Thinking About Natural Critical Literacies

Thinking about how critical literacies can be a major impact on all students and can play an even bigger role for marginalized youth, it is becoming more and more apparent that these need to be practiced in schools. In thinking about my own research, the critical literacy that I am focusing on is nature. David Louv talks about a nature deficit disorder which he defines as “the human cost[s] of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illness” (34). My interest in outdoor education and experiential education hope to better understand the ways in which students can engage in a natural world and make stronger and lasting connections to their own education. I understand that being outdoors is not for everyone, but there is still an element of connecting to the natural world that can help each person in some way or another.

There are many ways in which we can become critically literate of the natural world, some of those ways may not involve physical presence in an outdoor setting. Reading ecorcitical texts is one way in which students can become more aware of the natural world without having to step foot outside. Though this type of reading allows for students to become more aware of the natural world in which they live, it is only the first step towards placing students thinking about being critically literate of their natural surroundings. The second step would need to involve interaction and physical presence in nature. A nature hike with reflection is a possible step towards this but this is too simple of an answer to be effective or cause change. I guess I haven’t come to a complete answer in how to make students more critically aware of their natural surroundings yet, but I hope to find an engaging way in which students are aware of their surroundings, engage with the natural world and take a step towards making change.

Louv, David. (2006). Last Child in the Woods. New York. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.