Abstract: This essay explores the role of critical pedagogy in environmental justice education. We discuss the need for teaching a love of nature (biophilia) as an entry point for developing a caring relationship and sense of stewardship with the natural world. Place-based education and ecopedagogy offer liberatory potential to make education more transformative and … [Read more...] about For the Love of Nature: Bringing Environmental Justice to Urban Elementary Students
Author Profile: Lizzette Mendoza
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TeacherParmelee Avenue Elementary School, Los AngelesLizzette Mendoza grew up in Long Beach, CA, not far from the Lower Los Angeles River. She received her master's degree in education in 2017, focusing her thesis on ecopedagogy. She currently teaches first grade in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood of Los Angeles at Parmelee Avenue Elementary School and continues to work with her students in studying the natural environment in their community.