Out of the box learning

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy — and on Outdoor Classroom Day this year, over 28,000 students across India will come together to bring this dusty lore to life. Started as a movement in the UK in 2011, the Day marks a yearly tribute to the notion of learning by playing outdoors. Schools around the world celebrate it in their own way: while some schools organize unique lessons outside, others engage students in nature-based activities. In 2018, over 3.5 million children took part in building a culture of learning from play — and the number is only expected to go up this year.

“In India, play is considered a waste of time,” remarks Sudeshna Chatterjee, the CEO of Action for Children’s Environment (ACE), a Delhi-based charitable trust that has spearheaded the Outdoor Classroom Movement in India. “And in other movements, play is essentially thought of only as sports. But we are trying to make sure that the concept of playing outdoors is defined by children-led, spontaneous activities, without adult intervention.” As Sudeshna goes on to explain, the role of play isn’t only essential to a child’s health, but also in cognitive and behavioural development. “It helps them makes friends, to negotiate, compromise and cohabitate — invaluable skills that books can’t teach them.”  

Being celebrated on November 7 this year, this certainly isn’t the first installment of the Outdoor Classroom Day in India. With an impetus from the ACE, a band of schools from all over the country has celebrated this day for the past three years. While every school encourages its children to play in different ways, they all agree on one thing: outdoors learning is a game changer. Mrunal Raiborde, the headmistress of Vanita Vishram Primary School in Mumbai marks a change in her students’ overall performance. “Children get very restless in confined places, and in most schools in India, they are kept indoors for most of the day.” She says. “As a part of the Outdoors Classroom Day, we let our students study, play and interact outdoors, and it has made them more focussed, quick to learn and, most importantly, happier.”

As we enter a new decade, new layers are added to how a child is brought up. Inevitably, a child’s teenage years are dominated by virtual interactions, and many parents see outdoor learning as a way to strike a balance. “My son’s tendency to play outside keeps him from spending all his time in front of the TV,” says Anirban Bakshi, a Kolkata resident whose 14-year-old son participated in the Outdoor Classroom survey. “It is absolutely important for schools to encourage as much outside learning as possible.”

The idea of education is fast transcending the boundaries of rote-based learning: do, falter, learn is the need of the hour. This Outside Classroom Day, the ACE calls out to schools, teacher and parents across the country to step outside and celebrate learning outside the box.