The Legacies of Rachel Carson Karen F

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2014 Speaking Truth to Power: The Legacies of Rachel Carson Karen F. Stein University of Rhode Island, [email protected]

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Citation/Publisher Attribution Stein, Karen Fr. "Speaking Truth to Power: The Legacies of Rachel Carson." English Journal. 103(6): 81-84. July 2014. Available at: http://www.ncte.org/journals/ej/issues/v103-6

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The Legacies of Rachel of wonder" and reverence. This an adventurous mind. ("Intellec tual Dissipation") Carson belief underlies Carson's under standing of the essence of educa Her love of nature was shaped Karen F. Stein tion, an understanding we would University of Rhode Island by a pedagogy that advocated do well to embrace. karen. [email protected] direct experience and avoided rote learning and memorization of Rachel Carson is perhaps the most Carson's Educational facts. She teaches us that "a sense significant environmentalist of the Ph ilosophy of wonder" must be the founda tion that inspires children to learn 20th century; she is often consid Carson's educational philosophy to (Carson, A Sense of Wonder). Facts, ered be the founder of contempo advocates direct experience of sub rary environmentalism. However, ject matter, individual goal-setting, names, dates, and other details will her contributions to society go and focus on one's strengths and follow once the child-or indeed any individual-has formed a per further, inspiring us through her interests. As such, this view pro writings and public testimony to vides a powerful corrective to the sonal relationship to a subject and is motivated to learn more. Carson lead our children to experience the contemporary movement toward to argues that all education must be wonder of nature and approach rigid uniform standards and high the natural world with awe and stakes testing. highly personal and based on the reverence. Her writings include Even as a student Carson had individual's interests, strengths, pamphlets and short essays written strong beliefs about the value and and needs. When the student is for the US Government Bureau of deeply involved with the sub function of education. An essay Fisheries (that became the Bureau she wrote when she was a high ject matter, education becomes a "spiritual adventure" ("Intellec of Fish and Wildlife); newspaper school senior indicates her insis tual Dissipation"). feature articles about nature; three tence on seeing education as an popular best-selling books about adventure, as the individual dis the sea (Under the Sea Wind, The covers what she needs to under Her love of nature was shaped Sea Around Us, and The Edge of the stand and sets her own goals for by a pedagogy that advocated Sea); her important environmental achievement. Carson wrote: direct experience and avoided analysis, Silent Spring; and her essay rote learning and memorization "Help Your Child to Wonder" Scholarship ... must be intensely (intended as a guide for parents individualistic. Each student is of facts. essentially a law unto himself. He and later published in book form must analyze his personal needs, as A Sense of Wonder). These offer Carson's deep love of nature take stock of his individual assets, ings present a compelling blend and determine for himself the best partly evolved from a pedagogi of poetry and science as well as a means of reaching his individual cal revolution. Her mother was combination of passion and poli goal .... Education is a spiritual inspired by the nature-study tics. Carson's writings promote her adventure ... [that comes} not by movement, which gained promi belief that direct experience of the academic spoon-feeding, but nence when Rachel was a child. natural world may inspire "a sense through the undaunted efforts of This movement argued for the

