AL(~JM，t~IZING I$<br > AN INTRODUCTION<br > "Start where the learner is， not where you are." reads one of our<br >axioms for leaders. And as a result， I find myself in something of a<br >predicament for I feel some inner pressure to tell you where I am<br >coming from nonetheless. Perhaps I have been reading too much<br >Perls (as one of my favorite professors was once wont to put it，<br > =Steve， you ve been reading too many damn books again~ ) tor I<br >believe I must be "up front" with you about some of my more relevant<br >thoughts and feelings. At any rate， it would be impossible for me to<br >know where ell of you are， This way， if by chance you can get your<br >head into grasping (not agreeing with) my viewpoint， we ll both be<br >starting from somewhere a little closer -- which is far more than most<br >Inlroductions do for you anyway So let s begin with a look at where I<br >am.<br > I.<br > I CANNOT PRETEND TO 8E AN EXPERT IN ENVIRONMENTAL<br >EDUCATION.<br > In fact， I cannot even pretend to know what it is. I suspect that it<br >is merely good education in general (which means we might be more<br >appropriately classified as lobbyists instead of educators). From<br >listening to others， environmental education would appear to be a<br >process app~.icable to most any content Unlike the serious academic<br >:discipline there seems to be no recognizable body ol knowledge<br >; "，~hgre a~ e evidently no standard skills eithe -- unless plaster casting<br >O r measuring air pollution will pass for requisite abilities)<br >: .;In the b~ginning， "outdoor educa on" may have been a more<br >.f~!itng title， but the term indica es or me how a we ve depa ed rom<br >~r ~igf8l origins. It is only from the entrenched mental position ot<br >~e#ne who spends a great deal of time "inside" doors， shut off<br >i[w00 growing hings and raw nutrients that one could speak of the<br >~O~JtdoO St TO use the term "outdoor education" continually hints at<br >~h~ ~f ~nge paradox w h n wh ch we nd ou se yes<br >， ~ ~Nough. I don t want to quibble needlessly for it is good to take<br >~q~q~gse s ou s de o those damn buildings for whatever reason<br >~L~!}S j U~t Say that I am interested in education Ior living as part ot the<br >~ ~1 World that natural world which ex s s n sp e o man s<br >Pi;e~nt aberr~ag0ns)， and that I am engaged in helping young people<br > ~ d e~ggt themselves not as isolated entities but each one as a<br >r~PlasCeOce in the sun s web of lile.<br >.%~ . A<br >