Learning outside the classroom

Omar* is standing on a stone. «I'm a world champion gambler,» he says, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. A few children grimace. It's cloudless, but still cold. «Who wants to go next?» asks Jolanda Bienz. A murmur goes round the room. When no one steps forward, Omar adds: «I'm also a world champion at sleeping.» Giggling, the ice is broken.

This time, the world champion game kicks off the Tuesday morning that twelve schoolchildren from the Lucerne municipality of Wolhusen spend outdoors every week. The stone is a kind of platform on which each child can, but does not have to, name their strengths. The game seems to inspire imagination rather than a competitive spirit. That is fitting. Because the most important message here is that no one is better than anyone else. Everyone is good as they are: this is not a feel-good slogan, but the top priority in the IF+ project.

In the IF+ project, time-outs are not only used when there is a fire - they are integrated into everyday school life.

Monika Pfyl and Jolanda Bienz have made it their mission not to tinker with the children, but to accept their strengths and weaknesses. The women, both teachers, run the IF+ project at Wolhusen primary school. It provides integrative support for children who have difficulties because they have learning difficulties, are fidgety, impulsive or extremely shy. Some of them have attributes that we commonly group together under the heading of «behavioural problems».

The IF+ project is exceptional in that it integrates the structures of a so-called time-out - i.e. a productive break from lessons - into the primary school. Time-outs only actually come into play in cases of hardship, when a child has become a permanent disruptive factor and is no longer acceptable for the primary school.

The IF+ project, on the other hand, allows children to take time out and remain part of their school community. And it doesn't just kick in when there's a fire. «In principle, the programme is open to everyone,» says Benedikt Küng, head of the kindergarten and primary school in Wolhusen. Nobody has to catch up on missed schoolwork with detention. «Some pupils have personal problems that are more important to solve than the school curriculum,» says Küng.

Omar came to Switzerland from a crisis area. He soon had German under control, but not his outbursts of anger. He became rough during arguments. Unfamiliar things, his former teacher recalls, unsettled the boy. This included the forest, which the fourth-grader visited for the first time as part of the IF+ project. Dogs barking, birds crying from the thicket: anyone who has experienced war perceives sounds differently.

Omar has got used to Flocke's barking. Jolanda Bienz's dog always accompanies the group. Omar throws her a stick and follows the dog down the steep slope. «In the past,» says Monika Pfyl, «he could hardly walk on uneven ground. He would get angry and crouch down.»

A sense of achievement that lingers

On her small farm in Wolhusen, Monika Pfyl, a teacher for integrative support, offers time-out and care places for children and young people. Over the years, several primary school pupils from the village have also spent time out with her. «At some point, we felt the need to support the school with a project,» says Pfyl. «We were able to open doors with the headteacher.» Together with Bienz, a primary school teacher from the staff, Pfyl set to work. With the blessing of headteacher Küng and the support of Andrea Zuffellato, an expert in experiential education (see interview at the end of the article), the two women developed the concept for IF+ two years ago. A psychologist is now also on board to support the team when necessary.

«For some pupils, solving
solving private problems is more important than the school curriculum.»

Headmaster Küng

The basic idea behind the project is that anyone who breaks new ground in nature will eventually dare to do the same at school. «Learning,» says Pfyl, «requires positive experiences that the child can build on.» If there is no sense of achievement, the joy of school is lost: «Then the child shuts down.»

Pupils in particular who experience little affirmation in class benefit from a learning environment outside the classroom. Even those who struggle with the school curriculum discover that they have talents in the forest. Omar, for example, is skilful at making fires. Today he is teaching a boy how to chop wood, after which he makes coffee for the project leaders, which has become something of a ritual. «Omar is the coffee chef,» say the others. «The boy has become sociable,» says the headmaster.

Animals convey mindfulness

When children have personal problems, they have little capacity for maths and the like. «But they can make fires, look after animals and climb over obstacles,» says Pfyl. «This gives them self-confidence and encourages them to try new things - even at school.» Sometimes it is parents who want to send their child to the IF+ project, but teachers usually report a need for support. «Because we are not reliant on external agencies,» says headteacher Küng, «we can react quickly.»

