Bob Keddell, 36 yrs. of teaching experience
My name is Bob Keddell and I wanted to step forth as a Howard County citizen and offer three points. In order to have those points generate meaning though, I first must put them into context.
First, I am a teacher with 36 years of experience who has always used environmental education as the motivator to reach students in many different education settings. First in Harlem, NYC, my brother and I invented and participated in a cracks in the sidewalk program we called “GREEN LIGHTNING”. ……next, I spent a dozen years teaching in Ithaca, New York, home to Cornell and three beautiful state parks….Lake Cayuga and an environmental teaching wonderland. My move to Howard County was a compromise with my “city wife” who missed the museums of the world. Howard County had more trees than everywhere else, so I settled here to watched over the next 20 + years many of those tree stands be leveled for development. I currently teach at Lime Kiln Middle School where we just achieved State of Maryland Green School status by developing a grade 6-8 program of environmental studies. The behind the scenes news here is that our expensive culminating 3-Day field experience for sixth graders is in jeopardy due to the rising costs of doing programs outside the county.
Second, I am the Faculty Advisor for the graduate level Teacher Leadership Certificate at Johns Hopkins University. I teach the capstone or final course for teacher leadership for all students who take this masters program here as well as in Montgomery County. I am advising and teaching major projects by teachers across the State of Maryland. Many of the final projects chosen by the teachers as their “change” project are related to their desire to work with the environment. The ability or ease to do that varies quite a bit due to the level of development and sophistication that exists in different environmental education centers located around the state.
Third, a few teachers and myself decided a few years ago to go ahead and start addressing the hands on environmental education need in Howard County by beginning summer programs in full cooperation with Howard County Recreation and Parks. That effort has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations as we now run programs with Recreation and Parks for four weeks each summer and have such high levels of interest that our programs serve about 400 students per summer ages 7-16 including a group we call the ECOYOUTH LEADERSHIP. At the end of four weeks we let the janitorial staff have the building back for annual summer cleaning and then pick up stakes and conduct the same programs in Washington DC at the Smithsonian.
Fourth, last year I had the opportunity to serve the State as the committee’s K-12 representative on the Governor’s Task Force for Minority Involvement in Environmental Issues.
My three points are . . .
Point 1 – Environmental Education is a prime MOTIVATOR for all youth and I would also add families. I have had the opportunities in NYC, inner city Baltimore, in private schools and in Howard County settings to impact student learning. The entry point for success is the environment…always.
Point 2 – I believe that everyone involved in EE consider a comprehensive look on how best to serve the full community by including a coordinated use of the facilities that are advancing…the Robinson Center…the Howard County Conservancy and this Nature Park. One thing is true about the environmental centers around the State, they book through the School System use, fill, and the limits begin.
Point 3 – There is an educational rule of thumb called “Proximity to the Learner” that I have always paid close attention to. In this case, the closer you make the environmental programs and resources to the home of the learner, the more likely it is to have a long-term impact on their habits of mind. The proposed Nature Park is for students and families and is right in the middle of Columbia. If you are after changing or impacting the Habits of Mind of students and families, then this potential Nature Park Education property is closest to their homes….the center of Columbia….and that makes advancing the project MOST important.
Thank you for your consideration,
Bob
Bob Keddell
10131 Shaker Drive
Columbia, Maryland 21046
410-964-2527
bkeddell@aol.com