In defense of a pedagogy of place

The current educational emphasis on the "global community" misses the most immediate and concrete area where students can make a difference: the locality. Without negating the importance of having a sense of responsibility toward the global community, a pedagogy of place argues that children cannot comprehend, much less feel a commitment toward, issues and problems in distant places until they have a well-grounded knowledge of their own place. The place that one inhabits can teach about the interdependency of social and natural systems. Understanding a pedagogy of place is understanding the purpose of education: the development of competence, care, and appreciation in political, environmental, and aesthetic areas. Two public secondary schools serving poor students in Colombia promote a pedagogy of place that defends the integrity of the community and surrounding environment. Fernandez Guerra Secondary School in the semi-urban town of Santander de Quilichao uses an interdisciplinary approach in which each grade focuses on a locally relevant theme and a social or ecological project. Tomas Herrera Cantillo Secondary School in the isolated village of Penoncito engages students in organic agriculture and animal husbandry projects relevant to sustainable community development. Examples show how the schools transmit competence, care, and appreciation in the direction of political, aesthetic, and environmental awareness and also prepare students for national standardized tests and avoid parochialism. (Contains 17