Note: Your seminar grade will be determined by the quantity of your responses (how many questions you answer and how many other students you respond to) and the quality (how well you demonstrate an understanding of the ideas you're responding to, how detailed your responses are, how coherent and in-depth they are, etc.)
Directions:
1. Read Last Child in the Woods , pages 1-112 (Chapters 1-8)
2. Choose two questions from the list below and respond with 3-5 paragraphs. Include quotes and/or specific references to the text to back up your responses.
| Extra Credit Opportunity: Answer an additional question from the list below, and respond to two other students in the discussion topic of your choice. |
No matter what questions you choose, make sure you discuss whether you agree with Schlosser’s assessments and claims, and why.
| "A Separate Peace" :
In Chapter 1, "Gifts of Nature ", Louv writes "In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace." Summarize why Louv believes that children need a private place away from adults. What are today's kids missing by not having that "separate peace"? Do you agree with his assessments? Why or why not? |
| American Frontier: In Chapter 2, "The Third Frontier" Louv describes how the American image of the wilderness has shaped our national ethos and culture. What are the three frontiers, and how are they inextricably bound up with our own self-image as wilderness-conquering pioneers? What does he see as the problem with the third frontier? Do you agree with his assessments? Why or why not? |
| Tear down the Treehouse : In Chapter 3, "The Criminalizatino of Natural Play", Louv explores some of the pressures on our modern society to "de-nature" children. What are some of the reasons that children are being separated from nature in our cities and towns, and even rural areas? What are some of the consequence of this separation? Do you agree with his assessments? Why or why not? |
| Natural Well Being :
In Chapter 4, "Climbing the Tree of Health", Louv discusses some of the new research findings in the field, and he describes new therapies for health and well-being that involve nature. We know that nature is good for body and soul. "What do we know, though, about the next step - the influence of unstructured natural landscapes and experiences in nature on human development and health?" What are some of these new findings, and new practices, coming out of the relatively new field of nature therapy? Do you agree with his conclusion that as a society we must change the way we view the natural world and its connection to our well-being? Why or why not? |
| A Burst of Senses : In Chapter 5, "A Life of the Senses: Nature vs. the Know-It-All State of Mind ", Louv discusses the importance for a child's development of engaging all five senses. How does a sensory life, what he calls a 'direct experience', contribute to the development of a child's physical, emotional, social, creative and cognitive development? What are the experiences of a generation steeped in technology lacking? |
| Nature for Sale : In Chapter 5, "A Life of the Senses: Nature vs. the Know-It-All State of Mind ", Louv describes what he calls "cultural autism", a culture that is isolated from other species, from the natural world, and from direct sensory experiences. How does the commodification of nature - using it as advertising, for example - contribute to this isolation? Do you see examples of this in your community? Explain. |
| Nature Smart : In Chapter 6, "The 'Eighth Intelligence' ", Louv summarizes the theories of Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences. What are some examples of being "nature smart", according to Gardner and Louv? What skills are children developing when they engage this 'nature smart' part of themselves? Do you agree with his assessment that we must implement more strategies in schools to take advantage of this eigth intelligence? Why or why not? |
| Natural Creativity: In Chapter 7, "The Genius of Childhood", Louv explores the link between creativity and nature. What are the influences of unstructured time in the natural world, what Louv calls an environment of "loose parts" on a child's creative development? Why is it is so important to give children time and freedom to explore their environment? Do you agree with his assessment that nature is critical to the creative process? Why or why not? |
| Ritalin Nation: In Chapter 8, "Nature Deficit Disorder and the Restorative Environment", Louv explains in more depth his theory of "Nature Deficit Disorder". He links children's shrinking interactions with nature to many kinds of disorders, both mental and physical. What are some of the links between the nature deficit and other disorders, according to Louv? How would correcting the "Nature Deficit Disorder" address some of the other problems we see in children today? Do you agree with his assessment of the consequences and dangers of Nature Deficit Disorder? Why or why not? |
3. Save your work as a .doc or .rtf document and submit your response by midnight on Monday, 3/10.
4. Post your responses to the appropriate forum by midnight on Monday 3/10.
5. Read all the other students' posts throughout the seminar period.
6. Respond to at least two other student's posts from the discussion topic of your choice (more is better). You will have until midnight, Monday 3/17, to read and respond to the other students' ideas in the website. |