The Hospital School at Duke University Medical Center is THRILLED to have The Walking Classroom as a tool for our students. At the hospital, we serve inpatients as well as students who frequent our outpatient clinics.
We encourage students on the Pediatric Bone Marrow Unit to walk and earn “feet” (charms) for walking laps in the hall of the unit to help improve their recovery time. Unfortunately, despite the smiles and encouragement from the nurses, with no windows in the hallways, a walk down the hall for older patients (now too big for the grocery cart or Fisher Price cars) is something that is often dreaded.
Recently, a student of mine on the bone marrow unit was having a tough time becoming motivated to walk the hall. The student is legally blind, so the halls are not very entertaining. I came prepared for our time together with a couple of podcast choices. The student chose the lesson on Louis Braille, and did not hesitate to get out of bed and walk the halls once the podcast was playing.
Nurses were ecstatic to see “school” happening in the hallway while walking! Now the Physical Therapists and nurses don’t have to be the only ones begging students to walk. Although we didn’t walk for the whole podcast, we finished it in the student’s room. I even shared more resources and stories of Louis Braille and blindness through the teacher tools online.
As you can see, The Walking Classroom hit on some social and emotional level for this particular student, as well as an educational level. It even helped on a physical level (in the student’s recovery from the bone marrow transplant) by getting the student walking the halls!
Brianne Starin
Teacher
Hospital School at Duke University Medical Center
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