The Nature of Education

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one cold winter day in alaska with the

temperatures hovering around

negative 30 degrees fahrenheit i was out

on my daily run

across the frozen bering sea the

landscape was so peaceful and quiet

that i could hear every beat of a

raven’s wings as it flew over my head

i could hear every step as my foot hit

the snow-covered ice

i marveled at the stunning sunrise as it

slowly crept up

from behind the frozen sea and started

to make its journey across the horizon

before setting just a few hours later

when i got back into the native alaskan

village where i had been living and

teaching

for the past year and a half it was

teeming with life

everyone was out taking advantage of the

sunlight mothers had their babies

strapped onto their back and a warm

jacket put over both of them

a large group of children bundled from

head to toe were sledding down a steep

embankment

out onto the ice i spent that

particularly long

cold winter pregnant in alaska when i

found out that i was pregnant i knew i

could continue running

but could i run pregnant in negative 30.

so i called my doctor in anchorage and

she assured me that as long as i was

adequately dressed i would be perfectly

safe

so i ran all winter and spring pregnant

in alaska

usually in temperatures well below zero

that summer i moved back to colorado to

have my son and be closer to family

after he was born i continued to take

him out

every day in all weather for long

adventures

some of his best snaps were where he was

strapped onto me with a warm jacket put

over both of us

when he was two i wanted to go back to

work so i started looking at daycare and

preschool facilities

i was shocked at what little time they

spent outside and the amount of

sedentary activities that they did

my son was very active and thrived in an

outdoor environment

so i couldn’t imagine putting him

indoors with very little movement

for eight or more hours a day as i was

contemplating my options

i remembered learning about the forest

school movement in my master’s program

where all learning is done outside i

knew that this was the type of learning

environment that my son would thrive in

and after extensive research and looking

at some programs

i knew that this was the type of

learning environment that would be

beneficial for so many children

across colorado and the nation

during my research i found that the four

school movement

was taking off all over the world due to

the numerous benefits that people were

finding

from learning out of doors but it was

slow to take off in the united states

at that time there were very few outdoor

based and forest school early learning

programs

across the nation only one in colorado

and none in the greater denver area

where i was living

so i decided to start one i initially

wanted this to be

a daycare and a preschool but because i

wanted to operate it

outside using open space and city park

areas without an indoor facility

i couldn’t get it licensed so i decided

to start it as a child and caregiver

class

where parents would come with their

entire family once or twice a week

and spend about three or more hours a

day outside

through this model i was able to witness

the tremendous impact

that learning out of doors has on people

of all ages

from infants and toddlers to school-age

children

to adults i witnessed all participants

gaining confidence and self-esteem

developing deep connections with nature

becoming more agile

thinking critically and becoming better

problem solvers

with this model i was also able to show

the state that children

can be safe learning outdoors every day

in

all weather so i started to work with

them

on launching an outdoor base preschool

and kindergarten in the state of

colorado

and with this model i was able to see

that students can learn so much while

they’re outside

and they’re invested in what they’re

learning and so inquisitive so i started

to combine my knowledge

of being a classroom teacher with my

knowledge of the forest

school model to create a robust

outdoor learning program that

incorporates social and emotional

development

environmental education and academics

and now i’ve been able to grow world

mind from a preschool in kindergarten

into a full elementary school where we

now serve students from preschool

through fifth grade research shows

that many u.s schools and daycare

facilities are spending too much time

doing sedentary activities

as a result children are not achieving

adequate daily levels of physical

activity

which are essential for motor and social

emotional development

as well as mental and physical health

the negative health effects of the shift

to the indoors are numerous

and continue to rise some of these

negative health effects

include the rate of childhood obesity

continues to rise

the world health organization states

that childhood obesity

is one of the most serious health

challenges facing the 21st century

more children are being diagnosed with

adhd the cdc reports

that this is now greater than 10 percent

more children are being diagnosed with

nearsightedness and sensory disorders

many children in the us are vitamin d

deficient

and the cdc reports that one in six

children

between the ages of two and eight have

been diagnosed with a mental

developmental or behavioral disorder

with the covet pandemic and so much

learning switching to being virtual

or students going back into the

classroom where they have to stay at

their desks

six feet apart with very little movement

these negative health effects are bound

to increase

most u.s school systems are not agile

and continually struggled to adapt to

change

this lack of agility has become apparent

during the covet pandemic

where many schools are still struggling

to find safe effective ways

of educating the diverse populations of

students

across our nation research during the

coveted pandemic

continues to show us that being outside

is a much safer option

so why are so many schools struggling to

take learning

outside biophilia theory

is the idea that we have an innate need

to connect with nature

but due to the shift to the indoors many

people in our society have developed

biophobia

a fear of the outdoors and still believe

common myths

like you can get sick from being out in

cold wet weather

when actually we tend to get more

viruses in the colder months

because we’re inside more and many

cultures

believe the opposite in many

scandinavian countries

babies take naps outside all winter

because they believe that this boosts

their immune system

and research shows that babies take the

best naps

in 15 degrees fahrenheit

in some russian communities school-age

children participate in snow bathing

where they pour cold water over their

head and go run around and roll in the

snow

they also believe that this prepares

them for the winter and boosts their

immune system

after teaching in public schools and

running various forest school and

outdoor based learning programs

i keep coming back to this question

where does learning occur

can learning only occur in the boxes

that we have created in education

boxed curriculum box measure of learning

boxed classroom these boxes work for

some

but not the majority of students

especially students with neurodiversity

just as biodiversity a variety of life

in the world

is essential for ecosystems

neurodiversity

neurological differences with labels

some of which include

dyslexia dysgraphia autistic spectrum

tourette syndrome and twice exceptional

and adhd

are essential for humans innovation and

progress we need now more than ever

people who can think outside the box and

be creative and

innovative with our ever-changing

climate

but yet we create homogeneous lessons

all the same

and expect all students to learn and

progress at the same rate

homogeneity in nature usually equals

death

we need to create heterogeneous lessons

that are all different

and can meet the diverse needs of

students within each classroom

let’s start by removing the boxes that

we have created in education

starting with the classroom and taking

children outside

and using mother nature as a co-teacher

mother nature is a wonderful co-teacher

i have been teaching with her for many

years

she naturally inspires innovation and

creativity

she has had more than 4 billion years to

perfect her craft

and much of what we find in nature is

perfectly crafted

throughout history she has inspired

artists and innovators to come up with

new ideas

velcro was designed after studying the

burrs of burdock that were stuck to the

inventor’s clothes

after returning from a hunting trip the

japanese bullet train

was designed after studying the flight

patterns of birds

and new technology is being designed for

medical equipment

and boats after studying shark skin

we need to work together to get children

outside

for their mental and physical health and

to teach them the skills

that are necessary to be successful in

an ever-changing world in the 21st

century

but also for the future of our planet we

can’t teach children to care about the

rainforest

if we don’t allow them to play in the

rain they need to be out in nature

falling in love with it in order to want

to protect it

so let’s work together to get children

outside

we can start by making small changes

families

start going out every day in all weather

go play in the rain and splash in

puddles

experience the stillness of the world

during a snowstorm

teachers start taking one lesson a day

outside this can be silent reading or

journaling

you’d be surprised at how much students

are inspired

by mother nature and the things that

they’re finding outside and they want to

write about

in schools start making outdoor learning

a priority

start bringing in professional

development to give teachers the tools

to feel safe and comfortable taking

children outside

in all weather we need to start working

together to get children outside

for the future of our planet the mental

and physical health of our children

and to help them develop the skills that

they will need to be successful

in an ever-changing world thank you

[Music]

you