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The Nature of Education
Megan Patterson |
TEDxCherryCreek
• October 2020
Outdoor-based education, also referred to as Forest School, is a movement that offers children the freedom to learn in and from Mother Nature. This model of education and learning has proven to support many developmentally-appropriate academic, social and emotional, and environmental skills for children of all ages and is quickly spreading across western cultures. There is an ever-increasing divide between humans and nature due to a fear of the outdoors and a push for academic rigor. A number of studies have shown that direct exposure to nature is imperative to children’s development, as well as their mental and physical health. If children are not provided adequate time outdoors they will lose their inherent connection with nature, a connection that leads to compassion for the natural world. Mother Nature also teaches important skills that children will need to be successful in the 21st century.