PBE Survey Graphs
Vignettes
“We interviewed residents around the then-future site of the new Nationals baseball stadium to gauge the public’s opinions about this new structure. We also interviewed businesses that would be demolished to build the new stadium. This was for our Geography/History class. It was an eye opening experience that helped us get involved in our community.”
“In elementary school, we were all required to take Hawaiian studies. This consisted of studies on the native fauna and animals. We also learned about Hawaiian history, and the lifestyles of the Hawaiian people. This included learning about ancient legends that were told and passed on orally through generations and generations of Hawaiian people. At my elementary school we had a “Kapuna”, which in Hawaiian means Grandmother, or elder. Every week she would come and teach us the Hawaiian lifestyles, through storytelling, as well as learning Hawaiian songs. We also participated in a lot of Hawaiian ceremonies that would be replicated in our school setting to embrace and keep the Hawaiian lifestyle alive and respected.”
“I participated in many science camps where we learned about different environments – lava beds, deserts, coastal animals. I loved learning that way. We also explored history in this manner combined with science. I would like to see more of this in education because it makes it real and relevant and memorable.”
“We incorporated environmental studies and ethical studies. The entire student body, 1-6th grade, went on a hiking expedition. We spent the first 30min of the hike picking up trash and talking about the importance of recycling and taking care of the environment. We also discussed why keeping the community safe and clean is all of our responsibility, strong emphasis on the community not the individual in Japanese culture.”
“History and science classes throughout my education have used these tactics, starting in second grade. We learned one period of my state’s history each year, from the missions to gold rush to Native American life. We took field trips to important sites. In high school, my science classes started sending us outside to collect data from the neighboring cemetery and city park.”
“My AP Biology teacher sought out a program where the University of Vermont was partnering with volunteer high school science teachers and students, in order to measure stream health throughout Vermont, and recruited several students into the program (myself included). We regularly measured stream ph,velocity, and other visible factors of stream health, and took sediment and water samples. We examined these samples for larval (and other) stages of insects, recording the species we found.”
What does place mean to you?
“It is easy to forget the importance of the physical environment that we are in but it often can teach us many lessons. Placing emphasis on the physicality of a place instills understanding and respect.”
“In my hometown, as well as all communities in Hawaii, we emphasize family. Family in the sense of our blood, but also family in the sense of the entire community of Hawaii. We are united by our collective responsibility to preserve the rich history of Hawaiian culture, as well as the bonds we have created in our lifetimes in our respective communities. The love of the land translates into the love of our community and the people that comprise it. Place in Hawaii means the bonds and connections we have with each other, as well as with the land we benefit from. Malama ka `aina – respect the land.”
“When I try to remember any particular “place,” my mind immediate jumps to images of people. Those who were there before me and provided guidance, those who were with me and explored the meaning of friendship, and those who came after me and asked for assistance. Surely the setting, landscape and cultural groups had an effect on me but without interaction with others, I would only be observing.”
“Place is about both the land and our human connection, historic, spiritual, and otherwise with it and to each other. It’s not about big historical events (although those are important) but about who we are as people and where we came from, and our ties to the community and the place.”
“What defines a place and makes it memorable and important are my memories and experiences there with people. A ‘place’ doesn’t really have meaning unless there are emotions and experiences attached to it.”
“It’s not a super tight-knit community, but it is a relatively small one with some pretty important ties to the land. There are a lot of farms and protected lands like state parks in our valley, and things like flooded rivers often have a direct effect on our lives that people really feel. The landscape is a big part of our culture.”
“I have a hard time focusing on one of these themes rather than the whole town itself. These aspects are interwoven in some curious and complicated ways.”