I am in the forest with a group of six to nine year old campers. Some are building forts, others are playing Camouflage, and the children surrounding me are exploring a yellow-spotted salamander’s home under a log from a fallen sugar maple. Carefully one of them covers her  hands with mud and leaves before picking up the salamander. The children are all talking at once as they explain what the salamander looks like and how it  feels. They take turns holding it while the rest of them examine the salamander’s habitat.. Is it wet? Is it cold? What natural materials are in it? What would the salamander eat? What other animals are in it? They explore the space around them with these questions, all related to our question of the week: what nourishes us? The campers consider this question using the theme words of the day and their explorations. Together they create stories and ideas about this question. Finally, the salamander is returned to his home, and the campers race to turn over another log. They find a different type of salamander, and their excitement builds as they call for me to come look at it.
Learning is a high priority in place-based education. The campers are faced with questions about how animals live, and through exploration discover different habitats. Throughout their week at Shelburne Farms, a non-profit organization working to educate for a sustainable future, the campers visit the pond, the lake, the forest, the field, and the barns. In each they can explore and find answers to questions about habitat. What shelter does the habitat provide? What is the food source for the animals living there? How do the pond and forest interact? What is the role of the sun? What do the plants need to grow?  Science is a major component of students’ learning, habitats and ecosystems are a piece of that science.

Education should be hands on, exploratory, and innovative. Traditional classrooms with desks in a row, hours of homework, and teachers teaching the same thing year after year is not building a generation prepared for what the future holds. The concept of traditional school is geared to students of only one kind and this model is not effective. If every student is required to attend school and expected to learn the information being taught, then school needs to be a place where every student is able to be successful. Teaching methods should cater to all minds.

Place-based education is learning that prepares us for a sustainable future. The idea behind it is that learning is done through exploration and hands-on activities in the field instead of sitting in a classroom listening to lectures and filling out worksheets. It captures the students attention and energy as they embrace the opportunity to explore and learn in a way that fits their needs. Instead of unfocused students in a classroom the students are actively engaged in their learning. When placed in these outdoor classroom settings students are pushed to consider what is in front of them and relate it to the rest of the world for the bigger picture method. Place-based education offers direct, practical applications, which can be used for science as well as other subjects.

The idea of science being taught hands-on is simple to grasp. Biology is the study of life and can easily be observed in hands on manners. However, with subjects such as math the concept of using place-based education can be much more difficult. It is true that there are concepts to be taught in math that need to be learned directly. This is where a combination of teaching styles comes into play. If the entirety of a student’s math knowledge comes from sitting in a classroom answering problem after problem there is no value behind all of the work. Students are taught how to problem solve and complete real-world application problems. These should be in the field. Place-based education can occur here by students leaving the classroom and exploring the trigonometry in buildings and cities. Students can work with problems in architecture and use the math concepts to develop potential solutions. With any subject there is room for hands-on learning which directly aligns with Common Core State Standards that emphasize skill building and preparing students to be career ready.

Traditional classroom settings lead to many challenges. Students who struggle to maintain focus and sit still struggle to succeed in school. They are reprimanded for talking, walking around, and not listening during lectures. Every student is expected to have the same mannerisms in class: remaining seated, using a raised hand, being quiet, and answering questions when called on. Students unable to maintain these ideals are set up for failure. They are constantly in trouble and seen as unwilling to make a concentrated effort to succeed. However, when given the right space to learn these students soar above. Place-based education offers a space for all students to learn in an effective manner.
Parents will come to us at Shelburne Farms because their child has been kicked out of all other summer programs. From them we learn that their student struggles to focus in school and is constantly moving. We are asked if we will take their child into camp. Of course, the children are allowed to come. When asked by parents at the end of the day if their child was good the answer is always yes, their child was amazing. They were able to run around and look at concepts through their own lens. When given the opportunity to learn in a fashion that met their own needs the camper shined. They asked millions of questions and looked for answers. Enthusiasm radiates from these kids as they explore. At the end of the week the parents are so overwhelmed with gratitude. A common trend among comments is that they have never seen their child so happy about something that they were doing. We are told that the campers can’t stop talking about their day and that they have started their own fort, fairy house, or other creation at home. There is so much joy in watching these children succeed. Place-based education provides that for them, however they should be able to have this success outside of summer camp.
Not only is place-based education successful for young children, but it is also for high school age students. A close friend of mine has dyslexia and struggles with reading. It is a challenge that he is constantly working through and he is successful. He attends a private school that uses non-traditional teaching styles. The students read and discuss books in English class, but then take the concepts from the books elsewhere. They take field trips on which they are faced with challenges about concepts from the book that they are then required to solve. When his class read the Odyssey, they took a canoe trip on the lake and created their own Odyssey. He enjoys learning and works hard to achieve. In this element his dyslexia doesn’t separate him from other students and instead all of the students are able to meet their own needs.

Some people may argue that the students who aren’t succeeding are lazy or unmotivated. People may also argue that for many years traditional schooling has created the successful adults in the world today so there is no need for change. However, people who say the students who aren’t succeeding are entirely at fault do not see the whole picture. They are not the people who are supporting these children. People who disagree look from the outside of the window pane instead of inside the door. It is true that traditional classroom settings and traditional education has taken the adults of today to success. However, today our world looks a lot different than the world from yesterday and the world of tomorrow. As societal and worldly expectations, change it is necessary to adapt with them in order to create students that have skills to be career ready. Common Core State Standards match place-based education. It is up to the teachers to adjust to the current world and incorporate this into their teaching. Changing teaching styles to emphasize place-based education will create students who are more successful and prepared, so teachers’ need to take action. Teachers teach for the students, so whatever will best for students should be the path taken 
In a country where we are trying to move forward and build students for their future, the school system should be designed in a way that students are learning effectively. Place-based education is the answer to this.