Every 4th Grader in America to Get a One-Year Pass to Every National Park for them & their Family!

[appalachiablue]

17. It's a terrific idea to expose more children to nature, history, parks & monuments, to actually

experience learning & life instead of being 'on a screen', a reality for most as the article notes. The typical American child spends about 7 minutes outdoors each day, according to what I read last year.
Another positive for the new program is additional transportation $ for low income schools. Great, I hope it reaches the many deserving kids intended.

How families that are very short of time, overworked & struggling to get by, will be able to plan & afford excursions, getaways & vacations to use the free pass, whether local or further away is a valid concern. Public programs are familiar to me from work as a museum educator in art, history & Civil War parks & forts.

New school teaching materials & an education portal with the NPS (National Park Service) is where the $ for contracted private tech companies came in to build new systems, as is common with projects from the Secy. of the US Educ. Dept., Arne Duncan, the private charter-voucher school advocate.
Another good sign from the photos is no kids & families sent out with electronic tablets & I-pods, but rather using binoculars & relying on their own eyes & senses for observation. Hope the program's a great success; the kids deserve it.