacher might add into his or her lesson plan for the year.
So if you are a kid, you want to know the following:
Who? What? Why? Where?
How did the planet get sick in the first place?
What is global warming?
Where did it all begin?
Why did we create so much waste and why did we not know any better?
Who did this?
How are we going to fix it?
As adults I believe it is our responsibility to let children be children. I don't want to burden them with the problems of adults, and certainly I think that the topic of global distress if not delivered effectively can even cause a more dangerous result: fear, and resignation.
What we really want to do is leave our children in a place where they can empathize with our collective humanity.
Realize that as a human species we've made some mistakes, and actualize with their own tendencies to make them. It's very freeing for a child to get a lesson in an adults humility. Ultimately we want to leave them empowered to want to make a difference, and teach them not only the power of one, but the power of community, forgiveness and resolution.
There is a very valuable lesson for all of this in the face of the environmental crisis we find ourselves in and so we should embrace the opportunity and not try to overstep the responsibility and the explanation we owe our children.
That said I'm sure it begs the question of how then do we actually start a dialog with children on this topic?
My solution is to create a story form. Allow a child to relate to characters in a story line that allow them to make their own parallels, and draw some conclusions. Inspire their imagination, and harness their can do attitude to help us.... I'm not a particularly religious person ( I grew up in a strict catholic home) but I do know that the Prophet Jesus said "and the little children will lead us...."
I believe that children today if given the right tools, can be the thought leaders for our future generations.
My intention is to create a story that I will offer here in episodes on this blog in the category of The Earth Savers Episodes, and you are welcome to use them, embellish them or alter them to suit your own household or student body.
The goal of the series is to awaken inspiration, self actualization, and elevate environmental consciousness in the lives of children and their communities.
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