Should Traditional Classrooms be Moved Outside?
For many years, starting as early as 2000 BC, classrooms were always an essential part of education. Back in ancient Egypt, scribes ran formal schools that taught writing and accounting to elite young men. This became the blueprint for modern learning. Every school has these classroom settings where students usually sit at desks, faced forward towards the teacher in front of the classroom. However, is it time to switch things up?
A common substitute for these traditional classrooms is simply using nature itself. An example of this would be to have students sitting on benches at a park, and then teaching the same way a teacher would teach in a traditional classroom.
Many benefits would come with this nature-based education. One main benefit would be an increase in the attention spans of students when outside. When students are inside a classroom, the majority of them are bored and unentertained by the same repetitive setting. This causes them to daydream and not pay attention to the content, as well as not participating in class.
However, being outside, breathing in the natural air in the new environment would excite many students, allowing them to concentrate on their studies instead of dozing off. Due to this, it’ll also cause an increase in participation while in class, promoting a healthier learning environment, and increasing their academic performance.
Another benefit would be that when learning outside, students would be more at peace and less stressed. According to a Harvard study, “Students are often calmer and better able to focus while in nature.”
“I would definitely rather read at a park instead of in class, mostly because there are less distractions outside, plus I’ll be more relaxed,” said junior Antoine Lanier.
However, there are challenges and limitations to this innovative technique. One of them is how hard it would be to use technology outside. Inside many classrooms, students can use technological devices like computers to do their schoolwork, but outside, there aren’t any outlets to plug these devices into.
Opponents of students learning outside usually attack the argument that being outside increases the attention spans of students. Although learning outside increases the attention span of the teacher actually teaching, since they are outside in nature, there are many distractions such as cars honking, birds chirping, people walking by, or even the movement of animals in bushes. These are distractions that wouldn’t be present in a regular classroom.
“I would rather do my work inside than outside, mostly because when I’m inside at home, it’s less distracting, especially late at night when everyone is sleeping. I can turn my TV off and do my work quietly in silence,” said junior at American Senior High School, Brandon Higgs.
So while there are some disadvantages of nature-based learning, the advantages shouldn’t be overlooked. Many schools should experiment with this new type of learning, which would please many people, including students and members of environmental awareness programs. If students could engage with nature and the environment more, that could be all it takes for society to finally take care of our planet.
