Why is an awareness of Place important?
Place isn't only defined as the natural environment in which we live, but the people and interactions that happen within that environment. Knowing a community's unique situation can explain a lot of questions that may arrive such as why people act a certain way, the values people hold and why, and an overall
general understanding of an area.
An awareness of place is important in order to become and active participant in a community and society in general.
As a teacher, an awareness of place is extremely important so that I can provide the best quality instruction to my students. For example, if I do not understand the local resources, community structures, and family structures, I will not be able to help students make their own connections to their environments.
Often times, in my basal reading series, there are stories that talk about city life, taxi cabs, and subway systems. While it is important for students to learn about other ways of living and environments, they are not going to take away as much from these stories as they would from a story talking about boats, ferries, or float planes (our common ways of travel off island). By using stories that are relevant to our own environment, students will feel more connected with their learning.
How can an awareness of Place create better learning for Alaska students?
As educators,
we are always being told to make learning meaningful for our students.
Any way we can link a topic to a child's environment or situation has
been shown to increase comprehension and have a lasting impact for the
students. In order to develop and foster these connections, my students
and I both need to have an awareness of place.
An awareness of place helps foster unique connections for the ability to transfer knowledge to several situations. An awareness of place also helps develop the social skills needed to be an active participant in society such as empathy and compassion. Being aware of ones surroundings and environment will help students put common knowledge into it's appropriate context. For example, what may be a social norm in one environment may not even surface in another. An awareness of place will also help students effectively communicate with multiple different audiences which is a skill that is essential throughout life.
Finally, if students are aware of their unique environment and everything it has to offer, they will begin to take pride in their community and strive to make it a better place for all. Sometimes, students in small communities get bogged down and can't wait to just "get out." I admit, I felt the exact same way as a teenager growing up in a small town where the rumor mill seemed to be the only thing that mattered at some times. However, by leaving and experiencing other environments, I was able to realize that all communities have something unique to offer. Like in my instance, students will need to experience other places in order to develop their own awareness, and we as teachers can help show them other environments (through media or other learning experiences) to help strengthen their development in order to become lifelong learners.
Evaluation
This module was a great introduction to this course. Because I am new to Alaska and my school district, it helped me reflect on this specific "place" in which I am currently located. The community in which I live now has many different dynamics than what I grew up in, and I am gaining a new awareness of place because of this. Many of my students have never left the small island in which they live and many do not have anything to compare their community to. By reflecting on how an awareness of place is important for learning, I will continue to strive to help students make connections to their own environments and those environments of others.
Shannon, I could not agree with you more about the need of a teacher to understand the place they live in in order to help students understand many of the lessons given to them. I kind of laughed at your example of taxi cabs and subways vs. ferries and float planes because I frequently run into the same problems. Unfortunately, because I am still learning how our little island community works, often the students spend time teaching me these things.
ReplyDelete"Often times, in my basal reading series, there are stories that talk about city life, taxi cabs, and subway systems. While it is important for students to learn about other ways of living and environments, they are not going to take away as much from these stories as they would from a story talking about boats, ferries, or float planes (our common ways of travel off island)."
ReplyDeleteI agree as well! We have the same issues. Some of the best days I have had are when the students are teaching me about their way of life. However, I use a lot of video clips and movie references (high school level) to convey a sense of place. Otherwise, I have the students re-write the story using place specific details.