“Place:it’swherewe’refrom;it’swherewe’regoing....Itasksforourattentionandcare.Ifwepayattention,placehasmuchtoteachus.“Withthisbeliefasafoundation,ThePowerofPlaceoffersacomprehensiveandcompellingcaseformakingcommunitiesthelocusoflearningforstudentsofallagesandbackgrounds.Dispellingthenotionthatplace-basededucationisanapproachlimitedtothosewhocanaffordit,theauthorsdescribehowschoolsindiversecontexts--urbanandrural,publicandprivate--haveadoptedplace-basedprogramsasawaytobetterengagestudentsandattainthreeimportantgoalsofeducation:studentagency,equity,andcommunity.Thisbookidentifiessixdefiningprinciplesofplace-basededucation.Namely,it1.Embedslearningeverywhereandviewsthecommunityasaclassroom.2.Iscenteredonindividuallearners.3.Isinquirybasedtohelpstudentsdevelopanunderstandingoftheirplaceintheworld.4.Incorporateslocalandglobalthinkingandinvestigations.5.Requiresdesignthinkingtofindsolutionstoauthenticproblems.6.Isinterdisciplinary.Foreachprinciple,theauthorssharestoriesofstudentswhoselivesweretransformedbytheirexperiencesinplace-basedprograms,elaborateonwhattheprinciplemeans,demonstratewhatitlookslikeinpracticebypresentingcasestudiesfromschoolsthroughouttheUnitedStates,andofferactionstepsforimplementation.AimedateducatorsfrompreKthroughhighschool,ThePowerofPlaceisadefinitiveguidetodevelopingprogramsthatwillleadtosuccessfuloutcomesforstudents,morefulfillingcareersforteachers,andlastingbenefitsforcommunities.
