What teaching sailing taught me about how kids learn—and why our environments matter just as much as the lessons.
Before beginning my career and becoming the CEO of Bienenstock, I taught sailing. I worked with both kids and adults. Same sport. Same lake. Very different results.
The kids were taught outside where they could learn on the boat or dock, and depending on how sunny it was, sometimes under a tree. They picked everything up quickly and brought their newfound knowledge with them, in the real world, which in this case, was on the water.
Then there were the adults.
I taught them in a classroom—you can imagine the kind. Four walls, whiteboards, and uncomfortable seats that made you question how you’d get through the day. Nevertheless, the adults tried their best to stay focused and attentive, but once we got out on the sailboat, it became clear: What I was teaching them just didn’t stick as quickly and easily as it did for the kids.
At first, I thought it was about age or prior experience. Maybe it was even the way I was teaching. But then I realized: It wasn’t what or who. It was how and where.
Why Isn’t This Sticking?
That question of “stick” kept coming back to me. Why did the same information land so differently depending on where it was taught?
When I started at Bienenstock, the answer became clear.
Let’s think back to when we were kids learning multiplication. Some of us sat at a desk and memorized our times tables. Today, we can probably recite the answers to 7×7 and 12×10, but it took a different type of learning—one that had us breaking down concepts (maybe even literally) —to understand what the answers actually meant.
Educators know that learning isn’t just cognitive—it’s sensory. Outdoors, children engage all their senses, transforming experience into deeper, more meaningful learning.
But a traditional classroom, even a well-designed one, narrows that learning channel. It asks us to sit still, filter out distractions, and absorb information passively. And for many students (adults included), it requires the internal fight to stay focused while counting down the bell to recess.
Change the environment. Level up the learning.
Over decades, we’ve learned that every child learns differently, yet most educational spaces are still designed the same way: four walls, a series of desks, and windows that draw more attention than the chalkboard. Isn’t it time we designed spaces that facilitate better learning outcomes?
Ask our team of educators, and they’ll tell you: Outdoor classrooms aren’t just about changing the environment—they create environments that make learning stick. Teaching outdoors embraces that full-sensory experience that’s proven to support engagement, stronger memory, and more meaningful experiences.
So this year, as we head back into the halls and into the classrooms, let’s ask ourselves: What’s possible when our environments match how children actually learn vs. how we expect them to?
