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Charles Baxter's "Gryphon", from which Heever earns his name

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Charles Baxter's "Gryphon", from which Heever earns his name

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The name Heever comes from a short story by Charles Baxter called "Gryphon", which we read in my Intro to Teaching class. It's basically about a substitute teacher who comes in and shakes up the whole class dynamic for a few days, while the regular teacher (surely a banking method sort of guy) Mr. Hibbler, is gone. She tells the children all sorts of stories and they can't figure out if what she says is real or not. In the process of trying to figure it out, the students end up doing a whole lot of real meaningful learning and critical thinking. It's mostly all fine until she reads one students tarot cards and basically says he's going to die soon. Then she's fired.

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maybe classroom isn't the right word because ideally we won't be in a classroom most of the time... but chameleons don't exactly travel well so I'm unsure of how to fit this guy into my dream classroom/learning environment. I've always wanted a pet chameleon in my classroom though.

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illustration by blacksneakers-art

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illustration by blacksneakers-art

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illustration by Devin Elle Kurtz

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illustration by Devin Elle Kurtz

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the feeling I get from looking at these images is one I'd like to somehow create in a classroom/learning environment

illustration by Devin Elle Kurtz

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I want my classroom (or space whatever type of space I occupy with my students, hopefully not a ROOM most of the time) to feel like a place of wonder

I want students to feel a sense of endless possibilities are open for them. I don't want our learning space or our learning style to feel constrictive or limiting.

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School as a Resource for YOU, not something done TO you

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School as a Resource for YOU, not something done TO you

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I want students to think of school as a resource for answering their questions and empowering themselves.

Not as a game of hoops to jump through, not as a burdensome requirement, not as a place where one gets told what to do all the time.

Just being outdoors isn't going to answer all of students' questions or teach them every skill they need. But starting outdoors and following their interests can serve as a means to heighten the salience of the importance of skills such as reading, writing, researching, solving, using math, etc.

I'd like for students to see the classroom, and school, as a resource for them to use and take advantage of. I want students to use school to further their understandings of what is relevant to them. To answer some of the questions they have, students are going to need to know how to read, write, do math, do research, understand specific science principles, etc. and they could utilize the classroom, its materials, and me as a resource for learning those skills.

In this way, the students' own intrinsic motivation guides their accrual of these skills, they understand why what they are learning is important because it is directly connected to what they are trying to figure out.

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Learn about phenomena within their natural context as much as possible

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Learn about phenomena within their natural context as much as possible

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I see contextual learning as heightening the sense of purpose for learning (helps limit the "Why are we learning this" question) and also heightens the sense of relevance.

And also shows how everything is connected. Life isn't neatly organized into the little disciplinary boxes, life is messy and full of overlap and contradiction. We could explore the Redwood forest from so many varying perspectives: art, math, history, science, english, and even PE.

The natural environment outdoors offers so many different ways to engage to in learning around, within, and across academic disciplines.

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Being outside would allow students' natural curiosity to drive the curriculum.

Students would get to ask questions about the natural environment around them and could dive into whatever questions interest them the most. This might require them doing research and collecting data, maybe outdoors, or maybe researching through books or the internet.

There are so many different directions a student could take their learning and this level of autonomy would heighten their engagement and motivation.

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To me, cultivating a love for learning is most readily done by being with students outdoors!

Being outside and moving around together makes use of young students' energy and provides an outlet for that energy.

Further, being outdoors offers so many catalysts for meaningful learning. Students could encounter so many different things they want to explore or understand and many questions would be raised for us to investigate as a class.