Yesterday was one of the first really nice, spring-like days here in Wilmette. Signs of spring are everywhere. The last few piles of snow in the parking lot have melted away. I look at the daffodils in my garden every morning when I leave for school, and as I arrive home, I notice how much they’ve grown during the day. Boys are showing up to school in shorts.

So it was inevitable that one of my classes would ask to go outside. As a teacher, this always causes me a dilemma. If I start letting my classes go outside too early in the spring, they beg to do it more, and valuable class time is lost. But I see such value in being outside the school walls, out in the fresh air and sunshine. I think some students, maybe even many students, learn better in that environment.

It gets me thinking, why are schools designed the way they are? Should they be designed differently today than they were 50 or 100 years ago? If students had a say in how schools looked, would they look different? And more immediately, are there ways to get my students outside more often without losing precious instructional time?

I think I’ll go sit on the benches by the Peace Garden and contemplate these questions. It’s not just the students who want to be outside.