The article, Learning in Your Own Backyard, is all about the merits of place-based education. First of all, what is place based education? The authors note that it “focuses on the built, natural, and cultural environments of a location as a unifying concept for a content area.” In simpler words, being in a certain place lets you learn more about a certain thing. The article goes one to give multiple examples of such place-based learning environments, and it also lists many of the benefits that were found. For one thing, they increased student achievement. They improved reading and math scores. The increased performance in science and social studies. They developed the ability to make connections and draw conclusions. There was a shift from learning about science to “doing it”. Perhaps best of all, discipline problems declined, and every student had the opportunity to learn at a higher level. What’s there not to like about place-based eduction?

The thing is that there’s a lot of talk and not a lot of action. If it is as good as they say, then why hasn’t place-based education swept the nation? The issue seems to be the politics. Making changes in what is pretty-much an established educational system is near-impossible, and nobody is going to allow just anyone to experiment in children’s education without at least a Phd and a background check (e.g. fingerprinting, etc.). It is the common tale of ‘something needs to be done but nobody is man enough to step out and do it’. For anyone passionate enough about changing the way children learn, you can bet that they won’t be so passionate about it after 8 or more years earning the necessary credentials to do so. More than likely these people will find some other field that they are passionate about and apply themselves there. It’s unclear what can be done to make the most positive changes in this environment, but I believe it’s best to start small, and then work your way up.