As we all know, educating a child is one of the most difficult things both parents and teachers can ever hope to do in their lives. There is no greater challenge. You’re moulding minds and shaping futures, so it’s no wonder that many of us are left wondering what on earth the best way to do that might be.
Of course, school doesn’t always offer all a child needs in terms of education, and it doesn’t always get things right, but there’s no reason that the school at which you teach, or which your child attends, needs to restrict its teaching to the classroom. Here are some great reasons for you to take your lessons out into the outdoors and maybe relight the fire in some of the brightest and best minds of your students.
They’re going to enter the real world one day.
Education is important. There’s no denying that. There’s no denying that learning about complex subjects on an academic level prepares children for careers which lead in various different directions, and school offers the best opportunity for its students to follow their dreams, whatever their specific path may be. However, at the same time, we all know that school doesn’t fully prepare kids for the real world. How could it, right?
Well, the answer is you could very easily be preparing students for the real world whilst still teaching them everything on the syllabus. Taking your students outdoors gives you the chance to take the theory from lessons and put it into a useful, life-based context. For example, the importance of maths becomes much more relevant when you take your class to see a magnificent piece of architecture and explain the complexity behind engineering such a creation. History becomes more relevant when you show children a museum which details events throughout humanity’s past and what we can learn from them, so as not to repeat our mistakes.
Engage your class.
If you want your students to perform better, the key lies in engaging them. Don’t stifle them in a dull classroom all day and expect them to come up with some innovative or exciting ideas. Students perform better when they’re happier, so taking the learning outside the classroom is about more than letting them have a good time. It’s not about switching off; it’s about switching ON their brains.
There are school tours out there which can really open up a child’s mind to the expansive nature of the world. The more kids understand that so many interesting things lie out there in the world, the more they want to know about what’s out there. Inspire your children to learn, rather than forcing them to do so. It has to be a realisation students come to of their own accord, to which I’m sure we can all attest from our own days back at school.
Remember, these are children and not robots. The key to helping children learn better in the classroom is to teach them what’s outside the classroom. If you want to inspire students to do well in the world, they need a better taste of what there is out there in the world. They need some goal to which they can aspire.
Jada x
