Over the years, Fenwick’s courtyard has been the site of many events. From ice cream socials, to Friar Fests, and at one point, classes. During an era of COVID where students wore masks and windows were left open, teachers like Mrs. Wang held their classes out in the courtyard. But what was the initial cause for the shut down? Wouldn’t the ability to spend some time in the great outdoors help students with their learning? In a series of interviews with Seniors Alex Lefko, Rowan Auriemma and Resource Officer, Mr. Sperandio, we explore the perspectives, thoughts and ideas towards maybe regaining that opportunity.
Students Alex Lefko and Rowan Auriemma, Class of 2024, both agreed that bringing back classes to the courtyard would be enjoyable. “I think bringing back classes in the courtyard would be a nice break from the mundane classroom while it’s still nice out,” says Lefko. Both students had Mrs. Wang as their English II Honors teacher sophomore year, and when outside, they utilized the space for group discussions and individual class work, such as writing or reading. They found that having the fresh air in the courtyard really helped them think. “Fresh air and the outside atmosphere really helps to think more. There are seats everywhere,” says Auriemma. However, both agreed that sometimes the student volume would get out of hand and therefore cause disruption amongst the classes facing the courtyard.
Mr. Sperandio, Fenwick’s Resource Officer, was thoroughly against the idea and explained that classes in the courtyard would create too much noise and would reach over the maximum capacity of people allowed for the area. Like Auriemma and Lefko, he agreed that the sound would carry throughout the building and therefore cause “great disruption amongst the students.” When asked about why courtyard classes were shut down he said that the desire for the space was too much and brought up the question of how one could divide the space fairly between all of the classes. Overall, his outlook on the idea wasn’t as positive as the students.
But opinions can only go so far. In 2012, the Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning published a research study by Emilia Fägerstam and Jonas Blom that sought to understand the effects of studying biology and mathematics in an outdoor environment. A group of 84 high school students from Sweden, ranging between 13 to 15 years old, were divided into four biology classes. All classes were taught by the same teacher and were guided through the same curriculum, however two classes received an outdoor instruction composed of six outdoor biology lessons whereas the other two were given six indoor biology lessons and an added two outdoor. To further discover whether the outdoor learning environment proved to be beneficial, the research team delivered an essay question to the students two weeks after the start of the course. Although there was no significant difference in content knowledge gained, students who took the outdoor biology classes were found to have an increased level of long term knowledge.
Given the circumstances and past experience of students and faculty members, do you think that having classes in the courtyard is obtainable? Would lessons be too much of a hassle for teachers? Would they create distractions amongst students? Overall the answer remains a question but could there be a chance we bring back the ability for students and teachers to use the space during class periods?
