Denmark has gone all-in on having outdoor classes during the coronavirus pandemic.
What’s going on:
The school Samso Frie Skole, located on the Danish island of Samso, has been hosting school classes outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Post reports.
- Students will “wander through a rambling woodland, lush with trees and crisscrossed by dirt tracks,” according to The Washington Post.
- They’ll also “walk or bike more than a mile from their old classrooms to their new forest school. Teachers haul some of the younger children in carts affixed to bicycles,” according to The Washington Post.
- The students spend time outside and inside during the day. Weather is a factor, sure. But the school is flexible in how it hosts classes.
Why it matters:
The model for outdoor classes has grown in recent years as countries continue to let students return to school during the pandemic. Some schools — like those in Denmark — have decided to hold outdoor classes since experts believe the virus may be less transmissible outside.
- “Some countries, including Germany, have a tradition of outdoor preschools and kindergartens, which have begun to catch on in the United States as well. The pandemic may drive more countries to experiment with the model for older students,” according to The Washington Post.
For example, a school in New Hampshire has had students learn while outside, The Union-Leader reports.
- “When they get to the end of the day, there isn’t the level of fatigue,” said sixth grade teacher Katherine Nickel. “They’re tired, but not in the same way.”