“The grass is always greener on the other side.” I have ardently disliked that phrase, not because it is cliché but because of how painfully true it is with regard to human nature.

Our incessant comparison of everything inevitably brings us dissatisfaction. I am no exception.

As a passionate instructor at High Trails who loves teaching and sharing in the magic of learning with students, I have fantasized about classroom teaching and wondered if it was for me. Forming bonds and meaningful relationships with the students is my favorite part of the job, but we only have five or sometimes four days to do it, and then come Monday we do it all over again. Part of me has craved the chance to have those same students come Monday, to get to watch them grow not over the course of a week but months!

So, with greener grass in mind, I decided to take a trip far, far away to the land of Cypress, where I had the great pleasure of watching Mr. Eliot of Clara J. King Elementary’s sixth grade class.

I learned that whether your mascot is a cougar or a tree-hugger or you’re teaching the characteristics of a mammal or circle maps of root words, effective teaching is the same everywhere. This was the teaching method that resonated with me the most:

Relating Material to Students’ Lives

The day I gleefully arrived, Mr. Eliot’s class was in the planning stages of a research paper. He assigned students one of three topics: Healthy Habits, Bullying, or Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (my High Trails heart smiled to see it!). He then asked them to answer the questions “What is important about this topic?” and “How does the topic contribute to improving the lives of your peers?” Mr. Eliot gave them partners to discuss and write their answers with; he reminded them that one person should be talking and the other person actively listening and asking clarifying questions.

Mr. Eliot’s chosen topics directly applied to students’ everyday lives, which instantly engaged the students. He also had the students immediately discuss why these subjects matter and how their personal research can better the lives of others. These are the pink-sparkly unicorn beads of teaching at High Trails – finding ways to connect our classes to students’ everyday lives in ways that enable them to experientially realize why it is important to study these subjects and how it will ultimately benefit others (every living creature included!).

The think-pair-shares also forced students to practice active listening and communicating their ideas in ways that make sense to others. Mr. Eliot’s cue to ask clarifying questions subliminally encourages students to ask questions when they do not understand, too, and teaches them when and how to pose a question.

Think Pair Share Action

Mr. Eliot then passed out an article for each topic that students would quietly and independently read for preliminary research.

I couldn’t help but read over students’ shoulders after seeing the enticing titles: “Bullies behind Bars?”, “A Skateboarder Goes Green”, and “Is the Cafeteria Ruining Your Life?” The students apparently felt similarly because they instantly dove into the pages and the room fell silent.

Giving students quiet time to individually work on a task or subject also cultivated their ability to focus and work independently, which are skills that every aspect of their future lives will require.

Alex’s Takeaway (Experiential learning at its finest)

With the trails and forest of the San Bernardino Mountains as our classroom, there are no walls or desks or ceilings, no air conditioning or heat. Instead, we have trees, the dirt we walk on, layers, and sunscreen. Part of me has craved a space of my own to decorate with students’ art, a giant whiteboard to draw all over, and a desk in which to keep my teaching materials. Students often love returning to the cabins they stay in at night because they associate them with warmth, comfort, safety, and home. I have yearned for a place the students would similarly identify as “theirs” during the day – somewhere they feel safe, accepted, comfortable, and themselves.

It took a journey all the way to Clara J. King Elementary for me to realize that these are the very reasons why students come to High Trails.

They need to be pushed out of their comfort zones, beyond the groups of clustered desks, the newly vacuumed carpets, and the doors of their homeroom. They need to be ventured out into the woods, to be responsible for themselves and the warmth of their own feet, to gain an appreciation for the luxury of indoors after weathering the great outdoors. They must experience firsthand our basic needs for food, water, fresh air, protection from the elements, and personal space.

Most importantly, we hope they learn to feel safe, accepted, comfortable, and themselves in nature, too; that nature becomes a second home to them, a safe haven to which they can always return.

I would be hard-pressed to conjure another experience that so powerfully relates to students’ everyday lives and cultivates important skills for the future.

As Mr. Eliot and I watched his students play Capture the Flag during their allotted time for physical education, he then told me that his students had seen Mr. Trollmann’s class playing basketball and complained that they always got to do “the cool stuff.” At that very moment, the other sixth grade class came outside and whined that Mr. Eliot’s class always gets to do the fun activities. We giggled.

The old adage “The grass is always greener on the other side” is painfully accurate, no matter your age.

At High Trails Outdoor Science School, we literally force our instructors to write about elementary outdoor education, teaching outside, learning outside, our dirty classroom (the forest…gosh), environmental science, outdoor science, and all other tree hugging student and kid loving things that keep us engaged, passionate, driven, loving our job, digging our life, and spreading the word to anyone whose attention we can hold for long enough to actually make it through reading this entire sentence. Whew…. www.dirtyclassroom.com