I’m all bee-in-my-bonnety this morning. Let me explain.
Listen to this story instead:
Pods & Subs
My friend
has shown me the light in what she calls “chit-chat” podcasts (ones that demand just a fraction of our fragmented attention and still offer something interesting to ponder). My fave in this category is The Culture Study Podcast in which host chit-chats with a wide range of expert guests about a variety of topics from millennial nostalgia to the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Random and entertaining.And, I still mostly listen to subject-matter pods on education, biophilia, nature, and the like.
I am most addicted to podcasts about education (see my list below1). I generally listen at 1.5 speed while I’m on a jog or doing dishes.
In addition to my pod habit, I read selectively from various education publications and news sources and I sporadically read a few education-related substacks. Ironically as a writer of many words, I don’t get to way-too-much good stuff out there because I’m a slow reader and reading doesn’t allow multitasking. Even listening to audiobooks at 1.5 speed, I only catch a fraction of what’s out there and interesting to me.
Within my limited reading time, I often make time for two of my fave education substacks,
(also a podcast!) and , because they are written/produced by currently practicing teachers. (If you’re curious, the rest of my education substack list is in the footnotes2. Also, I’m game for recommendations if you have them).These teacher-writers —
(who I had the pleasure of teaching alongside) and — staunchly refute the heaps of bullshit attacks about lazy teachers just by virtue of what (and that!) they write. Although the careless, hurtful, and ill-informed critiques of an entire professional community from people who have no-freaking-clue should NOT be giving any credence, they are ubiquitous and hard to ignore. DK and Marcus give voice to legions of fierce and fabulous teachers in classrooms all across the world who are doing the best they can — which is often mindblowingly awesome — within a wildly difficult set of dynamic constraints in what is the toughest job on the planet. They are artfully crafting — and reflecting upon — every detail of their practice from the role of a well-designed worksheet to learning forward through the inevitable nonlinear ups and downs that emerge when we engage in the messy human work of teaching humans.I love their passion for teaching and I love their writing because it represents so well the vast majority of teachers with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working while running my nonprofit teacher professional development organization, Good Natured Learning (which builds teachers’ capacity to integrate nature into their routine teaching practices, especially by teaching students outdoors). Almost without exception I have found the teachers I’ve gotten to work with to be thoughtful, motivated, curious, creative, and hard working. They are persevering — and delivering — for their students, even in the face of long odds.
The Walls Are Where They Are
And, I woke up with a bee in my bonnet because yesterday I read Marcus’ most recent post: The Walls Are Where They Are. Like all of Marcus’ writing, it is a thoughtful reflection on the art of teaching. Marcus uses physical walls as a metaphor for the gazillions of constraints hogtying teachers as they try to carry out their work.
Marcus says,
With students arriving to the classroom on Tuesday, I find myself trying to cram far too many desks into far too small of a space yet again…
Yet at some point I do finally have to accept that the roster is what it is, the walls are where they are, and the first day of school is on the nearest of horizons.
He goes on to say,
This is one of the blessings of being in my second decade of teaching, I think: to be much more aware of where those “walls” are and how to navigate the space afforded within them.
I wish all of us — teachers and non-teachers alike — could take some of this life lesson to channel our energy in positive ways within our locus of control and not sweat that which is beyond.
This seems like a spin on the old Reinhold Niebuhr prayer:
“Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
And, there’s also a door
It’s just I feel so mad about the walls. I wish I could have a more evolved reaction right now. Something better than anger — as I pride myself in being a pragmatic optimist. I’ll get there no doubt. Eventually. Right now, I’m mad.
I am fed up with an educational system and culture that has made teachers feel constrained by things that are absolutely within their locus of control to change. Yes, the walls are where they are. And without exception, there is a door in one of those walls.
I’m not mad at Marcus. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for him as a person and professional. Also we have never met and we haven’t gotten to talk about this (I hope we get to!). And I admit I have no idea what kind of outdoor space he has near his school and what additional barriers he may be facing to teaching his students outdoors.
Instead, I am mad because the larger educational context and system steers expert educators to rearrange deck chairs desks on the titanic in their overcrowded classroom rather than walking out the door — even when we know being outdoors is good for students, teachers, and the planet. I am feeling disheartened by yet another seasoned educator boxed in by physical infrastructure and social pressures and norms and perceptions that have nothing to do with what’s best for students, themselves, and learning.
I’m not trying to diminish the fact that teachers benefit from training to take their pedagogical practice outside, even to nature near the building. In fact, that’s what I spend the vast majority of my work hours doing — building educator capacity to teach students outdoors. The good news? Teachers are experts and they can absolutely learn some tools to expand their expertise into a new context. I have watched teachers in wildly variable schools — from the informal settlements of Nairobi to the mountains of Colorado — do this. They’ve stepped across the threshold to teach their students outdoors with stunningly similar — and positive — impacts: more engagement, better collaboration, enhanced creativity, heightened curiosity. Greater calm. Joy.
Getting over it
By now I’ve written through my anger. I’m not mad — I’m re-motivated.
I am advocating and acting for a world in which all teachers are empowered with these skills as part of pre-service and in-service training. A world in which all schools have many outdoor classrooms (traditionally and broadly defined) and in which we have #oneclipboardperchild and other basic supplies for outdoor learning. A world where we let what’s good for humans and more-than-human nature and learning dictate what happens in schools.
Please teach outside. If you have the privilege of being in a school with a safe nearby outdoor space, walk out the door. You shouldn’t need permission (although telling your administrator your plans is a great idea). If you’re able to eke out some semblance of learning in a flourescent-lit cell of a classroom, you can find success teaching outdoors. Start small and build your skills. Ask your colleagues or parent volunteers for help. You’ve got this.
Put best (with all original spelling and punctuation) by a 4th grade student whose teacher (a rad Good Natured Learning Fellow) routinely took them to a park to learn:
I feel like all students should be going to the park because it helps with our learning time. In the class I feel like I am mushed together and it feels bad,but outside is open so it is like I can focus more.outside is also a time to teach kids about how great it is to be outside, it teaches kids what you can do outside, how fun it can be. This is why it is nice to go to the park from time to time. One time i was doing work with people, and we focused like ever. And sitting in decks all the time is not fun, it is time to say “hay, we need to go learn in the park where we can see the enviorment, instead of just walls from putting a stop to it”. ya see we need this learning, kids need to see the world, they need to look outside. So what do you say? Do you think we need to get kids outside?
Learning outdoors is not always the way. A few lessons are better taught indoors. And, once you get good at it, you can deftly leverage the power of indoor and outdoor classrooms to better meet learning — and wellbeing — goals.
At the end of the day, choosing when and how to use walls — wherever they are — is part of the art of teaching. And, there’s always a door.
❤️,
B
Yes to more outdoor learning!!!