Connecting Children with the Natural World
Last, part of our image of today’s children involves their need to be protected from a dangerous world. Children are constantly supervised in commercial outdoor spaces that are created especially for them and include plastic, brightly colored structures, clearly defined boundaries, and artificial turf. Gone are the days when children roamed the fields, dug in the dirt, or were pushed out the door to play on the street or in the neighborhood until dusk or until the streetlights came on.
Particularly in urban areas, many children are not familiar with natural space; they may think that milk and vegetables “come from the grocery store,” and they may be frightened by anything that crawls. Gary Nabhan and Stephen Trimble wrote that “many now consider children’s experience of wildness a luxury rather than a basic human need” (1994, p. xiii). In Last Child in the Woods (2008) Richard Louv goes so far as to say that children are suffering from “nature-deficit disorder.”
In a later chapter we will address outdoor curriculum in greater detail, but it is relevant to consider here the importance of structuring an image of the future child who is connected to the natural world. As neuroscience continues to reveal the complexities of how children process stimuli and experiences, early childhood educators also realize that active outdoor play is instrumental in the development of psychological health, cognition, and higher-order thinking (Schiller, 2001). Outdoor curriculum can be justified not just because it promotes development but also for esoteric reasons and the reconstruction of a lost image of children that early childhood educators would like to regain (Wirth & Malcusak, 2012).
Chapter Summary
- Images of children and childhood have changed greatly over the centuries, from portrayal as miniature adults and the property of others to the romanticized visions of young children popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Societal values and science inform the ways we view children, and while we know more about the ways they grow and develop than ever before, our image of children today is complex and sometimes conflicted.
- Children are characterized and labeled alternatively as competent and dependent, at risk and promising. Their development of gender identity is influenced by adult attitudes and changing social standards.
- The diversity in our classrooms as well as conditions and policies imposed on teachers have a great deal to do with how teachers view their students, who are increasingly described in terms of readiness and achievement or lack thereof.
- Children today experience many stressors related to adult expectations and a childhood that feels rushed.
- There are many things teachers can do with curriculum to construct and portray authentic images of the children they teach. These include (1) gathering information about children’s families and interests; (2) using photographs and other objects to represent the classroom community accurately; (3) personalizing the curriculum; and (4) promoting independence, responsibility, and problem-solving skills.
- Finding ways to connect children with nature promotes physical and psychological health.