History is an experience of reconnecting to and exploration of a world that came before the formalization of education and the technological drive of modern living. At one time we were, as a species, more directly related to nature, and our learning, consequently, was probably linked more directly to the natural world. Over time, the place for learning became a modern, centralized location called school. But nature still seems to call to us from outside, and there are a few who listen. Nature has a way of drawing us into the ancient. Could it be that by going to these special places our pedagogical sensibilities become attuned to more human senses? Jody’s comment about his students’ connection with place, that “they were into it,” made me question whether the students would have been as open to and earnest about the experience if it were not for the specific places where the history lessons were taught. Jody allows students to experience the spirit of a place through history lessons in nature. Can technology provide this same, intimate connection to our spirit through learning and the subject matter of the world that is conveniently referred to as social studies?
The pedagogical significance of outdoor education is that educators share directly in the students’ learning experience. Ironically, teachers disembody education from direct experiences by removing students from the outside world to contain learning within inside places and I question if technology has bridged the inside and outside worlds of our students. More attention needs to be focused on these outdoor places, for they enable unique possibilities. This uniqueness can allow educators to connect deeply with children at a level that transpires the academics of an inside-scholastic experience. By leading children outdoors, we bring our students closer to the natural world and enable them to feel the power of a world that is not technological but is something much more. The more we go outdoors with our students, the greater the opportunities for our students to discover that the natural world is not an isolated space and not merely a mystery, a sound bite or abstract-digital representation. It is important for teachers to see that the outdoors is significant to the relational bond between teachers and their students, but as central to experiential learning. By going outdoors, Jody realized social studies education lost sight of an educational connection. Educational theories, learning models, and technological innovations do not explain or highlight the richness of the relationships that are formed as a result of and through teaching, let alone outside teaching. The significance in teaching outside, pedagogically, is how teachers are able to witness kids change at that moment when they look out over the Split as the child learning in a different way outside.