VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 3
fear when the inside and outside shorelines of the sidewalk and curb had melded
into an indistinguishable solid sheet of ice. He instantly lost all confidence in his
ability to walk safely. As we stood on the sidewalk and listened to a few other
people who also braved the elements, I pointed out the 'crunch, crunch' sounds of
others wearing ice grippers and managing the challenging terrain. He then made it
a half-block.
It seems that teens are teens no matter what part of the country one lives in,
and standard winter outerwear is a hoodie and sneakers, regardless of outdoor
temperature or weather conditions. Since traveling in winter is our reality for close
to six months, we try to be outdoors as much as possible during this time frame.
We have found, however, that we often need to provide proper outer layers for our
students for those outdoor lessons to be successful. Kids in Alaska go outside for
recess through elementary school, so the younger students tend to have 'the gear'.
The minute the students hit middle school and recess ceases to exist, so does
dressing for the weather. If we want to have lessons where the students aren't
standing and shivering and can actually think and process what they are hearing,
seeing and feeling, we have found it beneficial to have our cars be rolling gear
closets. We have also become friends with the school nurses who have extra
outdoor clothing, collected from colleagues and outgrown or no longer used layers
from spouses/children.
