A natural history GCSE ?

[quasimodo]

I thought of the childhood you described in one of your postings Amber.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... lanet-gcse" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The petition to the government on the link from the article requesting the government develop a GCSE in natural history.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/176749" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know about a GCSE but the article does espouse a number of truths in my opinion.

[Eccentric]

I think that a Natural History GCSE would be a fabulous thing for many YP to do. We have curlews nesting in the fields around our house, hedgehogs that roam along the garden boundaries, a Barn owl, various species of bat, rare newts and have seen a brown hairstreak butterfly. We eat from the hedge rows yet my daughter is relatively disinterested when I tell her to stop so we can listen for the curlews. All of these may be extinct who our children are our age. Will they ever forgive us if we don't at least show them what they may be missing or have already missed.

[Amber]

Oh how lovely that someone has thought of this. Shame it would have to be an exam but yes, I am deeply dismayed by the way our world is going and the lack of importance put on the powers of the natural world. Nature can soothe, comfort and nurture; it can inspire us with its magnificence as well as humble us with its intricacy and regardless of whether or not we have religious beliefs, it can offer a spiritual dimension and a window to our soul. Nature can offer peace in a mad world - in fact I would say being outdoors is often the only place to be totally calm and alone.

That not only the education system but also, sadly, many or even most parents do not see this and tap into it and not only offer it to their children but demonstrate to them how absolutely vital - in the true sense of the world - a connection with nature is is both upsetting and frightening to me. We live in insane times, and reconnecting with the utter awe-inspiring diversity and beauty of what nature has to offer is in my view the only way to teach our children to stay mentally and emotionally healthy. If I designed a primary curriculum this would be at its very core. And I would keep them up all night watching stars too.

[tiffinboys]

What a great idea, Quasimodo! Thanks for bringing it up and so eloquently supported by Amber.

Even a timetabled period for a non-examined course would be better for kids to go out and connect with nature.

[Guest55]

There has been a lot of work on 'learning outside the classroom' and 'Forest schools' in Bucks. It is inspiring to watch children engage with the outdoor environment, especially when many sit indoors glued to TV/screens these days.

Some information here:
http://www.lotc.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://forestschools.com/what-are-forest-schools/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Amber]

I am afraid I have become rather sceptical of the English version of forest schools. I have had experience of working with children in them in both mainstream and special needs settings and they are so far removed from the original idea which was to allow children access to nature in an unsupervised and unstructured way that they seem to have been entirely self-defeating. Perhaps in Buckinghamshire the boundaries have been pushed back but what I saw here was not conducive to freedom and self exploration but was very structured, managed, and risk-assessed to within an inch of its life. Anyone who has experience of Danish, Norwegian or Swedish pre- schools wouldn't recognise the tamely mutated version on offer here. Though I suppose it is better than nothing. Just about.

I was in Sweden just before Christmas watching toddlers at a pre-school sitting playing in the snow, slightly older children running up and down a very steep wooded grass bank in a large area of woodland entirely unsupervised, and 6 year olds up an extremely high climbing frame in the grounds of their school with no staff underneath them. Oh, and chatting freely to (unvetted!) passers-by as their schools were open to the street. Given that here I had to fill in risk assessment forms to take 6 children outside to build a willow arch with constant supervision at 'forest school', having changed their clothes and taken all the allergy information with me, I think there is a way to go.

[Catseye]

I think anything by David Attenborough should be compulsory watching in every household for 2 hours a week.

He has been and is still a constant in my life and deserves a Nobel prize for his contribution to the understanding of the Natural World.

[tiffinboys]

+1

and as well in schools.

[Catseye]

+1

and as well in schools.

I hope he will be is buried in Westminster Abbey or at least a plaque or statute for him.

He stands on the shoulders of giants like Darwin, Newton, Dirac, Hawkins ....

A giant of a man himself, can Prof Cox can fill his shoe, I doubt, but he is still young-relatively speaking

I cannot express enough the influence he has had on my life-second only to Mr Morgan my physics teacher- R.I.P

Its teachers that change lives not selective/non-selective schools( just had to throw that in -I couldn't help myself )

[KB]

As soon as any subject becomes a GCSE or any other exam it gets restrictions and is in danger of excluding many children who might otherwise gain greatly from the experience.

Maybe a week each year could be removed from the normal scheduling for secondary schools and schools have a choice of project areas for the students to look at in a hands on way.

Not very much but more than a week is probably an unrealistic expectation.

Might also be a good opportunity for mixed ability interaction with students learning different skills from and with each other with traditional academic assessments removed.