30th October 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
According to a recent study from the RDPB, the majority of children in the UK are missing out on the natural world, leading sedentary lifestyles and having only very knowledge about the natural world around them. The project, which was conducted over a period of three years, showed that on 21% of children between 8 and 12 were “connected to nature”. The results showed that boys in particular were unlikely to spend much time outdoors. The factors contributing to this are numerous, with digital entertainment and parents’ aversion to dirt and the risks posed by the outdoors at the top of the list of reasons for children’s declining interest in nature. Is there something that we as private tutors can do about this?
It has often occurred to me that the students I work with have often spent all day at school, and are now sitting indoors with me, carrying on their studies. When I see students at the weekend, part of me wonders whether they would be better off running around outside, especially if it’s a nice day. Time was when parents used to say that children must play outside, and that it would be a crime to waste a lovely day. Now, there is little concern for this, and a focus on drilling students to ensure that they achieve the desired exam results. The problem is so severe that cases of rickets, a deficiency often caused by lack of exposure to the sun, is on the rise in this country amongst children. As tutors, is there a way for us to kill two birds with one stone?
Sometimes a simple solution presents itself: where possible, study outside. Even a small garden with a bench will do, and can be a more pleasant environment in which to discuss the topic at hand. If the topic being tutored is science, there are endless possibilities. Not only can you teach outside, but you probably should at some point, in order to allow students to observe the natural world themselves. For younger students, field trips can provide great opportunities to get children outdoors, and get them more interested in nature that they might be solely working from books. Whatever your strategy, getting students outside is more important than ever.