Outdoor classes help students reset

A lot boils down to the teacher making a connection with their student, according to Carteret Elementary School Guidance Counselor Marissa Acosta, and a change in scenery for the both of them just might help.

About two years ago, every Bloomfield elementary school received two picnic tables, she said. But the tables were not being utilized at the school, so this year it took part in a state program called “Dreams” which started during Covid and is in its last year. The program provided a grant of $6,000 and even a mentor to institute outdoor education. Several other tables were purchased and have been set up one a side of the school building, outside the gym doors.

“The mentor, Angie Cunha, who works for Partnership for Children of Essex, talked to us about how to implement nature into the classroom and how to work with children who might have difficulty in a traditional classroom setting.”

Acosta said Carteret was “big” on shifting how to teach in the classroom and how to speak to children. She said should a child misbehave, instead of an immediate escalation of the situation, focus on the positive, not the negative — catch them doing good.

Learning in a different environment can help to build teamwork, Acosta said, and children can learn better outside the classroom because it is something different, a new environment.

“This environment opens avenues for working together,” she said. “The kids know that having a class outside is a treat, a time to enjoy themselves. The warm weather and the sunshine is just better.”

Teachers, of course, also take advantage of the outdoor setting especially during their 40-minute prep time. They can reset themselves.

“That is something we wanted,” Acosta said. “The tables are for the school community. We have raised garden beds coming in this week.”

Acosta and the custodial staff assemble the tables and the outdoor class has been going on for the last two weeks and progressing smoothly.

“I have colleagues who think like I do,” she said. “That makes it easier to get these dreams done.”

Something else new at the school is the Natural Heart Approach to teaching. Acosta took a five-day professional development class in order to teach the teachers this method. In the Natural Heart Approach, she said there are three “stands” a teacher takes with a child. Stand No. 1 is “No.” This sets boundaries.

“Before you do this, you have to build connections with your students,” she said. “You will not give energy to negativity. It’s all about how your tone is because positive or negative attention is attention”

Stand No. 2 is “Absolutely yes.” This is when the teacher energizes a student’s success.

“Ask students to raise their hand if they’ve done something good,” she said. “Sometimes you get no hands. We want to change that. Kids know more of what they do wrong than what they do right.”

Stand No. 3 is “Absolutely clear.” This is when a child crosses a boundary that has been set and they know it.

“It’s up to the teacher how they want to reset,” she said. “My reset is to have the child return to their seat, put both their feet on the ground and calm their body. Once I see them do that, they’re welcomed back to the carpet. That is their consequences, a reset, not shaming.”

Acosta said a simple reset is enough if the teacher has a connection with their student.