Hailey, a past student, sums up her
experience: “At Bear Beach we didn’t need desks and textbooks to learn and understand concepts. The environment was really beautiful and interesting. [The trip] made us all have to work and think together.” Yes, I tell my colleague, it absolutely
is worth it.
Alan Barwin teaches Grade 8 French Immersion at Central Middle School in Victoria, British Columbia.
Notes
1. Louv, R., Last Child in the Woods, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005.
2. Palmer, J.A., Suggate, J., Robottom, I., and Hart, P., “Significant life experiences and formative influences on the development of adults’ environmental aware- ness in the UK, Australia and Canada,” Environmen- tal Education Research, 5(2), 1999, pp. 181-200.
3. Kelsey, E., “Removing our kids from the front lines of climate change,” 2007, <http://www.worldchang-
ing.com/archives/007636.html>, Accessed December 13, 2010.
The Assignment
Imagine that your group has just arrived in this environment. You are alone here and have brought nothing from our modern North American culture - no conceptions of civilization, no beliefs, no notion of culture or community, and no worldview. You have all afternoon. Here are your tasks: 1. Take an inventory of everything that exists in this environment
Plants
(what is here— possible uses?)
Animals
(what is here— possible uses?)
Climate, Weather, Seasons
Geography and
geology (what do the land, rocks and coast look like?)
Spiritual elements (what places and
things are powerful here?)
2. Considering the natural environment, create a civilization. Your civilization must reflect where you are. Keep notes, create artifacts, discuss ideas with your group. You must provide evidence of the eight characteristics of a civilization discussed in class: • belief system/religion • government/social organization • permanent dwellings • knowledge of agriculture • knowledge of science/technology • commerce • arts (music/dance/drama/visual arts) • written language
3. At the campfire tonight, you will share your civilization. You may: • introduce yourselves by your roles in your society (e.g. chief, warrior, shaman, etc.) • tell a myth or share a tradition • show something to eat, a work of art, your technology or goods to trade • speak in your language • be creative, entertaining, demonstrate higher order thinking • BE your society - act according to your role and have fun
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