Place-Based Education Finds a Place in Harlem
A recent article in the New York Times explores the merit of Field Trips, or as this article calls it, “Field Study.” Standardized tests often make references to bucolic farm and nature settings; however, young urban students (the students in this article are kindergarteners from Harlem) have no frame of reference or hands on knowledge of these settings, and therefore have trouble when these concepts are presented in standardized tests.
The article quotes teacher Abigail Johnson, who in a statement about her students, manages to express the crucial nature of hands-on and place based education: “They are good at reciting and remembering things,” she said, “but they can’t make the connection unless you show it to them.”
