We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deb Long a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Deb, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?
Everyday on my way to work, I pass a public school. I can easily picture the 20 children stuck between the classroom walls of this gigantic brick building. I imagine their little bodies, longing for movement—wiggling, touching their friends, fidgeting—and being corrected by a teacher trying to get them to listen. I would know, because I used to be one of those teachers! We’ve learned so much about what children need, the importance of multi-sensory activities and movement, interaction and choices, yet we continue to ask them to sit inside and listen for the majority of their day. We tell them what to learn at every moment and have unreasonable expectations.
Children deserve the opportunity to interact with the world through meaningful, authentic paths to learning. Discovering a worm while you are playing is much more impactful and relevant than simply reading about a worm in a book. Collecting sticks in bundles to represent numbers is a more concrete and tactile way for children to understand math concepts compared to completing worksheets at a desk. Learning can and does happen outside of four walls, which is why there’s no reason we must keep children inside without natural light, fresh air and the sounds of nature.
As students get older, I imagine the solution-oriented, innovative ways that middle and high schoolers could come together to affect real, positive change in our community. Rather than forcing them to take classes that are not of interest, they could be spending time learning about real-life concerns and issues they feel passionate about; using their time to plan and implement ideas to improve the world around them. It’s important we prepare our children to become active citizens with a focus on understanding the local political process, financial planning and budgeting, home and car maintenance basics, as well as learning tools to maintain mental wellness.
Deb, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
For over 20 years, I’ve worked with children in various settings, but the most meaningful, powerful and life-changing experiences have occurred when working in nature. After graduating from the University of Florida in 1999, where I majored in sociology and minored in education and women’s studies, I worked as a counselor and teacher at Eckerd Youth Alternatives in Inverness, Florida. This outdoor residential therapy program provided girls (10-17 years old) struggling with behavior challenges with opportunities for growth and recovery, while living completely immersed in nature. We built our sleeping structures by chopping down trees, sinking poles and securing tarps for roofs, which was our only barrier from the elements. We went on extended backpacking and river/canoe trips, and truly experienced outdoor survival. I saw the lives of girls transform through the process as they were loved, cared for and supported in this environment.
After leaving Eckerd in 2005, I ventured to Atlanta and accepted an opportunity to teach kindergarten using Outward Bound’s Expeditionary Learning model at Amana Academy. After teaching there for two years I went back to school at Georgia State University to obtain my Masters in Social Work.
After my daughter, Emerson, was born in 2009, and then my son, Elias, in 2010, I co-founded New Morning Community Preschool. I co-owned, co-directed, and taught at this cooperative preschool that all of my children attended with me, until 2017, when I learned that our rental space was under contract to be sold to a developer. In the wake of deciding to close the school, I held great consideration for my youngest daughter Estelle. With one more year left before she would enter kindergarten, I decided to open Little Forest School, which allowed me to combine nature immersion with education, exposing our youngest learners to the beauty of being outdoors.
Throughout my career I’ve witnessed firsthand the amazing, positive impact being outside has on mental, physical and emotional wellness. These opportunities have also fostered in me a deeper love and appreciation of the natural world, and the belief that it is the very best setting to nurture a love of learning.
Little Forest School is a unique outdoor school for children between the ages of two and ten. We spend the entire day outdoors, going inside only during inclement weather. While spending as much time outdoors as possible, we foster thoughtfulness, kindness and a deep love and understanding of the natural world. Attention is paid to the intentional introduction of language and math concepts, and our teachers are Orton-Gillingham trained. Weekly activities include music, yoga, art, gardening and fire ceremonies, during which they share a special moment, appreciation or aspiration with the group. Monthly activities include field trips to local gardens and nature-based areas. While social and emotional skills are practiced daily, we complete one service project each semester that has a positive impact on our community.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In March of 2020 when everything shut down with the pandemic, I had three classes fully enrolled to start in Fall 2020. As the pandemic and the summer carried on, I kept losing enrollments and had to combine the remaining students into two classes. When August came, the governing body of the church I rent space from decided against allowing any schools operating in their buildings to open. At that point, the students I had left either joined two small pods that operated within my teachers’ homes or the parents had to find other care for their children. For months, I wasn’t sure if the school would be able to recover and re-open, but in October, I was given permission to start with one small class of ten students that met just two days each week. I was the lead teacher for the class and being back outside in nature with children was an absolute bright spot during the pandemic. I would sit in my car after each day, so thankful and filled with joy. Revisiting my role as a teacher during the pandemic brought me back to my passion of teaching. Just two weeks after reopening the school, hurricane-force winds from tropical storm Zeta caused a gigantic oak tree to fall on my main outdoor play space, destroying several pieces of playground equipment and parts of our fence. I took some time to reflect if this was a sign that I should close the school permanently, but momentum was building—I had just enrolled ten new families and didn’t want to let them down. I closed the school for one day to re-group and plan, deciding to move the play space into a more natural forest area on the property. It was a full weekend of installing a temporary fence and moving supplies, but with help from the community, I was able to successfully open the following week.
In January 2021, I opened a second class of students and hired two new teachers. I re-enrolled 20 new families in the school in a few short months. The school year following that, I operated with three full classes again. The third class that I opened was a new offering for students who are ages 5-8. The pandemic was a rollercoaster of enrollment, incessant tours and recovering from the devastating tree fall. There were definitely times when I questioned if the amount of work was worth it, but having the opportunity to get back into the classroom was such a gift. The pandemic, with all its ups and downs, reignited my passion for teaching. It reinforced the benefit of connecting with nature as a mental wellness tool for my own life, and reminded me of all the reasons I believe in outdoor schooling.
Contact Info:
- Website: littleforestatl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_forest_atl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LFPAtlanta