We are a collective of significant historic and cultural sites in Boston.
We believe that connecting with place provides an integral way to understand history and its current relevance. We also know that our relationship to the sites we preserve evolves over time and requires individual definition. In order to cultivate a well-rounded, active generation invested in the places that make up their city, we open our doors and invite youth to forge meaningful connections that empower them to find their own place in the story.
Our Mission
Our mission is to facilitate place-based teaching and learning experiences that empower students to define meaning for themselves and to make decisions about where they fit in the larger story – and beyond. We achieve this mission by meeting and engaging both teachers and students where they are to broaden our reach and impact; by collaborating with teachers and administrators within the Boston Public School system to tailor experiences to specific curricular goals; and by collaborating with each other to provide a multidimensional understanding of our dynamic city, Boston
Our Collaborative Goal
Our sites will reach every Boston Public School student at least once during their K-12 tenure and provide a meaningful and relevant place-based experience.
We will deepen the engagement of Boston Public School students through collaboration with Boston Public School teachers, site educators, and one another. We will enable youth to learn content, skills, and attitudes from place-based experiences that they can use to address authentic needs in their communities.
We will also build a community committed to the benefits of place-based teaching and learning. Our experience in Boston will encourage place-based teaching and learning elsewhere, expanding this community to other cities.
What is Place-Based Learning?
Place-Based Boston aspires to create meaningful and relevant experiences in place.
What do we mean by meaningful and relevant?
Students see themselves reflected in our stories and sites as well as local, cultural, and natural landscapes - nationally and globally.
Students see themselves as participants in the civic life of their communities and act as ambassadors.
Students and Boston Public School teachers learn through our sites to contextualize history as a means of exploring contemporary narratives.
Students of all ages receive developmentally appropriate place-based experiences. .
Place-Based Boston works closely with the Boston Public Schools’ History and Social Studies department to make Place-Based Learning part of their essential practices.
Essential Social Studies Teaching Practice #6
Immerse students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, and experiences through place-based learning (museums, archives, community organizations, historical societies, walking tours, etc.) as a foundation to create connections to content.
