June 4, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Textbooks serve their purpose. But the Boston Schoolyard Initiative believes students are just as likely to learn math by measuring the dimensions of a playground or biology by observing birds feasting on sunflower seeds.
To encourage such learning, the charity since 1995 has been transforming deteriorated public schoolyards in often-blighted neighborhoods of the city into attractive spaces for students and local residents alike.
While many of the areas are designed purely for play, the organization has also started to add “outdoor classrooms” to the renovated playgrounds, complete with seating for students.
Kids respond well to learning outdoors, says Myrna Johnson, the program’s executive director.
The charity has developed curricula and provides training to teachers on how best to use the outdoors to teach science, writing, and other subjects. Sometimes the benefits are simple. “Some kids will ‘adopt’ a tree and watch it throughout the seasons,” says Ms. Johnson. “There’s a lot of chaos going on in their lives, and this is a way for them to connect with nature in the middle of the city in a difficult neighborhood.”
To date, the program has completed beautification projects at 72 schoolyards.
The program’s operating budget is approximately $2.4-million, with 50 percent of its revenue coming from the City of Boston and the remainder from foundations and other sources.
Here, two youngsters at William Monroe Trotter School sit on a “writing perch” as they work on an assignment.
