Help us keep bringing you the Adirondack information you value.
Email
Twitter
RSS
Facebook
From NYS DEC:
Has COVID-19 turned you into an at-home teacher to your kids? Are you a full-time teacher finding new ways to engage your students from afar? Encourage your students to get outside and #RecreateLocal in their own backyards! Not only is time spent outdoors great for mental health, but the fresh air and physical activity will help them focus better for the rest of the day. Their time spent outside can even be educational.
The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, creators of the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace, have shared a number of educational activities that teach responsible outdoor recreation to kids. From “Camp Oh No!” to the “Thumb Trick” and packing a backcountry poop kit, these fun, engaging activities can be done outside, inside, or over video chat to prepare kids for a lifetime of responsible outdoor recreation.
Inspire others to get outdoors by sharing how you and your family #RecreateLocal using the hashtag, and – from the backyard to the local trail – always remember to practice safe social distancing and follow CDC guidelines on minimizing the spread of COVID-19.
Related Stories
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor
“Are you a full-time teacher finding new ways to engage your students from afar?”
My niece is an educator for New York State and since this pandemic she has had to teach virtually, which is to say, teach via cyberspace, which is not the same as face to face, or classroom gatherings where it’s more personal which is the way it should be, especially so for some students more than others as we’re all different and what may apply to one doesn’t necessarily apply to others. It used to be we were all taught the same in a one-room schoolhouse, and then of course the bigger buildings were erected where thousands of students were crammed-in as we became more urban, the population grew, etc., and then of course we got away from being personable to relying on technology….
So far as engaging students from afar this is my niece’s experience: She has a class of 100 students in the best school in her area Saratoga County. She told me, discouragingly, that out of those 100 students only 45 recently turned-in tests virtually recently. We may find new ways to engage with our students but it sure won’t work for all of them…..the moral of this story.
I was much happier home schooled, although it wasn’t called that back then. I went to an awful local school. Fortunately, we had books at our home, and I read them. School was really boring and when I read ahead of the dumbass books we were given at school (Dick, Jane and Sally) my teacher reprimanded me for not paying attention. Meanwhile, my grandpa, chief chemist of NYC, was teaching me Darwin’s theory and showing me how to blow up stuff in his lab. Kids are smart and need attention. Your niece’s students may be confused and discouraged by everything that is going on–aren’t we all. It is an upsetting time for all of us.