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The Outdoor School program was groundbreaking when it started more than a half-century ago. Since then, more than 1 million children have enjoyed—or endured—this rite of passage at campsites scattered from Oregon's stormy coast to its towering evergreen forests to its rugged high desert.
At the program's heyday, 90 percent of sixth-graders spent the week testing water samples, studying fungi and digging through topsoil. Today, just half of Oregon's 11- and 12-year-olds take part, mostly through a patchwork of grants, fundraising, parent fees and charitable donations. Caps on property taxes, plus the recent recession, have forced many school districts to scrap the program or whittle it down to just a few days.
Now, backers of a statewide ballot measure want to use a slice of lottery proceeds to guarantee a week of Outdoor School for all children. If it passes, the measure would make Oregon the only state with dedicated funding for outdoor education, including students in charter, private and home schools, said Sarah Bodor, policy director for the North American Association for Environmental Education.
It's more biology camp than Outward Bound.
(Score: 2) by Sulla on Thursday October 27 2016, @10:39PM
Growing up in Oregon I attended a school that did participate in outdoor school for those in the forth and fifth grades. Leading up to outdoor school we were put in electives like wood burning, some animal /plant identification, basket weaving, bowl making, camp songs, etc. When we finally went to camp for a week you just run around outside and get pushed around to various activities that may or may not have interested you based on your ability to sign up on time. The most enjoyable parts of outdoor camp were archery, I think we had some spear throwing, looking for bugs, some kids tried to escape to go swimming in a local pond.
I can't imagine that outdoor school in the current school environment would be very fun. Doubt there would be archery, doubt there would be any spears, I am sure they will be more adept at keeping you corralled. Any sort of getting out after lights out to find bugs will be even more restricted. A large point of outdoor school, in my opinion, was the ability (if you tried to exercise it) of getting away from the control and making stupid mistakes that teach you and everyone else lessons. I am not sure that these things could be provided in the current educational environment. I honestly do not want my kids wasting time doing wood burning, basket weaving, pottery, and singing when they could be doing educational electives. I wouldn't mind a few here and there, definitely would not mine a survival course, but I really doubt these would happen.
I will also mention the problem with funds actually being put toward outdoor school. Oregon has had an AMAZING history of asking for money and then finding a way to spend it on something else. I am pretty sure that bills/referenda are unable to determine how money is to be spent (outside of the Oregon lottery) so I foresee another funding source to shore up the failing PERS system. This ballot in Oregon has several spending measures that do not seem to tie very well to what they are supposed to be for. Another bill this time around is a 2.5% sales tax on corporations doing more than 25 million in sales in Oregon, measure 97. A part of the bill goes into how if any portion is invalidated then the remainder of the bill will still go into effect. The only part of this bill that could be invalidated and still have the bill actually function is the directive of the money being spend on school and old people. My bet is that if/when passed this will be invalidated and the money will go to shore up PERS. I would accept being called a pessimist but this happens all the time.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 28 2016, @01:11AM
That's an interesting take. I see those skills, with the exception of the singing, as survival skills. Wood burning, which I take to mean fire-building, is about the most important survival skill after finding water. Basket weaving and pottery, to which I'd add flint knapping, are about using the materials around you to create the tools you need to survive. The ancillary benefit for kids that live in the city and who will never need to survive in the woods is that they learn how to create things with their own hands instead of running down to Walmart to buy another Made-in-China trinket. I grew up in the Rockies and now live in Brooklyn; I appreciate the city for what it has to offer but am often amazed at the universal, learned helplessness of my city-born and -raised neighbors.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Sulla on Friday October 28 2016, @02:27AM
Unfortunately by wood burning I meant using a device much like a soldering iron to burn letters into wood. I agree that ceremics, firemaking, survival, even weaving are desirable to learn to some extent, but I do not want my kids doing a half hour a day course in each for three months.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam