Here's some good news from our nation's capitol for a change. The House passed the "No Child Left Inside Act" last week, a bill that would put more federal dollars towards environmental education. The act would provide $500 million in federal dollars, over the next five years, to strengthen environmental education programs in public schools. According to Plenty, proponents of the bill hope it will stem some of the damage done by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB, with its emphasis on test scores, has caused some school districts to limit science and social studies in order to spend more time on math and language arts.
Getting kids outside more should also help stem the rise in "nature deficit disorder," a term coined by Richard Louv in his book, "Last Child in the Woods." Nature deficit disorder is what happens to young people when they become disconnected from nature. Louv links this lack of nature to the rise in obesity, attention disorders and depression in our nation's children.
Let's hope this bill passes and gets signed into law. Anything that helps gets kids outside is a good thing.
What do you think? Is environmental education something worth putting federal dollars towards?
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