Dr Bear and the adventure bears

Hayes, Tracy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6330-6520 (2018) Dr Bear and the adventure bears. Children's Geographies, 16 (4). pp. 461-464.

Preview

PDF - Accepted Version Available under License CC BY-NC Download (338kB) | Preview

Abstract

“Hello, I see you have a bear on your stand. Why is that?” I ask the man behind the table which is loaded with academic journals, books and promotional literature for delegates at the RGS-IBG 2017 conference to browse through. He smiles and replies, “That’s Barnaby. He’s my bear.” He picks up the bear to give it a cuddle. “Hello Barnaby, nice to see you here - I don’t often see bears at conferences,” I respond with a grin. The man then explains that Barnaby Bear features in their books for children, and for the geographers that teach them (The Geographical Association, 2014). “What do you think Barnaby Bear contributes to the teaching of geography?” I query. “He helps to make it seem more fun, the children can relate to the bear, to where he goes and what he does. It helps them make connections with their own lives.” “That’s so interesting,” I respond, “I’ve been doing something similar – although for older ages.” I explain briefly some of the work I have been doing that has involved teddy bears, including taking bears with me to conferences, working on a chapter for an edited book, and this response to John Horton’s paper. “You could write something for one of our journals too – we’d love that. And perhaps you’d like to join our association.” I quickly realise he means an association of geographers, not an association of bear appreciators (although perhaps we could start one – Arctophiles Not Anonymous?), thankfully avoiding a potentially embarrassing mistake. I take the leaflets from him, and promise to consider it, and he poses for a photo with Barnaby Bear. Later, away from the busy-ness of the conference, in the quiet space of my room, I reflect on this encounter...

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Children's Geographies
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
ISSN:	1473-3277
Departments:	Academic Departments > Health, Psychology & Social Studies (HPSS) > Children, Youth, Families and Community Work
Depositing User:	Tracy Hayes
Date Deposited:	29 Mar 2018 14:22
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2024 19:31
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3723

Downloads