Basics of Place-Conscious Education: The Nebraska Experience

This podcast is the first of a seven-part series that introduces the big concepts of place-conscious education as used by Nebraska Writing Project teachers. Special guest Dr. Robert Brooke, director of the Nebraska Writing Project, situates listeners to place-conscious work in Nebraska in three stages: the Rural Institute program developed 1995-2007; the online Place-Conscious Institute and the suburban inquiry team 2008-2015; and the current community engagement/literacy programs of Husker Writers and the National Parks Service partnership. Then, four main concepts of place-conscious education are explained: Active citizens as opposed to migratory education The 3-legged stool of education, community vitality, and environmental quality Spiraling out from local community to regional, national, international knowledge Watershed and commonwealth as the crucial web of interrelationships We finish with examples of two exemplar projects: the Henderson/Bradshaw school consolidation project; and the Greater Omaha schools Urban Justice Project.