We are telling our kids that nature is in the past and it probably doesn't count anymore, the future is in electronics, the boogeyman is in the woods, and playing outdoors is probably illicit and possibly illegal.
Richard LouvRead
An environment-based education movement--at all levels of education--will help students realize that school isn't supposed to be a polite form of incarceration, but a portal to the wider world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Education should open students' eyes to the world, not feel like a prison.
Richard Louv emphasizes the importance of an environment-based education, suggesting that schools should serve as gateways to real-world experiences and exploration, rather than restrictive institutions that stifle creativity and curiosity. By framing education in this way, he advocates for a learning approach that connects students with the natural world and broader societal contexts, fostering engagement and growth.
Themes
EducationEnvironmentLearningFreedomExploration
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at a recent educational conference, I quoted Richard Louv to emphasize the need for experiential learning.
More from Richard Louv
All quotes βNow, more than ever, we need nature as a balancing agent.
Richard LouvRead
The future will belong to the nature-smart...Th e more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.
Richard LouvRead
We have such a brief opportunity to pass on to our children our love for this Earth, and to tell our stories. These are the moments when the world is made whole. In my children's memories, the adventures we've had together in nature will always exist.
Richard LouvRead
Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. The disorder can be detected in individuals, families, and communities.
Richard LouvRead
A lot of people think they need to give up nature to become adults but that's not true. However, you have to be careful how you describe and define 'nature.'
Richard LouvRead
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The best way to get started on the path of sharing your work is to think about what you want to learn, and make a commitment to learning it in front of others.
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I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.
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What is a child? Ignorance. What is a child? Want of instruction.
EpictetusRead