As a teacher, I often reflect on my time as a student, trying to remember what it was like for me at the age I now teach.
Recently, when presenting a session on outdoor learning for the Institute for Outdoor Learning Global Conference.
I decided to start with a story. This story explains my ‘Why’—why I find it so crucial to vary the learning opportunities I offer my students, including getting them outdoors.
My Why?
As a child, I always wanted to impress my teachers and do well.
However, due to neurodiverse challenges, I often found it difficult to concentrate and fully access the math and literacy curriculum.
This sometimes made me feel that I wasn’t as clever as the other children.
Then, I remember a school trip to the local forest.
We were identifying different trees, and because I loved nature and my parents often took me outdoors, I knew all the different tree species by heart. I felt so amazing when my teacher noticed how much I knew about trees and gave me a compliment in front of the whole class.
That experience is why I find it so important to offer students varied opportunities like outdoor learning. It gives those who might not yet feel confident with math or literacy a chance to be the expert and shine in a different environment.
Let’s give children different opportunities to shine.