Place- and community-based education – an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local – addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people’s attention beyond the classroom to the world as it actually is, and to engage them in the process of devising solutions to the social and environmental problems they will confront as adults. This approach can increase students’ engagement with learning and enhance their academic achievement.

Envisioned as a primer and guide for educators and members of the public interested in incorporating the local into schools in their own communities, this book explains the purpose and nature of place- and community-based education and provides multiple examples of its practice. The detailed descriptions of learning experiences set both within and beyond the classroom will help readers begin the process of advocating for or incorporating local content and experiences into their schools.

Reviews

"To those educators and practitioners who are not familiar with place- and community-based education, Smith and Sobel’s book will offer an accessible and engaging entry into an important field…. In an era of school reform models that deliver scripted curricula, promise classroom order and discipline, and are shaped by competitive markets, Smith and Sobel offer a refreshingly different model—"to transform schools into living laboratories for democracy, places that can reinvigorate the neighborhoods and communities that surround them" (p. xiii)."--Teachers College Record

"Because both authors have already made significant contributions to the P-C-B E literature prior to this book, they are probably among the most qualified educators to give us this educational tool kit….The authors provide just enough information to serve as a guide to real aclinking schools and communities in vital ways. Readers who wish to further explore the literature of this field will find that the references provided will keep them busy for a long time."--The Journal of Environmental Education

"For educators and community members looking for a practical entry into place- and community-based education, this book is a long awaited answer….the finest quality of this practical book is not in finding a lockstep recipe to achieve successful schools. Successful place- and community-based models come from within and Smith and Sobel confirm that honoring distinct places in the way we teach and learn honors children, teachers, and community members."--Children, Youth and Environment

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

1. Young Achievers Science and Mathematics Pilot School

2 Place- and Community-based Education: Definitions and Antecedents

3 Why Worry about the Local in the Era of New Child Left Behind: A Rationale for Pl...