English Journal 103 .6 (2014): 81-84 81 The Legacies of Rachel Carson

replacement of the "dry as dust" ing the animals and plants they Agency (EPA) and to the banning study of inanimate models in sci find. According to Carson obser of domestic use of DDT. Another ence courses with field work (Bai vation of nature would motivate result was the restoration of the ley 8). This new pedagogy stressed the child to learn more about the population of eagles, ospreys, experiential learning to involve observed creatures and phenom and other wildlife that had been the student's fullest engagement ena. In fact, experiencing nature decimated by DDT. Silent Spring with the subject. Carson shared with a child often reawakens an politicized the environmental this philosophy. The practice of adult's appreciation of nature. movement and reframed the pop inspiring wonder through direct The values embraced by nature ular belief in the objectivity and experience-rather than teach study resonate in Carson's life and benignity of science. The year ing students to memorize facts as writings, perhaps nowhere more 2012 marked the 50th anniver preparation for high-stakes test clearly than in her important sary of Silent Spring, yet its mes ing-is a model for educators to Silent Spring. (See Lisa H. Sideris sage remains even more crucial for follow. Such an approach encour for a fuller discussion of the influ us today as we face the increasing ages students to seek knowl ence of nature-study on Carson.) threats of pollution and global cli edge themselves and may lead mate change. to lifelong learning (as it did for With this book Carson chal Silent Spring Carson). lenged powerful chemical com According to the noted bota Carson's book Silent Spring is panies and government agencies. nist Liberty Hyde Bailey, a chief another major aspect of her leg Her friends and colleagues warned proponent of the nature-study acy. Carson was fundamentally her that she would be attacked movement, children should be a generalist who saw nature as a by chemical companies and other encouraged to discover nature whole, rather than a specialist who proponents of the pesticide pro through experience, rather than focused on a small part of that grams. Despite this, Carson per through books. Its goal is "to put whole. From that perspective she sisted, struggling to complete the the pupil in a sympathetic atti was moved to analyze and under book after being diagnosed with tude toward nature for the pur stand the human impact on the breast cancer, undergoing che pose of increasing the joy of living environment and to see the con motherapy, and suffering from a ... to enable every person to live sequences of human interventions range of health problems. Some a richer life, whatever his busi (such as the widespread spray government agencies tried to deny ness or profession may be" (4-5). ing of pesticides). Her vision of Carson access to information, and Nature-study avoids mechani nature's intricate web of life led she had to rely on her network of cal memorization and cataloging her to question the belief held colleagues, friends, members of of specimens and tries to make by some that humans can control the National Audubon Society, knowledge a "comprehensive nature, a view that she conceived and other scientists. whole" (8). Bailey argues that of as arrogant. Her friends' warnings proved instead of "close and specialized Silent Spring, her graphic and accurate. Chemical companies study of inert or dead form, [one compelling description of the threatened lawsuits to prevent the should} place the children in the damage caused by the widespread book's publication, and when that fields and woods that they might aerial spraying of toxic persistent attempt failed, they spent a quar study all nature at work" (10), organochlorine pesticides such ter of a million dollars on pub for "mere facts are dead, but the as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroeth licity to discredit the book and meaning of the facts is life" (14). ane (DDT), opened our eyes to Carson herself. Critics argued that In her short essay "Help Your the issue of pollution and high banning pesticide spraying would Child to Wonder" (later pub lighted the interconnectedness of thrust us back into the dark ages, lished in book form as A Sense of the natural world, indeed, of all ensuring widespread starvation, Wonder), Carson advises parents to living beings. This monumen rampant disease, and general mis awaken the child's emotions and tal book led to the establishment ery. (Interestingly, despite the interest, rather than merely nam- of the Environmental Protection original obstruction and denial by

