Field Study: Bringing to Life their Learning

We all remember our field studies in our formal education.  I remember my first Field Study to a Forest right behind my elementary school.  We were looking for what types of things lived in the forest.  I remember how excited we were to make connections to what we were learning in class and actually see these crawly creatures, plants and animals (small squirrels/birds) in the environment.  We could feel, sense, smell, touch and taste the environment which led to an even greater understanding of what we learned in class.  Sadly, many school districts are restricting the amount and types of field studies that can take place.

Planning a field study is an arduous task that involves lots of steps with an attention to detail.  From contacting places, to creating forms, to getting approval from the district, to your admin and then finally from parents- there is a lot that goes into the process.  Tack on transportation and finance issues and more importantly safety and prevention, and you will see that many teachers choose not  go on field studies because of work and responsibility that go along with it.  Nonetheless, are we removing an integral part of our students learning?  I would argue "Yes"!

No matter how much technology allows students to students to interact on a global level, they still need to go out into the community and learn about the physical world around them.  Field studies bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge allowing the students to experience and engage in new levels of learning that maximize their understanding.  From Kindergarten to Grade 12, their initial curiosity gets the better of them and they become engaged with the activity at hand.  I wish that districts continue to allow students to engage in such meaningful learning experiences.  

Many teachers use Field studies in different ways.  Some will use them as an introductory activity, or during the middle of learning activities or at the end or culmination of their unit.  I wish as teachers we had more resources to create learning partnerships with local community organizations to use these resources not at one of these focal points, but all throughout our students learning.  Can you imagine allowing students to go to exhibit as an introduction, then again during their learning, and then at the end to synthesize it.  If this is too overzealous, I feel that teachers should at least have one field study planned for all major units in their class learning and development activities.

Students must learn to interact and apply what their learning to real life issues in their local community.  Bridging that gap is an important aspect of our teacher practice and using field studies as a resource makes it more achievable.  Finally our most vulnerable students may rarely have occasions or opportunities such as these and you will be providing those students an amazing opportunity to see something different to  what they have already experienced.

Field studies are fun, engaging, crazy but enlightening and allow students to learn outside of the normal learning environment.  As a teacher, I want my students to leave the classroom not only learning skills to be successful in working environments but more importantly, to give them experiences that teach them about culture, humanity, leadership and community.  Every time I walk into Science World, The Zoo or the Vancouver Aquarium I remember for a split second the wonderful experiences I had as a kid and realize that my teachers imparted the idea that learning takes place everywhere when they took me on those field excursions.

Social & Emotional Intelligence and Intercultural Diversity

Buzz words, re-introduced ideas, and new discussions continue to permeate the world of education on a consistent basis.  Social and Emotional Intelligence (#SEL) is something that has risen to the forefront in the District that I work in.  It is important that students learn to recognize and exhibit appropriate behaviors in the appropriate settings.  Actions that were seen as socially acceptable in one era may have not been passed down or perpetuated in subsequent years.  With the bombardment of images of violence, sexism, poverty, hunger, racism, economic inequality, and environmental eradication, students are coming to school with less skills to self regulate.   Playgrounds and social learning environments of the past are no longer rites of passages for students of the future as they are learning difficult lessons on a more grand and public stage: Social Media.  Where you may have learned a life lesson at the mall, or local community recreational center, many students are learning these lessons publicly on the internet and with a bigger audience who can comment, ridicule, and shame the person learning the lesson.  

Now, even though Canada prides itself as being multicultural and tolerant there has been a shift to covert or closet racism that has taken place.  Educational stakeholders and community leaders may argue that it is not as bad as the U.S. and that we are a lot better than before.  Nonetheless, the truth is that within many of our schools in the lower mainland, segregation exists!  Whether it is overtly or covertly implemented, many children in our diverse classrooms choose to be with people of their own socio-cultural ethnic background.  At the elementary school level, it may not be as prominent, but in my high-school experience, many of my friends who were inclusive during their elementary years became more prescriptive with who they considered to be their friends when they entered high-school.  The same situation exists in my current school where kids are segregating themselves based on race.

Donald Sterling made headlines for his rant about black people coming to basketball games! With the internet, more and more younger societal members are sharing their beliefs and stereotypes about race. Student athletes of all socio-cultural ethnic backgrounds are losing scholarships for using racist language in their tweets and posts on Social Media.  The other day in the hallway, two kids who define themselves as "Best Friends" were pulled aside by myself and another teacher for their choice of nicknames for each other which were "Nigger" and "Terrorist".  Many students listen to hip hop music and follow the culture and believe because their favorite artists use these terms on a consistent basis, that they are allowed to as well.  Many hardcore rappers use the N-Word in their lyrics, but Justin Bieber was busted a couple days ago for using derogatory terms to describe black people.  Rapper Joe Budden had to apologize on Twitter for calling an elderly Sikh man a terrorist and posting a picture on twitter.  Now on a brilliant side note, people are holding young members of society responsible for their inappropriate actions, but it still does not address the big picture that Intercultural Diversity needs to be a mainstay in discussing social and emotional intelligence.

As more and more people from diverse cultural backgrounds enter our communities and our schools, we must be able to share their culture in our classrooms with our students.  This will allow two things to happen: a) It will lead to a feeling of inclusion for students in the class which will lead a larger sense of the community, and b) It will allow students to learn about each others socio-cultural ethnic backgrounds leading to a better understanding of the student.  I remember sitting in an elementary school class just after the Holidays (as a student teacher) and observing a teacher asking the students what they got for Christmas, and many of the students answering that they did not celebrate Christmas, much to the dismay and embarrassment of the teacher.  What a humbling time for that teacher, but also an amazing paradoxical teaching moment to challenge their assumptions in their classroom interactions and practice.

If more and more students are seeing racist, sexist, and other societal inequalities in the media and from their supposed role models, then it is up to parents and teachers to challenge their ideas and to help develop their Social and Emotional intelligence on how to learn about different cultures and peoples without offending those people.  Hopefully, as students get to learn more about each others socio-cultural backgrounds then maybe they will become truly more understanding of these differences and in retrospect more accepting than some of  our current societal members in the present Canadian climate.