Place+Conscious+Writing

1. Place-conscious education requires active learners and recognizes the need for students to experience identifying local issues they want to affect and the knowledge (local, regional, national, international) they need in order to contribute. 2. Place-conscious education centers schooling in a deep understanding of local place, spiraling outward to include more distant knowledge in all areas of the curriculum. 3. Place-conscious education develops place-conscious citizenry. 4. Place-conscious education immerses learners in a deep knowledge and respect of local place. 5. Place-conscious education provides experiences in self-reflection and evaluation.
 * Some Characteristics of “Place-Conscious” Education **


 * excerpts from //Rural Voices: Place Conscious Education and the Teaching of Writing//, 2003 **
 * a Teachers College Press & National Writing Project publication **

“I want [my students] to know where they’re from and to know how writing and reading helps them know.” Sandy Bangert/Robert Brooke, “Inviting Children into Community: Growing Readers and Writers in Elementary School”

“Place influences identity.” Phip Ross, “A Geography of Stories: Helping Secondary Students Come to Voice through Readings, People, and Places” “It is important to me that students leave school with a sense of the heritage of this place and of their families—and see how this heritage connects them with the world beyond this community.” Sharon Bishop, “A Sense of Place”

“I realized I didn’t want my students to leave this school system and not know ‘home’…I wanted them to think, write, and interview, helping them realize this sense of place. I wanted to help them realize the value of this small rural community and come to appreciate what was here and what it could provide…They recognize and value their rich family heritages, they understand and admire the character of their local town and community, and they see themselves as contributing members of the future of rural Nebraska.” Bev Wilhelm, “Common Threads: A Writing Curriculum Centered in Our Place”

“We must introduce students to adults in the community, not simply as role models or leaders but as real people who have found their place, a satisfying one, in rural America.” Judith Schafer, “Being an Adult in Rural America: Projects Connecting High School Students with Community Members”

“As a community, we need to work together to solve problems unique to our place, and we need to work together to create a possibility of a rich future. As students make choices about the way they want their lives to be lived, they must also consider how they plan to fund their livelihood. Will they be able to meet their objectives in our rural community, or must they migrate away to meet their needs?” Robyn Dalton, “Career Education: Creating Personal and Civic Futures through Career Discernment”

“Do we want a big-mart education for our children?...or should our schooling be grounded within the rich context of individual communities and local places?” Marian Matthews, “Mentoring: Learning about Place-Conscious Teaching”