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OutdoorEducationContinuesintheCold
CindySouleisateacherinPortland, Maine, anareaknowntohaveextremelycoldandsnowywinters. ButcoldweatherisnotstoppingSouleandherstudentsfromcontinuingwithoutdoorlearningduringthecoronaviruspandemic.
Earlierintheschoolyear, studentsinSoule’sfourth-gradeclasshadoutdoorlessonsonthingslikepollinationanderosion.
Then, thesnowcame.
Infacecoveringsandwarmclothes, thestudentstooktheirschoolsuppliesoutsideinbuckets. Then, theyturnedthebucketsover, putthemdowninthesnow, tookaseatandwenttowork.
Thelessonthatdaycenteredonsnowandtheformationofsnowflakes.
SchoolsacrosstheU.S. havepushedforoutdoorlearningtokeepstudentsandteacherssafeandstopthespreadofCOVID-19. Infectiousdiseaseexpertsworldwidehavenotedthatthevirusspreadslesseasilyoutdoors.
Now, withtemperaturesdroppinginmuchofthecountry, someschoolshavemadeplanstocontinueoutdoorlearningduringthewinter.
AnneStiresisanoutdoorlearningexpertinMaine. Shesaidtheoutdoorsis “thehealthiest, safestplaceforustoberightnow.”
“Anythingthatwecandotogetkidsoutdoorsforlongerperiodsoftimeisvital,” Stiresadded. “Thisiswhereweneedtoberightnow.”
IntheneighboringstateofNewHampshire, fourth- andfifth- gradestudentsarestilllearningoutsideatJamesFaulknerElementarySchoolinStoddard. Theschoolcreatedanoutdoorclassroombyclearingsometreesandbuildinganareaforwarmthbyfire.
Thestudentsseemtoliketheoutdoorclassroom.
“They’rebeggingmetogoout,” teacherAmandaBridgessaid.
InthewesternstateofColorado, elementaryschoolstudentsintheLakeCountyschooldistrictstudyinusualclassroomsforhalftheweek. Fortheotherhalf, theylearnoutdoors.
Foreducators, outdoorlearningisyetanotherperiodofchange. Lastspring, itwasdistancelearning. Thencamehybrid, ormixed, learningmethods. Now, educatorsaretryingtokeeptheirstudentswarmenoughtolearnoutside.
BackinPortland, CindySoule’sstudentsanswerquestionsaboutsnowflakes. Theyexaminesnowflakeswithmagnifyingglasses.
MohamednurAliisoneofSoule’sstudents. The 9-year-oldboynotedsomeofthedifferencesbetweenhands-onlearningoutdoorsandsittinginaclassroom.
“It’sagoodthingbecauseyoucanseetherealthing,” Alisaid. “Welearnwhatisaroundus.”
Portlandishometoagrowingimmigrantpopulation. SomeofSoule’sfourth-gradestudentscomefromplaceslikeSomalia, IraqandAngola.
“Wehavestudentswithvaryinglanguageneeds,” Soulesaid. Thepoweroflearningoutdoorsisthatalllearnerscangainfromtheexperience, theteacheradded.
Outdoorlearningmayworkforruralandsuburbanschools. Butitismoredifficultforschoolsincities, saidDanielDomenech. HeisthedirectoroftheAmericanAssociationofSchoolAdministrators.
ForschoolsinPortland, thepandemichasmarkedthefirstofficialuseofoutdoorlearning. Theaimistokeepitgoingevenafterthepandemicends.
Soulesaidherstudentswillneverforgetthepandemic’sdifficulties. Butshesaidshehopesstudyinginnaturewillbeamongtheirgoodmemoriesof 2020.
“They’reseeingtheoutdoorsaroundthemanditbringsrelevancytowhatthey’restudying,” Soulesaid. “ Theywillrememberthatforever.”
I'mArmenKassabian.