These are the key articles, videos and insights that inspired my Forest School Singapore journey. Enjoy.
(1) . You don’t legally have to go to school
(2) . Carol Black : On the Wildness of Children
https://carolblack.org/on-the-wildness-of-children
This is one of the most important article of my journey as an educator and practitioner. Its almost like my own mini-bible that I return to, for inspiration and motivation. She absolutely blew my mind with the anecdotes and stories about education, life and learning. My favourite part of the article… “the world is too beautiful to substitute for, and the wildest of our children––the ones they have to put on Ritalin, the ones they have to put on Prozac–– know it. These children are the canaries in the coal mine, the ones who will not obey our masters, who will not take their place as cogs in the machine that is destroying the earth. They are not the ones who have a “disorder.” They are the ones who still hold the perfect Kosmos in their hearts.“
(3) . Critique of Forest School : Something Lost in Translation
Another almost biblical piece that pushed myself to evaluate the practice of FS of mine, and really rigorously reflect about our community, philosophy and context. It motivated me to open my eyes to colonialism in education and also the negative commercialisation effects of what we do. My favourite part… “… As highlighted by Cree’s (2009, p. 24) statement that “teachers and practitioners openly admit they find it hard not to interfere and shut up!” the ability of a Forest School leader to facilitate play is influenced by their educational background and career path as an outdoor educator. Harris (2015) has shown that some Forest School leaders are happy to completely change plans in response to children; however, “others do not always do this” and find “facilitating child-led learning … to be a challenge” (p. 15). In addition, the teaching and learning may become simplified in a mechanical way when the Forest School session is designed and run by a practitioner with only Level 3 Forest School training. This is not intended as a generalisation, however, since from my experience it is apparent that Forest School leaders often have a range and depth of other teaching experiences and qualifications.“
(4) . Remember Summerhill
In the journey of Forest School, we had many challenges with regards to handling and understanding of the conflicts that arises from the highly dynamic session and group interaction of children being free and open-ended. This article shine us light towards a deeper understanding about what it means to work it out. My favourite passage…. “…The older kids offer sympathetic responses. One tells him that they had crisps for dinner and not to imagine someone had planned this out. Another supports his concern and complains about bullying and the way they have seen William treated. “This shows a lack of respect, and we ought to sort it out,” one comforter offers. But that doesn’t happen at this meeting. Still, the support William has gotten seems to mean something to him.“
(5) . Denmark’s Forest Kindergartens : Kids gone wild
(6) . Maruntabo – The Forest Kindergarten (Japan)
(7) . Let the kids run wild, build forts and pick flowers. Nature can take it.
This article came to me at a time when I had to fend off authorities and other more staunch preservationists who seemingly wanted us to just comply with their rules with little consideration for the deeper essence and experience of connection with Nature. It gave me strength to stand strong and face with the repercussion of doing Forest School in Singapore. My favourite part… “…Browning was a ranger at Mount Mitchell State Park in North Carolina, and along with the other rangers he had been trained to give a little speech to children caught picking flowers, pocketing shells, or trying to make off with rocks. He explains it like this: “You are supposed to calmly kneel down and say, ‘I saw you picking the flower. That is so pretty! Now think about what would happen if every child picked a flower.’ And then they are supposed to have this moment of guilt. Browning had given this little talk many times. But on this day, in August 2009, he saw another ranger deliver it to a boy at the park restaurant, about age 8, with a fist full of rocks—rocks, Browning noticed, from the gravel road. “It was gravel we bought at the local store,” Browning says. “It made me sick. The boy was crestfallen. He was so excited about coming to the park that he wanted to take a little memento back with him.More than feeling empowered or excited to protect the natural world, now he is going to associate going to state parks with getting into trouble.“
(8) . The Education of Little Tree
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3c8o6g
(9) . Children who carry stones in their pockets: on autotelic material practices in everyday life
This paper led to me embarking on a deep dive into the experience of children and human being, in trying to make sense of the elements that makes up the seemingly insignificant aspect of our Forest School experience. This paper gave me the language, AUTOTELIC, to start to make sense of the FS work and journey. The line that spark was… “…By autotelic practices, I understand activities that we repeatedly engage with for no external reward or motivation such as money or outside recognition. Autotelic practices are internally motivating in that the activity is the goal and the reward in itself. “
(10) . Experience of Time in the Very Young
This is another mind-jolting article, that really led tomyon development as a practitioner in having a deeper understanding of the space / time elements that we hold in a forest school session. It gave me the language and depth I needed to make sense of my experience with the children of our community both old and young.
(11) . School Inc : The Price of Excellence
(12) . The Serviceberry : The Economy of Abundance
https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-serviceberry/
This is a long read, but it allowed me to go deep upon a greater eco-systemic perspective of our practice at Forest School Singapore, and review our relationship with the environment and the rich gifts of resources that we received. It inspired us, to further minimise consumption of items into session, and learn to recognise the relationship and materials that exist within ourselves and around.
Written by & Curated by : Darren Quek
Founder & Research Practitioner of Forest School Singapore
Library 