Kindergarten Teacher Goes Viral After Doing A Zoom Field Trip To The Zoo
Was there any day more thrilling in grade school than knowing you were going on a field trip? You'd get to put away your books, ditch the classroom, and hop on a bus to go out somewhere new and exciting.
In a time where field trips weren't all that feasible, one teacher went above and beyond for his students.
School Has Been Hard For Students Lately
In the midst of the pandemic, many students have been forced to take all their classes via online video meetings.
While this can be hard for kids of all ages, it is especially difficult for younger students who might have trouble focusing on the screen.
Online Classes Can Get Really Monotonous
In place of the hands-on learning that might happen in the classroom, it's easy to see how the countless days looking at a screen can get tiring.
Even in-class school can get boring for students, which is why field trips are so important.
Meet Garrett
Garrett Talcott is a kindergarten teacher at Ella Baker Elementary in Redmond, Washington.
In the past year, he's had to do a lot of reinventing for how he teaches his class of 5-year-olds to keep them interested in learning.
He Decided A Field Trip Was In Order
Even though he couldn't physically take his class on a trip, he figured he could still complete an online field trip.
Talcott got his laptop out and headed to the zoo.
He Didn't Go Alone
Garrett brought along his partner, Michael Rivera-Dirks, on the trip to the zoo.
Michael, seeing how adorable the whole setup was, decided to film Garrett a bit as he showed the class different animals.
It Really Was A Good Learning Experience
Not only did Talcott show his students the different animals at the zoo, but he also interacted with zookeepers.
The students were able to learn more about the natural habitats of the animals in the zoo.
The Class Seemed Really Engaged
Even though they weren't physically at the zoo, the students were still very eager to take in the sights and participate in the field trip.
Being so young and having been in online school all year, most of the kindergartners had never been on a field trip before.
Michael Has Been Filming Garrett For A While
Michael started shooting short videos of Garrett as he taught in September 2020 and uploading them to TikTok.
Michael was amazed and inspired by how joyful the young students were in their daily lessons.
Garrett Talcott Consistently Tries To Do His Best
Knowing he has the honor of helping to shape young minds, Talcott really does try to provide the best educational environment possible for them even in these troubling times.
Living so close to the zoo himself, he couldn't imagine not offering a zoo trip as an experience for his class.
His Enthusiasm Is Heartwarming
In an interview with a local news station, Talcott said that despite the difficult situation everyone is in with the pandemic, he puts on his most excited face when he turns on Zoom for his classes.
Talcott said, "The moment I hit that live button I have to be ready and there for those students and make sure it's the best day of their life."
