Environmental educator…
GEORGE W. CARVER
MISSOURI GREEN SCHOOLS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE
SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI NOVEMBER 5, 2016
Welcome to the 2016 Missouri Green Schools and Environmental
Education Conference!
I will be speaking about George W. Carver, famous Missourian, educator,
scientist, artist and environmentalist.
George W. Carver should be considered the prototype for Place-Based
Education (PBE), otherwise known as Place-Based Learning. He was
also instrumental in developing Project-Based Learning
A DIFFERENT KIND OF PEDAGOGY…
How far you go in life depends on your
being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant
of the weak and strong. Because someday
in your life you will have been all of these.
George W. Carver
PHILOSOPHY, PEDAGOGY OR BOTH?
What do each of these mean for teachers and students today?
How far you go in life depends on your being tender
with the young, compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the
weak and strong. Because someday in your life you
will have been all of these.
CARVER’S PHILOSOPHY/PEDAGOGY
Student Characteristics
 YOUNG
 AGED
 STRIVING
 WEAK
 STRONG




Teacher Responses
TENDER
COMPASSIONATE
SYMPATHETIC
TOLERANT
GOOD SCIENCE PEDAGOGY STARTS WITH GOOD
TEACHER PREPARATION
Pre-service education including courses in science
content and science pedagogy.
 But, then what? Take advantage of any and all
professional development opportunities in
science, like this workshop!
 Get involved in organizations like Stream Team,
Missouri ForestKeepers, Missouri Environmental
Education Association, Missouri Prairie
Foundation.
 Partner with National Park Service sites.
 Just get outside!

LESSONS FROM CARVER’S OWN EXPERIENCES
“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of
freedom.”
 His struggle for an education.
 Some students struggle with acquiring reading skills,
inequalities or social justice issues.
 Carver in the South.
 We are all impacted by environmental issues.
 Carver became an expert, well-trained and educated.
 Expert in Mycology.
 He was a man of great faith and spirituality.
THE BASICS…
Discovery Learning (we could stop right here…)
 Not just lecture (although there is nothing wrong
with some lecture), focus on the scientific method
 Environmental education (reduce, reuse, recycle)
get your students involved in service education
projects related to science
 Naturalist Intelligence (Howard Gardner) where
teachers and students are immersed in nature.
 Read Richard Louv’s books on Nature
 Utilize PBE and PBL

CARVER’S METHOD

He modeled a collaborative pedagogy (letters,
bulletins, mobile school, networks of
like-minded individuals)
CARVER WROTE NUMEROUS EXTENSION BULLETINS
THE ETHOS OF A TEACHER
George W. Carver exhibited an ethos of care.
 This was manifested in spiritual and relational
ways.
 Carver was a thorough educator and engaged
in solid preparation for whatever he was doing.
 He manifested a sustainable lifestyle.
 “You can't tear up everything just to get the
dollar out of it without suffering as a result."

THE PEDAGOGY OF BEAUTY
All children have aesthetic needs.
 What are teachers doing to meet these needs?
 James Comer’s Developmental Pathways
(including the psychological and ethical
pathways).
 Creativity is one of the highest forms of
thinking...
 Self-actualization is critical...

ANDERSON’S REVISION OF BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS
HOW PHILOSOPHY AND PEDAGOGY INTERSECT
George W. Carver developed paint from clay in
Alabama and shared this knowledge with local
farmers so they could paint their homes.
He also advocated vegetable gardens to help
supplement the diet of sharecroppers in the South
as well as flower gardens to promote beauty.
He is usually pictured with a fresh flower in his
lapel.
PRACTICAL PEDAGOGY!
21ST CENTURY STRUGGLES
We must equip students with the ability to deal
with oppression in effective ways like Carver
did.
 This requires an activist pedagogy.
 There is a need for teachers to be proactive in
their preparation, pedagogy and profession.

CARVER IN HIS TUSKEGEE LAB
From 1896 to his death in 1943, George W. Carver consistently exhibited those
characteristics he began to form on the Moses Carver farm where he was born.
He is the epitome of a dedicated teacher, one who impacted thousands upon
thousands all around the world and still inspires us today.
RESOURCES
George Washington Carver National Monument
https://www.nps.gov/gwca/index.htm
Green Party http://www.gp.org/
Environmental and social justice organizations
http://www.globalstewards.org/organizations.htm
George W. Carver at Tuskegee
http://www.tuskegee.edu/about_us/legacy_of_fame/george_w_carver.aspx
Recommended books on George W. Carver
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY!
Edward Williamson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Education and Child Development, Drury University
VIP at Carver National Monument
[email protected]
(573) 451-2400 office
Drury University
194 Eastlawn, Suite C
St. Robert, MO 65584