Environmental education and experiential learning need to be incorporated into our lives, and our children’s lives. No Child Left Inside is an initiative coordinated to raise awareness and government funding, so that no child is left sitting idly in front of a television screen or computer monitor during their education years. Getting outside, touching the world, breathing fresh air, and sharing the experience with classmates, teachers, and parents is crucial and encourages true learning.
With the help of U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD,) the No Child Left Inside Act is seeking 500 million dollars over five years to strengthen environmental programs and connect kids with nature. On April 16th NCLI is sponsoring a local event in the DC area to support this initiative. The event will take place at 11 am at the Upper Senate Park in Washington D.C. for those of you looking to support this event.
Climate changes, depletion of natural resources, air and water problems, and other environmental challenges are pressing and complex issues that threaten human health, economic development, and national security. Environmental education will help ensure our nation’s children have the knowledge and skills necessary to address these complex issues.
For more than three decades, environmental education has been a growing part of effective instruction in America’s schools. Thirty million students and 1.2 million teachers annually are involved in programs ranging from environmental science courses to an interdisciplinary approach that uses the environment as an integrating theme throughout the entire curriculum. Yet, environmental education is facing a national crisis. Many schools are being forced to scale back or eliminate environmental programs. Fewer and fewer students are able to take part in related classroom instruction and field investigations, however effective or popular.
State and local administrators and teachers point to two factors behind this recent and disturbing shift: the unintended consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and a lack of funding for these critical programs. ~From the NCLB website
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What a great program. Obviously I think parents have a much greater influence on the amount of time kids spend outdoors than any government program but it is a great step in the right direction.
04/17/08 » 11:15 am »
I agree, but what about those parents who don’t have a clue either? Those kids need to have the opportunity to get what their families may be unable to provide. I taught a summer ecology program for inner city kids and it was an amazing experience to teach them about the natural world- they started off being freaked out by everything but quickly got really, really into the woods/streams/rocks/dirt like they’d been doing it all their lives. It was one of the more beautiful things I’ve seen. I cannot support programs like this more. They are SO important for connecting kids to the ‘real world’!
04/17/08 » 11:12 pm »
There are many parents who work and just don’t have the time, unfortunately. Some work two or even three jobs just to be able to provide their kids with health care. Having this type of programming available to these children, as well as the more affluent, makes a big difference.
04/18/08 » 7:37 am »
Get ‘Em Outside: A Case Study on Promoting Web Videos « Online Outreach for NonProfits and Foundations
[...] http://eco-chick.com/2008/04/1.....ft-inside/ [...]
05/16/08 » 11:52 am »