New curriculum demands lots of extra teacher hours. If the new curriculum is good, I don't mind giving the extra time, however sometimes you simply run out of time to prepare and teach new curriculum, and that can be frustrating.
This week our team has been working hard to embed multiple teaching/learning standards into outdoor learning led by a grant with Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farm. The grant allows us to deepen our work in the local habitat to help students know, love, and care for their local lands with good standards-based science knowledge, concept, and skill.
So far we've devoted one professional day to the work and lots of individual and group research. We've also hiked the local land, talked to property owners, and educated students and chaperones about the field study to come. Today we'll engage with students in a hands-on activity with our naturalist coach to learn more about the watershed area where we live and how that watershed works.
As I work on this new curriculum, I wonder why this isn't a mainstay of every classroom in the country. Children should know their local habitat well as it will set them up to better live and care for that environment in ways that matter. I know that this study does happen in many places and I'm happy that we are one of those places.
There's lots to do in the days ahead to make this study meaningful--good work that sometimes challenges the time and support available. Onward.
