|
Contact
Community
Studies: Publications
Educational Resources
Historic Sites in Scarborough Heights
Links for Toronto Links
mccowan.org
Scarboro Heights Record
Search This Site
Table of Contents
Sources
| |
The
Tree
As a Metaphor for Growing as a Learner
In education, a central symbol connecting our past and future is the
"tree". We must all grow as learners -- this is called "lifelong
learning" in the vocabulary of Essential Skills.
Why the Tree?
Connections Galore!
And which tree? Really, any tree. Could be the maple – the subject of the
song, “The Maple Leaf Forever”, written by
Scarborough
teacher, Alexander Muir, over a century ago. The maple has also been used
symbolically as the cultural link for one of
Scarborough’s immigrant groups.
Or the pine, crafted into so many kitchen floors in
Scarborough
’s old farmhouses. Or the cedar, transformed into the rail fences strung
across the very fertile fields of glacial clay deposits. Or the birch, carefully
sewn into a brilliant invention – the canoe -- by our first Canadians. Or just
any tree – they all have incredible stories to tell.
Learning connections so far -- creative writing, immigration, artistic expression,
architecture, construction technology, transportation, landform, food
production. Indeed, the tree offers an abundance of opportunities for student
critical thinking and creativity, some of which may seem to be rather dominant…
Bottom-Up
to the Big Issue: Climate Change
Of course, the dominant learning opportunity is, undoubtedly, the profound role
of the tree in oxygenating the air we breathe. We could argue that global
warming and climate change may be the real target topic -- the topic we could or
should focus on in a top-down sort of way. But the tree is much more hands-on,
something we all see and touch every day. The tree gives us simple ways to
clearly model important aspects of our world. Many of these models can be
carefully woven together by educators to deal in practical ways, one view at a
time, with the big issue, global warming. Quite literally, the tree is a
down-to-earth bottom-up approach to teaching about
climate change.
A
Renewed Educational Future
Sustainability is now a prominent element in the
Ontario curriculum. Trees are our pre-eminent renewable resource. We all need to
learn more about them, for example:
-
The life cycle of a tree
-
Trees as "batteries" -- storage of energy
-
Trees for home heating
-
Looking after and caring for trees
-
How to deal with trees that are becoming a safety
hazard
-
Lumber -- a product of trees -- in the context of
house construction -- shelter
-
Re-purposing trees as useful manufactured products
-
Strategically planned cutting and woodlot
management
-
Clear-cutting and reforestation
-
Art-Techo -- integrating art into STEM (science,
technology, engineering, math) education by hands-on learning with parts of
a tree
Visitors Since Aug. 21 2007
|