The Nature of Education
t minus 10 9 8 7
6 5 4 3
2 1 0
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