Episode 132 - Is the Recent Guardian Opinion-Article a ’Hit Piece’ on Forest Schools? Understanding the Nature Media Narratives with Asa Hardy-Brownlie

2024-09-09

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It came out of nowhere, right as hundreds of Forest School Leaders were preparing for the Autumn semester: An opinion piece in The Guardian ominously titled "I'm All For the Concept of Forest School, Just Not the Kind I Pulled My Kids Out Of." by Emma Brockes.It's just six paragraphs of cynical observations around schools, camps, forest schools and misunderstanding, but it packs a lot of criticism for nature education without a lot of detail, nuance or substance. It's the kind of piece that can and did get under the skin of a LOT of dedicated, passionate educators who did not tak...

It's just six paragraphs of cynical observations around schools, camps, forest schools and misunderstanding, but it packs a lot of criticism for nature education without a lot of detail, nuance or substance. It's the kind of piece that can and did get under the skin of a LOT of dedicated, passionate educators who did not take kindly to the views expressed.

Asa Hardy-Brownlie and I discuss this and nature education media narratives in detail and talk about the challenges we face as a profession to effectively respond to these kinds of pieces that can really skew the understanding of parents, teachers and schools. What sorts of ways do we want to communicate what we do and why it's important and valuable to children and families?

We talk about websites, social media and ideas and ways of shaping our messaging so it sticks and is effective, which are some of the gold nuggets we can glean from this experience.

Guardian Article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/16/forest-school-kids-children-wholesomeness?fbclid=IwY2xjawFGHjpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcPiqmTXxigdia-3hUHjNGD_dfrvCltmCkKI5uvVO3IU0-v5O--Fq5vabQ_aem_b_HsH0bqger7b-YmGOCfRg

Building a Story Brand Book by Donald Miller: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400201837/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=AX2JROIIWRZYD&psc=1

The Forest School Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-forest-school-podcast/id1389962726

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