With outdoor learning, the sky might be the limit

Walking around campus during any school day, one may notice groups of people clustered on the lawn. This is due to teachers holding their classes outside to create social distance among students, namely within bigger classes. Luckily, the rainy weather in Spartanburg has remained at bay so far this school year making for an enjoyable outdoor learning experience. Once the temperature drops, however, this new learning style may become an issue.

Chris Knox ‘22, has mixed feelings on the use of outdoor classrooms. His class is located in the Pavilion at the Greek Village. He says, “Learning outside has been fine until now, but as the weather changes it will be more difficult to keep these classes outside. If they are kept outside as the weather gets colder, students will be uncomfortable and less likely to focus.”

Ebet Lansing ‘22, has a bit of a conflicting view, As she enjoys outdoor classes purely because she enjoys being outside. Lansing runs into the problem when it comes to being able to understand the professor.

“I don’t always think they’re al- ways very conducive for learning,” she says. “There is always so much going on around us, whether it be cars driving by, students walking by, or landscaping making loud noises in the background. While I really do love learning in the fresh air and the sun, it wasn’t until my professor got a mini microphone that I could even kinda hear him.”

The collective word around campus is that outdoor classes are not ideal, but for the circumstances, they work fairly well. The only worry is what is to come, in terms of weather, as well as for the coronavirus pandemic. Could we continue to see these out- door classrooms next spring? Only time will tell.