Teaching Toward Tomorrow

Oftentimes, the best school days are the ones without any students in the classroom.

I know that must sound funny, but it’s true - while our days in the classroom are wonderful, there is something particularly special about the occasions when we are able to venture outside the four walls of our classrooms. Heading off campus to share an experience out in the greater world with our students helps them make the jump from classroom knowledge to a deep understanding of not just what they’ve learned, but provides context for how it applies to their own lives and the world around them. 

Recent research bears this out, with scholars from Johns Hopkins University and Brigham Young University finding that students given the opportunity to take part in curriculum-driven, culturally enriching field trips at least three times each school year scored higher on assessments, were absent less frequently, and were overall more academically successful by the end of a school year than peers who weren’t able to participate in field trips. Most notably, researchers found that these benefits were most pronounced and impactful for students during their middle school years. The research, which I encourage you to read more about here, confirms what we’ve always known at Wardlaw+Hartridge - that broadening our students’ horizons through travel and exploration provides a well-rounded, enriching experience for our learners. 

Field trips and hands-on, experiential learning form a cornerstone of our Middle School curriculum. Throughout their middle school years, students at Wardlaw+Hartridge travel together on a wide variety of day trips, taking advantage of our close proximity to New York City and the rich cultural landscape of our own New Jersey home, as well as taking part in an annual overnight trip designed to immerse students in the community of their peers. 

In recent days, we’ve been incredibly busy with field trips and travel. Last week, all of our students ventured off campus.

 Our sixth and eighth graders set off for New York City, visiting the American Museum of Natural History. Sixth graders were able to get hands-on experience sketching bugs, exploring the invisible world around us, and getting up close and personal with butterflies in the vivarium as part of their study of living things; eighth graders, meanwhile, applied what they’ve learned about geology with an exploration of the Rocks and Minerals wing of the museum. 

Seventh graders embarked on a larger adventure, spending three days exploring the city of Philadelphia, the heart of the American Revolution. There, they visited landmarks of the Revolution such as the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall,  toured the National Constitution Center under the guidance of a working federal judge, and considered their own rights and liberties in a workshop on freedom at the National Liberty Museum. In each stop on their trip, they extended their classroom discussions of American history and citizenship with meaningful, hands-on activities that helped them think deeply about their own relationship with American identity. 

The research is clear about the educational benefits of school travel and trips. However, in my own experience, the rewards are so much greater than merely improved test scores or attendance rates. The joy and curiosity sparked when, for instance, a butterfly known as a Paper Kite rides on your head for 20 minutes, and the subsequent eagerness to hear a museum educator share what makes that possible, and to ask questions to learn more, are impossible to replicate in a classroom. (It turns out Paper Kite butterflies are highly toxic to animals, if not to people, so they’re fearless in the wild, if you’re curious.) Trips and experiences such as these are key to developing our global citizens who never stop growing as life-long learners and pioneering thinkers. 

As we enter into a busy time of year, I encourage you to make time for travel - not just the travel of the holiday season, rushing from place to place and visit to visit, but for exploration. Visit a museum, see a play, and take time to engage in an adventure with your child. I think their passion to use the world as their classroom will surprise you. Adventure is out there!