Reed wants kids to get out there

2007-10-09

Source: The Providence Journal

Childhood memories of lazy strolls through the woods and weekend camping trips may be formative experiences relegated to the past, worries U.S. Sen. Jack Reed.

Not only will today's children not recognize what the natural world has to offer, but they might not care enough to protect it.

Reed will be at the Roger Williams Park Zoo on Friday to promote a new piece of legislation called the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007.

The bill, introduced in the Senate in August, would provide $100 million a year for five years to train educators about the environment and get their students out in it.

With the proposed law, Reed hopes to offset some of the effects of the federal education law, No Child Left Behind, and the emphasis on annual testing, both of which have meant less time for field trips and subjects outside the core areas of reading and math.

"Many schools are being forced to scale back and eliminate environmental programs," Reed said in the Aug. 2 address on the Senate floor. "Fewer and fewer students are able to take part in related classroom instruction and field investigations, however effective or popular."

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