Teaching Outside of the Classroom

After watching the blogs "The Edible Schoolyard" and "A Night In a Global Village", I think it gave me a completely different perspective on way we as teachers can teach our students.

"The Edible Schoolyard" was about a school in Berkley, CA that had a garden outside of the school and the students were in charge of caring for it. They began every morning by working outside of the classroom, learning from nature. Not only did they plant the food and tend to their garden, they also were given the opportunity to help prepare and eat the food they had worked so hard to create. While students were doing something engaging and actually fun, the teachers were also able to integrate what they had been studying in the classrooms. Math, biology, geography: these things could all be taught in a hands-on and creative manner.

"A Night In a Global Village" tries to show kids how people living in different parts of the world can be much less fortunate. The large 5-acre farm has different villages set up to emulate different impoverished parts of the world, such as Thailand, Guatemala, and even a refugee camp. The kids are divided into families, each living in a different village and are given a sparse number of supplies. Since each group receives different supplies, they must go around to other villages and barter for what they need to survive. Though the kids only experience this drastic life change for a night, it seems to really make an impression on the quality of life some people must endure. It helps to inspire them to become more active in wanting to help people, while also building communication skills and learning to work together.

I really enjoyed watching both of these podcasts. I thought they were very thought-provoking and very unique techniques to use for students. I really liked the one where they created their own garden. It gives the students the opportunity to get out of the classroom and be active in learning. I think it would also provide satisfaction for the students. Creating something and seeing it become something that can be useful is a really great feeling. Also, the way to almost any kid's heart is through food so allowing the students to eat together is definitely a plus. This made me realize that I would like to expand my teaching in the classroom from just English, Math, Science, etc. They pointed out that many basic practices children should learn at home are not always taught. Just learning simple things like setting a table, and communicating with other to accomplish something life a meal, are very valuable attributes that a teacher can help impart to his or her students.

As for the students spending the night in a "village", I thought it was a great way to show a harsh reality we sometimes choose to ignore and to teach teamwork and communication in the process. Though I don't know that I would have the resources to do something like this in my classroom, it does highlight the importance of just making sure your students are informed. I think there are ways to make these points on a smaller scale, perhaps by doing some of these activities in the classroom. They also mentioned just reading to kids about different cultures in the lower grades. I think at times we tend to wait until students are older to tell them about poverty and explain different ways of life, but I think they can actually gain more knowledge if they begin learning about it earlier. If nothing else, just learning about the customs and traditions of different cultures.