82 July 2014 Speaking Truth to Power

chemical companies, the Ameri Nature's intricately linked sys can Chemical Society named Silent tems are more complex than we yet Spring a National Historic Chemi understand. Therefore, Carson asks cal Landmark in October 2012.) us to recognize our place in the world around us and to treat the Silent Spring opened the eyes of Americans to the dangers of earth respectfully. Her work calls excessive pesticide use. It chal on us to rekindle our sense of won lenged government policies that der at nature's power and beauty, responded too quickly to per and to tread lightly on the earth ceived dangers without adequate so that it will continue to sustain research into causes and effects. It us and our descendants. Her words challenged the belief that science invite us to learn about the envi is objective, benign, and free of ronment we inhabit and challenge errors. It engendered a shift in us to become better informed environmental thinking from about the manifold implications of preservation and conservation of Rachel Carson, 1940. Fish & Wildlife Service. environmental issues. individual species and local places to a broader view of an ecological Her work calls on us to rekindle whole. It politicized the environ ods of controlling insect damage. our sense of wonder at nature's mental movement and changed its In her testimony in Congress and strategies to activism and to seek in speeches she gave at various power and beauty, ing regulation to control technol venues she argued for govern ogy and remediation of ills. mental transparency, and she In her four slim volumes that Chiefly, the book made Americans urged that government agencies blend fact and poetry, Carson aware of their place as integral be responsible to the public. She teaches us that the earth and the components of the natural world. stressed the importance of edu oceans are living entities, shap The book is a classic of environ cating the public about science ing and shaped by their interac mental thought that has retained and ecology, and she urged citi tions with the living creatures its value and remained in print zens to inform themselves and to that inhabit them. Among these since its original publication. creatures humans are having the (Stein 106) make their views known to their representatives. She pointed to greatest impact and our altera In Silent Spring Carson argued the dangers of industrial grants tion of the environment is turning that "the obligation to endure to universities: "Support of edu out to be far greater than Carson gives us the right to know" (13). cation seems desirable, but on imagined possible. Like many in The book challenges our belief reflection we see that this does not her time Carson had believed that that science and technology can make for unbiased research" (The the fisheries were an inexhaustible control the natural world, for this New Englander, April 1963). She resource. However, we now realize assumption leads us to imagine warned about the increasing polit that overfishing and ocean trawl ourselves apart from nature rather ical influence of corporations and ing are depleting that resource than a part of nature. the diminishing power of non as well as decimating the ocean Carson's work confronted the profit organizations, citing laws creatures killed or wounded as linkages between powerful chemi that allowed lobbying expenses "by-catch." Similar exploitation cal companies and governmental to be declared legitimate business of other extractive resources such agencies. Despite suffering from expenses, while nonprofit agencies as oil and natural gas is leading the last stages of metastasizing could lose their tax-exempt sta to scarcity, pollution, and more cancer, Carson continued to speak tus if they tried to influence leg destructive extraction techniques. publicly about her work. She asked islation. Carson was farsighted in For many, Carson's life is an the US government to investigate recognizing these trends. We still inspiring model of conviction the results of its spraying projects face the issues of growing corpo and courage. Her love of nature and to use less destructive meth- rate political influence. remained with Carson throughout

English Journal 83 Th e Legacies of Rachel Ca rson

her life, bringing her joy, sustain if we encourage students to renew Books and Papers, Charles E. Shain Library, Connecticut College. Print. ing her in good and bad times, their sense of wonder, to find ---. The Sea Around Us. New York: and animating her books. Indeed, and pursue their interests, and Oxford UP, 1951. Print. in her essay "Help Your Child to to see their learning as a lifelong ----. A 'ense of Wonder. 1965. New Wonder," posthumously pub adventure. ~ York: Harper, 1998. Print. ---. Silent Spring. 1962 Boston: lished in book form as A Sense of Houghton, 1987. Print. Works Cited Wonder, Carson writes that "those ---. Under the Sea Wind. New York: who contemplate the beauty of the Bailey, Liberty Hyde. The Nature-Study Oxford UP, 1941. Print. Idea: Being an Interpretation of the New Sideris, Lisa H. "The Truth of the Bar earth find reserves of strength that School Movement to Put the Child in nacles: Rachel Carson and the Moral will endure as long as life lasts" Sympathy with Nature. New York: Significance of Wonder." Rachel Car (100). Following Carson's teach Doubleday, 1903. Print. son: Legacy and Challenge. Ed. Lisa H. ings we must approach learning Carson, Rachel. The Edge of the Sea. Bos Sideris and Kathleen Dean Moore. ton: Houghton, 1955. Print. Albany: Srate U of New York P, as more than a series of measured "Intellectual Dissipation." 2008. 267-80. Print. hurdles to cross, or tests to com 1925. High school essay. In Linda Stein, Karen F. Rachel Carson. Rotter plete successfully. We can do this Lear Collection of Rachel Carson dam: Sense, 2012. Print.

Karen Stein is professor of English and of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Rhode Island. She teaches and writes about contemporary North American women writers. She wrote Rachel Carson (Sense, 2012) and is currently writing a critical study of US poet Adrienne Rich.

Call for Submissions

The Assembly on American literature is accepting articles for the 2014 issue of Notes on American Literature. This year's theme is Bridging Fact and Fiction. The Editorial Board welcomes articles that connect histori cal context and current issues to canonical and contemporary works of American fiction and nonfiction. Articles may range from 1,500 to 2,500 words using the most recent MlA style guide. The deadline for the next round of blind peer review is July 31, 2014. If you would like to submit an article describing your research on American authors or their works and/or your ideas for teaching them, please send an email attach ment to [email protected] and [email protected]. Notes on American Literature is a peer-reviewed journal of the National Council of Teachers of English's Assembly on American literature. http://www.ncte.org /assemblies

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