KBLOG 59: Kurtz Academy, My Perfect School: Part 2. Get Outside, Do Not Deny the Children

March 21, 2024 Richard Kurtz

New Episode of Teacher Talks!!!! Andrea: Excellence at Eppendorf, a Global Leading Life Science Company

The Challenge:

My perfect school will have outdoor experiences for all students built into the curriculum. A healthy antidote for a difficult day or academic stress should not be food, video games or medication; the antidote is getting outside in nature in whatever form is available in that outdoor space.

Studies have shown that going outdoors enhances and supports:

wellbeing/academic performance/pro-environment outlook/social skills/friendship development/independence/exercise/risk taking/independence/socialization.

Here are some grim statistics that should motivate us all to get young people outside more.

· Average north American child in 2010 spent 7.5 up to 9 hours a day in front of a screen and 7 minutes outdoors

· In a 2016 study of Seatle children aged 10 to 16 spent only 12.6 minutes a day on outdoor activity compared to 10.4 hours being relatively motionless

· In a study by the National Trust in 2016 in the UK the average child spends less time per day outdoors than a prison inmate

These statistics reinforce that at Kurtz Academy students no matter where the school is located (urban, suburban or rural) will interact with nature/outdoors and with each other to learn to observe and appreciate their surroundings. Taking your students outdoors does not have to be complex or cost a lot of money and can be adapted to a variety of circumstances.

A Solution:

In an article by Ideas.Ted.com article by Daryl Chen he recommends three steps to help encourage student to help kids fall in love with nature: 1) Notice – children should learn to observe their surroundings like clouds, a tree branch, or a pigeon; 2) Engage – encourage a young person to step in a puddle, throw a rock, hike and touch bark and insects; 3) Wonder – encourage students to ask question and be amazed by what they observe.

Most students/children do not live in dense natural areas, so we need to develop ways to make nature/outdoors available even in cities. We need to use simple activities that teachers and parents can use to engage students considering location, expense and time.

Here are some outdoor activity to consider from an article from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia!

Scavenger hunt/leaf rubbings/dig in dirt/plant something/make an obstacle course/get active/learn something new/do the alphabet workout/join an outdoor community garden/use a magnifying glass/use nose, ears, eyes and touch.

A parent/teacher can be a role model for a child to see value in being outside. One thing we can do right away is as soon as you go outside with your child or students, stop for 10 seconds and just listen and observe. Ask your child/student some questions What does the air feel like? How many kinds of birds can we hear? How do the clouds look like? Do you notice any insects?

I hope to see everyone outside with your children and students soon. We will be outside at Kurtz Academy!

Resources:

Nature Can be as Engaging as Video Games – How to Get Kids to Fall in Love with the Outdoors –

https://ideas.ted.com/nature-can-be-as-engaging-as-video-games-heres-how-to-turn-kids-on-to-the-outdoors/

How to Raise a Wild Child (book) – https://www.amazon.com/How-Raise-Wild-Child-Science/dp/0544705297?tag=teco06-20&geniuslink=true

How to Raise a Wild Child (video) –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn4ve9fLsuA&t=3s

Nature is Everywhere – We Just Need to Learn to See It –

https://www.ted.com/talks/emma_marris_nature_is_everywhere_we_just_need_to_learn_to_see_it

The Consequences of Children Spending Less Time Outdoors -https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_consequences_of_children_spending_less_time_outdoors

Children Spend Only Half as Much Time Playing Outside as their Parents Did –

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/27/children-spend-only-half-the-time-playing-outside-as-their-parents-did