Don’t Your Neighbors Think You’re Weird?

Summary

An inner-city teacher uses unconventional teaching methods, bringing in natural objects to engage students with their environment, sparking curiosity and learning by encouraging them to observe and question the world around them.

Abstract

The teacher, who grew up in a remote area with a curriculum focused on outdoor safety, contrasts their childhood experiences with those of their inner-city students. By introducing items like sweet gum seed pods and other natural objects into the classroom, the teacher challenges the students' perceptions and fosters a newfound appreciation for nature. The students' initial fear and lack of recognition of these common natural items highlight their disconnect from the environment. Over time, the teacher's practice of examining "regular stuff" from around the neighborhood leads to the students developing observation and questioning skills. The students eventually begin to bring in their own finds, indicating a shift in their awareness and interest in their surroundings, a change the teacher celebrates as a success in fostering engagement with the natural world.

Opinions

The teacher believes in the importance of hands-on learning and direct interaction with nature to stimulate curiosity and education.
The teacher is amused by the students' initial reactions to common natural objects, seeing it as a sign of their unfamiliarity with the natural world.
The teacher embraces being seen as "weird" by neighbors or students, as it is a byproduct of their dedication to innovative teaching methods.
The teacher values the personal collection of natural items, as evidenced by the anecdote about moving a box of rocks multiple times.
The teacher is pleased with the impact of their teaching methods, as students start to emulate their behavior by bringing in natural objects they find interesting.
The teacher is proud that former students likely continue to exhibit curiosity and engagement with their environment, suggesting that the teaching methods had a lasting influence.

My students asked me this question.

(Sweet Gum Ball) Photo-Author

Growing up in a very remote location that included snowmobile, hunter, and boater safety in the 6th-grade curriculum gave me a very different view of the world than the 6th graders I taught years later in the inner city.

I wish you could see the looks on their faces when I asked them if they wanted some gumballs…and dumped a bag of these sweet gum seed pods on their tables. Some of them actually jumped back from the table because they were scared. It was obvious they hadn’t noticed the nature that was around them. Throughout the year, we practiced questioning and observation skills. We carefully examined common things like hives, cones, seeds, branches and bark, piles of dirt with worms, and whatever else I could carry in my travels around my neighborhood and then to my classroom.

Just regular stuff that I found around…stuff that my students had never taken the time to notice. Author-Credit

They expected me to bring things in for examination regularly. Most of it I picked up on my daily walks, and some I collected and kept at my house for when we needed it, like my box of rocks. (The last time I moved, my husband couldn’t believe we moved a box of rocks. I let him know we had actually moved that box of rocks three times! He wasn’t impressed.)

One day, when I had my hands particularly full of my awemazing finds, a group of my students asked me, (in that, no, you ask her, kind of way)

“Don’t your neighbors think you’re weird?”

We all had a good laugh. I let them know I was fine with being weird…especially if it meant they would actually take a closer look at the world around them and learn!

As the year went on, students would randomly pick up things on their way to school and bring them into the classroom. An odd-shaped rock, a different type of seed pod, or whatever caught their eye. I was glad they had developed a new awareness, and they also gave me the opportunity, one by one, to whisper in their ear…

Don’t your neighbors think you’re weird!?

Of course, I thanked them for their contributions to our collections. Seeing them learn to notice and care about the world around them was great!

If they could see me now. I took this picture near my house today! I am still weird, but I bet they are too!