Idea From Michigan Teacher Could Revolutionize Education
Teachers are some of the most influential people in our lives as we spend some much of our time in our developmental years in school. Our teachers are often pouring into us in more than just an educational way and often make a difference in many people's lives. I can think of quite a few teachers that are still very special to me to this day.
Every teacher has their methods for connecting and teaching their students and some things resonate while others fall short of the desired outcome. Sometimes it's dependent on the student(s) and other times it's just not a good idea. One teacher in Michigan made a move that could make waves in the education realm.
Greg Stevens is an Art teacher at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During the first trimester of the school year, he was teaching an Eco-Art class which is a course that blends Ecology and Art. He decided that for this class to have its full effect, it needed to be taken to the next level.
He created a new classroom that was outside of the status quo that we're used to. The new classroom doesn't have walls or a projector but instead has a concrete slab and blue picnic tables. The idea sprouted from trying to combine Ecology and Art most effectively.
Construction on the classroom was finished just a few weeks into the school year and Stevens was able to use it with a few of his classes but he hasn't received much feedback yet. He says that the classroom is open for any class at Loy Norrix to use and he hopes that he will be able to ask classes if they want to learn indoors or outdoors in the future.
Stevens used to teach classes outdoors at his previous teaching job in Colorado and would like to provide some of those same opportunities to students at Loy Norrix. He says children who live in the city aren't as connected to the outdoors and need to be encouraged to see the joys of nature.