Elizabeth Farwell, Grade 1 Teacher

Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, I spent much of my childhood outdoors, both in voluntary and parentally-forced conditions. Through both of these measures, I developed deep appreciation for nature and an especial love of trees. From this point on, being outdoors in a beautiful setting became a passion for me. I attended St. Paul's School in Concord, NH, which I chose for its rolling lawns of green grass and many ponds set alongside many acres of woods. Next, I fell in love with the flowering trees and beautiful walkways traversing the campus of Bryn Mawr College, where I spent four years studying English and Education.

Prior to being lured to the lush setting Green Woods, I participated in a variety of educational settings, from Montessori education to public schools in North Philadelphia. I participated in the Literacy Intern program through the school district before attaining my Master's Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Through working in so many settings and experiencing a broad spectrum of students from different demographics, I developed an appreciation for the intellectual purity of young learners, the value of appropriate materials and support, and, most significantly, the importance of exploring the outdoors to pique curiosity, encourage questions and develop authentic, reflective, thinking.

When not lesson planning or doing schoolwork, I spend time outside hiking, biking, and camping when the weather allows. A lifelong snow enthusiast, I enjoy cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter on the rare occasion Philadelphia receives and retains actual snow. (Needless to say, the past two winters have been especially exciting for me) Whether on a several-day camping trip or a walk to the park with kids, taking photographs of nature, especially trees, is also a passion of mine. Capturing the majesty of our world on a screen is always an amazing feeling.

Now entering my fourth year at Green Woods Charter School fills me with excitement and appreciation. There is no setting comparable to being in the woods where students see firsthand the grandeur of trees and the antics of animals. Seeing deer lurking outside my classroom door in the evening, and having a standardized test interrupted by wild turkeys parading loudly past the classroom (several times) has only added to my passion for teaching students through nature.

Each morning that I drive down the rutted dirt road that leads to the haven of GWCS, I think how lucky I am to have found such a place. Wherever the school grows, the essentials of cultivating enthusiastic young intellectuals through exposure to the environment and real-world problems and problem-solving will remain a constant tool of success, and the world can expect a string of strong, self-assured thinkers and doers emerge from our doors/ forest.