Lost In The World? Seek A Sense of Place
I’ve been on a rant for a few years now about technology and it’s impact on our souls.
First I read Richard Louv’s book about nature deficit disorder, Last Child in the Woods, and more recently, Florence William’s The Nature Fix. I’ve written repeatedly about the topic, and shared significant recent research in blog posts like this one from October 2017.
In particular, I am concerned that we need to disconnect with technology in order to connect with nature, other species, and with each other, in order to care about and save our planet from climate change and pollution.
Connecting to place, I would argue, is part and parcel to being human, and is as important to us and our survival as a species as is our connection to each other.
As an avid reader, I am drawn to texts that explore our world and our connection with it. When I can, I bring a few of these texts into the classroom, for example these beautifully written essays:
- George Orwell: “Shooting an Elephant” where he writes about an experience in India — a place where he question whether and where he belongs
- N. Scott Momaday: “Way to Rainy Mountain” where he writes about the place of his ancestors, the Kiowa; I love the entire book and have taught it in the past — this is a link to the prologue
- Charles Simic “A Reunion With Boredom” where he writes about what happens when the power goes out
- Alice Walker: “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Creativity of Black Women in the South” (1974) — this essay was published in MS Magazine and is the title essay of her collection.
- E.B. White: “Once More to the Lake” where he explores both time and place
What are some of your favorite essays about people and place? What do they teach or offer to you?
art predator 
Reblogged this on whisper down the write alley.