This is such a helpful perspective. As I read, I also realized that the students also see the walls where they are, and they do not see inside your head to wish the walls were somewhere different. So if within those walls what you create is a place where they can be themselves, learn, and grow…then they will not know that something else would be different. They do not know that you were planning on teaching another book until it got banned, they know that they are engaged in the book you are reading with them. I, too, will be thinking about spending my energy on what I CAN control and doing that well. Happy first week!
Marcus- I really appreciate this post. And more importantly the sentiments it conveys from such a dedicated educator: you. Thank you.
2 things on my mind:
1) I think you CAN (and you DO) sort of control where the walls are by the way you open the boundaries— which from all I’ve read/listened to of your work, you do all.the.time. You carve out metaphorical if not physical space by the way you show up and co-create a beautiful culture with your students. This is amazing and the art of teaching.
2) I spend nearly all of my working hours encouraging and supporting teachers to teach students outdoors in what I call apple-a-day nature-based learning. To integrate nature into their routine pedagogy regardless of content or age or curriculum. It’s not necessarily about nature- it’s learning in partnership with nature. Which breaks down walls because there aren’t any. Students and teachers who move class outside remark about how liberating it is. Calming. And how it makes them more creative. This too is about what teachers CAN control. And, it drives curiosity. Students never wonder about the bird they can’t see fly by. 🌱
As someone who has always been quite-limited with field trips + other out-of-classroom ventures, I definitely envy those that make this a reality. The limitations around logistics can be pretty intimidating where I’ve worked with these things, and then stepping back I think it takes quite a bit to bring this to any sort of scale.
(Example: I know one teacher who takes their students on a mid-class “hike around the school” regularly, and I think it is likely really positive for that group to get that chance to walk/reflect/recharge. But we have almost 100 classrooms of students going at once—and if even 20% of teachers did this, the school would cease functioning from the disruption. So for me “scale” is the ballgame.)
It’s true, there are fundamental constraints especially in a school that large - and until we start pushing up against them, the walls will keep boxing us in.
My post today that’s about to go live on Learning By Nature is a longer reflection on this. I appreciate you and your thoughtful practice so much. And your reflections here and on your podcast. Sincerely.
We have a long ways before scale is the problem though. And when that happens, we’ll finally be forced design schools to support learning. Maybe we need more outdoor classrooms without walls than indoor rooms. ❤️🌱
This is such a helpful perspective. As I read, I also realized that the students also see the walls where they are, and they do not see inside your head to wish the walls were somewhere different. So if within those walls what you create is a place where they can be themselves, learn, and grow…then they will not know that something else would be different. They do not know that you were planning on teaching another book until it got banned, they know that they are engaged in the book you are reading with them. I, too, will be thinking about spending my energy on what I CAN control and doing that well. Happy first week!
The wisdom in this is so important—thank you for sharing this! Definitely worth holding onto as a reminder.
Marcus- I really appreciate this post. And more importantly the sentiments it conveys from such a dedicated educator: you. Thank you.
2 things on my mind:
1) I think you CAN (and you DO) sort of control where the walls are by the way you open the boundaries— which from all I’ve read/listened to of your work, you do all.the.time. You carve out metaphorical if not physical space by the way you show up and co-create a beautiful culture with your students. This is amazing and the art of teaching.
2) I spend nearly all of my working hours encouraging and supporting teachers to teach students outdoors in what I call apple-a-day nature-based learning. To integrate nature into their routine pedagogy regardless of content or age or curriculum. It’s not necessarily about nature- it’s learning in partnership with nature. Which breaks down walls because there aren’t any. Students and teachers who move class outside remark about how liberating it is. Calming. And how it makes them more creative. This too is about what teachers CAN control. And, it drives curiosity. Students never wonder about the bird they can’t see fly by. 🌱
Appreciate this comment!
As someone who has always been quite-limited with field trips + other out-of-classroom ventures, I definitely envy those that make this a reality. The limitations around logistics can be pretty intimidating where I’ve worked with these things, and then stepping back I think it takes quite a bit to bring this to any sort of scale.
(Example: I know one teacher who takes their students on a mid-class “hike around the school” regularly, and I think it is likely really positive for that group to get that chance to walk/reflect/recharge. But we have almost 100 classrooms of students going at once—and if even 20% of teachers did this, the school would cease functioning from the disruption. So for me “scale” is the ballgame.)
It’s true, there are fundamental constraints especially in a school that large - and until we start pushing up against them, the walls will keep boxing us in.
My post today that’s about to go live on Learning By Nature is a longer reflection on this. I appreciate you and your thoughtful practice so much. And your reflections here and on your podcast. Sincerely.
We have a long ways before scale is the problem though. And when that happens, we’ll finally be forced design schools to support learning. Maybe we need more outdoor classrooms without walls than indoor rooms. ❤️🌱
Happy first week! I rarely comment, but always read. Thanks for sharing!
“Rarely comment but always read” = still very, very appreciated :)