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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 25 June 2008 SUBJECT: Veteran Good Hope Science Teacher Attends the Teton Science School
The Good Hope School's Science Department Chair, Jane Coles, just returned from a week-long trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where she participated in an intensive workshop entitled “Place-Based Education: Connecting to the Local in a Global Age” at the prestigious Teacher Learning Center of Teton Science Schools. The workshop took place at the educational organization's 900 acre Jackson campus which features a diverse landscape with creeks, ponds, aspen, conifer, grassland, and sage habitats, creating an ideal setting for field science education. The theme of the workshop, “Place -Based Education,” focused on a holistic approach to learning by integrating conservation and community development within the local community. The program explored how to use local ecology, culture, and community as an integral part of a school's core curriculum while at the same time stressing the importance of having students think globally. During the workshop, Coles participated in hands-on, place-based learning approaches such as nature journaling, ecological sampling, and mapping of spaces ranging from classrooms to the town. “A child's sense of “place” grows as they grow. Younger students need to get to know their school and neighborhood to better understand how other places work; as the children get older their sense of “place” gets bigger. Place-based education helps to develop a sense of community. Children who thoroughly know their immediate environment know that they belong; they are a part of that place. The sense of belonging is important for human beings and can prevent many social problems that we face today,” Coles said. It is important for St. Croix students to know the natural history of St. Croix , especially when they leave the island for college. For example, “How many of St. Croix students know what time of the year the mahogany trees lose their leaves as way of determining the seasons?” inquired Coles. A re-occurring topic of discussion between the teachers in the workshop was the nature deficit that our current generation of children are experiencing due to a lack of time spent outdoors. “How can we expect these children to become stewards of the earth if they lack first hand experience of being outdoors?” questioned Coles. Cole's participation in the workshop was made possible by the generosity of Good Hope supporters, Todd and Kathy Newman and Lisa and Stephen Price of Spring Creek Ranch, Jackson Hole , Wyoming . Kathy Newman, a frequent visitor to the Jackson Hole area, knew the long term professional benefit of sending Coles to the Teton Science School- for both Coles and for the Good Hope students. Good Hope's science curriculum integrates St. Croix 's unique natural environment and dynamic history and culture in an inter-disciplinary fashion across all subjects, allowing students at all grade levels to learn first hand how the natural environment has impacted St. Croix 's history. Additionally, another goal of the trip was to investigate the possibility of an off-island field trip to the Mountain region of the United States , an area that many St. Croix students have never explored. The region is a perfect setting to bundle learning across the disciplines of science, ecology, geology, American history, and preservation thus showing students first-hand how all subjects of learning are related.###
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