Eatin' It Up

Why don't people eat up environmental education. I wish it was like that game Hungry Hungry Hippos. Those hippos really loved marbles...even when they weren't that hungry. Poison Ivy, mosquitoes, poisonous berries, and monsters! all contribute to teacher fear. I know there are many reasons why teachers aren't eating up environmental education, but I do believe it all boils down to fear. So many teachers fear that they don't know how to take kids outside. Questions like, "What if they fall down, what if someone gets stung by a bee, what if there are bears" all plague teachers. We live in a litigious society, and administrators know and fear this. This past year a 5th grade teacher in our corporation told her class that she was taking them to a bog. I offered to show her some things before she took her students on the trip. She never contacted me, and I found out they never went to the bog. Maybe it was a time thing, but I don't think so. Stories like Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel are deeply ingrained in our psyche. In these stories "the woods" are seen as dangerous. We need to remove these elements of danger so that teachers can explore. If we can teach educators to embrace adventure rather than fear, we can transform environmental education. Educators only need a little training to be comfortable with the outdoors. It is a change in mindset that will revolutionize environmental education.