The children are five to twelve years old, most of them boys and Swiss, and by no means all of them have problems with learning. Andrin, for example, is highly gifted. For him, the morning in nature is a welcome change, and for his teacher, who provides the boy with additional support, it is a relief.

Tom is also a good pupil, says his teacher. The second-grader is impulsive and often gets into arguments because he lacks a sense of closeness and distance. Tom has been spending Tuesday mornings in nature for a year now. His teacher says that the change from the top-heavy lessons is good for him: «He has become calmer and gets into fewer conflicts. He has learnt not to let himself be provoked so quickly.» The project managers have noticed that Tom benefits a lot from interacting with the animals, which the group often visits on Monika Pfyl's farm. «He loves the chickens,» says Pfyl, «but he had to learn that they can only be picked up and stroked if he treats them with care.»

How does being popular work?

Maja is sent to time-out by the nursery school teacher. The five-year-old barely speaks. Even on the way to the fireplace, she keeps her distance and doesn't say a word. Would it be appropriate to encourage the girl? Pfyl waves it off: «She needs time, that's okay.»

You are good just the way you are - nobody compromises on this maxim here. For the carers, it also means being able to bear whatever burdens a child brings with them. One boy, new to the project, said that he would like to come along, but wasn't sure if he could manage it: what if he had to vomit? That often happens in the morning. The project managers then sought a dialogue with the mother. They reassured the boy that he could be shielded and accompanied at all times. So far, he has never vomited.

The IF+ project lasts ten weeks for most children, although some stay for a year or longer. During this time, each child works on a goal that they formulate themselves. «To be popular» is the one most often mentioned. They often talk about what it takes to achieve this. Maxima has noticed that those who have confidence in themselves have an easier time. She now looks out for little tests of courage more often. Today she is balancing on a tree trunk. Tom has realised that those who don't push others are better received - the animals have shown him that.

Maxima has noticed that children who dare to do something are more popular. She is now on the lookout for tests of courage.

There is no standard programme for Tuesday mornings: «We decide spontaneously and together where to go each time,» says Bienz. In cases of doubt, like today, a vote is taken: Up the mountain or to the river? It can happen that someone is reluctant to be outvoted. The women's motto is then to sit down and ask questions. Like the last time: «Why are you ugly, Charlie?» This not only helps to find a compromise, but also often reveals the real reason for the bad mood.

«That's the great thing about this project,» says primary school teacher Claudia Kiener, «that you have time to respond to the child. I can't do that in the classroom when there are 17 others waiting.» As a teacher, she benefits a lot from IF+: «I often learn surprising and positive things, but also problems that I wasn't aware of. This gives me a much more differentiated picture.»

After two years of IF+, headteacher Küng summarises the success of the programme: «We can no longer imagine life without it.» Half of the funding comes from the pot for integrative support measures, the other half is provided by the municipality. Küng hopes that the model will find imitators. They are currently looking for ways to establish it at other schools. «We need to takethe primary school forward,» demands project manager Bienz, «instead of handing over challenges to public schools.»

Project manager Bienz calls for: moving the primary school forward
instead of ceding challenges
to public schools.

It's quiet at the pond. Six children have been watching a newt in a PET bottle for half an hour. «You'll have to release it soon,» warns Bienz. The pupils are not listening, their focus is on the animal. That's remarkable, especially as these six are said to be unable to concentrate on one thing for five minutes in class.

A girl's voice can be heard from the fireplace: «There's a baby snail here!» It's kindergarten child Maja. The children rush over. And suddenly: Maja is talking. She talks about snails, her sister and the cap she wants to give her. The snail retreats, the children peek into the little house. Maja says she has a magnifying glass at home. I wonder if that would be useful now? Of course, say the others. The girl smiles: «Then I'll bring it with me next time.»

* Names of the children changed.

More about the IF+ project: schule-wolhusen.ch