I am working to build my new classroom as I begin my first year lead teaching! Help make my classroom successful for my students to be prepared for learning. My class will revolve around students being explorers of nature throughout the world. I want my students to know of the great world out there and the amazing opportunities they can achieve and see through investment in their education. Often, students in my community are not afforded the opportunities to enjoy the natural world close to their own community, let alone around the world. Research demonstrates this inequity in access to the natural world is striking for people of color and therefore, many of my students. As of 2017, African Americans still represented only about seven percent of park visitors. In comparison, they make up thirteen percent of the U.S. population. Latinos, Native Americans, and other non-white visitors are similarly underrepresented (Root, 2017). This is an unfortunate outcome from systemic racism, as people of color report feeling unwelcome in nature, sometimes questioned in their belonging there by White individuals (Sampathkumar, 2020). Additionally, children of color are often missing or nonexistent in children’s books about nature as Fetters (2019) discusses. This limits the opportunity for people of color to see the outdoors as an inclusive place for them. Therefore, I want my classroom to be a space where my students know they are capable of anything, reaching any mountain top they set out to summit and lighting any fire of their passions and interests. My students will be able to see the world and will be knowledgeable about it through my classroom. Finally, my students will understand that the outdoors is a place we can all enjoy together (even while inside our classroom)!
About my class
I am working to build my new classroom as I begin my first year lead teaching! Help make my classroom successful for my students to be prepared for learning. My class will revolve around students being explorers of nature throughout the world. I want my students to know of the great world out there and the amazing opportunities they can achieve and see through investment in their education. Often, students in my community are not afforded the opportunities to enjoy the natural world close to their own community, let alone around the world. Research demonstrates this inequity in access to the natural world is striking for people of color and therefore, many of my students. As of 2017, African Americans still represented only about seven percent of park visitors. In comparison, they make up thirteen percent of the U.S. population. Latinos, Native Americans, and other non-white visitors are similarly underrepresented (Root, 2017). This is an unfortunate outcome from systemic racism, as people of color report feeling unwelcome in nature, sometimes questioned in their belonging there by White individuals (Sampathkumar, 2020). Additionally, children of color are often missing or nonexistent in children’s books about nature as Fetters (2019) discusses. This limits the opportunity for people of color to see the outdoors as an inclusive place for them. Therefore, I want my classroom to be a space where my students know they are capable of anything, reaching any mountain top they set out to summit and lighting any fire of their passions and interests. My students will be able to see the world and will be knowledgeable about it through my classroom. Finally, my students will understand that the outdoors is a place we can all enjoy together (even while inside our classroom)!
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