A congressman wants to force schools to get children out in nature

I recently got an email about The Fed's Cure for"Nature Deficit Disorder." Allen Quist starts with:

----------
Claiming to have the remedy for "nature deficit disorder," Congressional Democrats (along with some Republicans) are in the process of passing a new federal education program for all 50 states. The bill is called "No Child Left Inside" and is a major expansion of the federal education train-wreck, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
----------

At first I thought this was a joke. I realize April 1st has come and gone, but I didn't believe anyone in Congress would want to force schools to make sure children got enough outdoors time. Don't get me wrong, I think it is important for children to run outside, to play in the mud, to walk in the rain and to be with nature. BUT schools should not be focused on this.

I dug around a bit and found there really is a Congressman who is sponsoring such a bill. US. Repressentative John P. Sarbanes is pushing the bill. Wow.

Many have complained about the No Child Left Behind law. They believe that the focus on testing has ruined the education progress.

Yet here are some people who think that by passing a law children will come to know and love nature. I believe it is more likely that after suffering through school nature programs most kids will end up hating nature and quickly retreat back to their homes.

Sad.


----------
Technorati tags: government schools, public, school, abuse, power, children, education