Redefining “Back to Basics:” Critical Place-Based Education as Essential Practice

This article explores how an environmental justice-centered summer program in Wayne County, Michigan, one of the areas most impacted by environmental harm in the United States, uses storytelling, critical place-based education practices, teen advocacy frameworks and local curriculum development to push back on current “back-to-basics” education mandates, including scripted curriculum, skills-dominant instruction, and decontextualized learning. Using the MAISA GELN Disciplinary Literacy Essentials: Grades 6-12 as a guide, we attempt to redefine what ought to be seen as “basic” in schools to ensure that students can be a meaningful part of building a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for our region.