Recently, Civics and AP Psychology teacher Mark Kushner brought his students out to the football field to prove just how important vision is and just how powerful our other senses can be. 

“We’re learning how our senses affect our experience of the world … I’m going to deprive them of vision in a variety of ways, and that’s important because vision makes up for about 70% of all your sensation,” said Kushner.

AV has strong teachers who have found creative ways to engage students in learning after coming back from a tough year at home during the pandemic. This activity gets kids out of their desks and takes them outside to learn. 

The first part of the activity started with the Psychology students getting into pairs. One partner covered their eyes with blindfolds and scarves, while the other partner kept their eye out to make sure no one got hurt. The goal of the first activity was to get from one side of the football field to the other in a straight line. This proved harder than one would expect. 

“It was different than what we typically do in class,” said Shreya Modak (‘23).

The second activity showed how one’s other senses can be used almost as effectively as vision. In this activity, one partner was still blindfolded, but this time the goal was to find Mr. Kushner. After being spun around by their partner three times, students listened for the sound of Mr. Kushner’s whistle, which he would blow into as he ran around the field. Students more easily found Kushner as they formed a crowd around where he was just moments before. 

“I think I ran into multiple people, also I ended up stopping and there was nobody within a two feet radius … I think [this activity] made me realize that we are actually really good at using other senses than sight,” said Aditi Pattanshetti (‘23).