Outdoor Education In Relation To Best Middle Practices

Outdoor Education

Outdoor education is an amazing way for students to experience the world in ways that would not usually occur in the average classroom setting. In order to understand a bit more about these types of schools, I looked into specific schools that demonstrated outdoor practices. One of the schools I looked at was Watershed School. Watershed is a private preparatory school based in Boulder, Colorado and they are grades 6 through 12, separating into a middle and high school. On their middle school link for outdoor education, they quote, "Middle school is a time of profound change. At Watershed, students gain the academic skills, sense of identity, and independence that are key to healthy adolescence." I found this extremely powerful and amazing to see that this is what they are focusing on through their outdoor education for their middle schoolers who are experiencing so much change at their age. I then decided to look deeper into the faculty and staff, as well as the students. Here are two videos that really honor Watershed and show how the faculty, staff, and students are affected by this diverse form of education. (Faculty and students)
"I feel like Watershed provides and offers a lot of incredible experiences for young people to engage in their world and their community and in the way that they want to learn and educate themselves." (Watershed student) "It changed the way I look at education, thats for sure." (Watershed student)"Instead of being a number in a school, you are defined as a person here."(Watershed student)

Some of the ways Watershed delivers outdoor education for their middle schoolers, starts off right at the beginning of their school year; "Middle school students begin with a four day camping trip, known as Orientation, that offers an opportunity to connect with advisors and the middle school as a whole. They return tired- but also more confident, closer to their classmates and teachers, and with a common understanding of what it means to be a person of character. Orientation and Wilderness offers an opportunity to learn about grit, empathy, optimism, and the ability to collaborate." This is only one look into how Watershed uses outdoor education to get their students involved with their education throughout the school year. I was truly impressed with how this school operates, as well as how the students and staff react to how the outdoor education has affected their lives. 

Importance and History

John Dewey, an educator and leader of the progressive/experiential learning movement in education, spoke about outdoor education and how it was part of the progressive movement of education in, The School and the Society. In the book, John Dewey and the Education Outdoors, they explain that, "Reformers used the terms out-door, or out-of-doors: hyphenated terms communicating a sense of being active in settings other than classrooms. To be involved in out-door education one had to exit a literal door into the school yard, the school garden, the community past the school fence, and perhaps even the woods and beyond."(pg. 5, Quay) They explain that as time has passed, the definition has changed slightly, but still remains with its roots. "Predecessors to this version of outdoor education included nature-study, school hardens, and agricultural education. Camping also came to be considered outdoor education, leading to the spread of school camping in the mid-20th century. But in all of these new offerings the main emphasis remained on method- getting outside enabled a different way of teaching; this was the point." (pg. 8, Quay) Modern outdoor education is focused on, "Developing a deeper relationship with nature, enhancing personal and social development, and learning to overcome adversity and increase resilience." (pg.1, Adroy Education)

Benefits

Outdoor education has benefitted millions of students around the world. “Other research presents similar conclusions. A study by the State Education and Environmental Roundtable of found that students participating in nature-based learning programs did better than their peer’s 72 percent of the time in measures of academic achievement, and that their attendance was 77 percent better than the control group. Cornell University environmental psychologist Nancy Wells likewise found that being close to nature can boost children’s attention.” (Salon.com) This is amazing comparison in statistics comparing students who take part in outdoor education versus those who are in a traditional environment. Also, according to Edutopia, outdoor education allows many advantages, including the ability to build community, to raise expectations and standards, to increase connection, to build culture, and to develop positive feelings and memories around school and the outdoors. Outdoor schools, such as Watershed, express the way their students and staff felt about outdoor education, which is positive and intriguing. As I continue throughout my educational career, I hope to learn more about outdoor education as well as possibly work in one of these schools. Hearing these students and faculty testimonials has really made me inspired to hear how much outdoor education would help my own students. "Whenever we have in mind the discussion of a new movement in education, it is especially necessary to take the broader, or social view. Otherwise, changes in the school institution and tradition will be looked at as the arbitrary inventions of particular teachers; at the worst transitory fads, and as the best merely improvements in certain details." (John Dewey)

Vermont
Knowing how amazing outdoor education truly is, I wanted to provide some information about a local school that take part in this type of education. The school I was able to look at was the Mountain River School in Stowe, Vermont. They honor many of the values that Edutopia speaks to above, as well as having the school be a mixed elementary school and middle school.Their mission is to, "To honor children's intrinsic passion for learning and inspire curiosity through holistic, nature-based education." This school is k-8 and offers many opportunities for their students to be involved in an outdoor education. I hope as I continue to learn more about local outdoor schools in Vermont, I am able to visit and update my blog with the information I learn from each school.

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