Outdoor Education
Ventura Charter School values real world learning outside of the classroom
Stewardship of the earth is a fundamental tenant of the School vision. An awareness of the fragility of the ecosystems is crucial as well as the development of a strong sense of responsibility for protecting, preserving, and restoring the earth for future generations. Multi-sensory experiences in nature also stimulate creativity and imagination. Immersion in a natural environment allows students to build cognitive constructs for intellectual development. When students interact with the environment, they become more attentive, less restless, and more engaged in independent, creative problem solving.
Our students regularly participate in outdoor learning opportunities, field trips, and service projects that allow them to take their learning off campus including:
These field experiences are an integral part of our standards based curriculum and encourage the students to make connections with their classroom learning and the larger world around them. Our role is to help students develop the skills, values, and attitudes that facilitate a scientific understanding of the natural world.
To read more about the value of outdoor education, we recommend: The Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Now I see the secret of making the best persons, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.
- Walt Whitman
“Now I see the secret of making the best persons, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.”
~ Walt Whitman