Thank goodness that College Weekend falls right after the Middle School’s immersive field trips. 8th graders spend 4 days in Boston, and the 7th graders spend 4 days at Cedarkirk, an outdoor retreat center. There are low- and high-ropes courses, as well as opportunities for swimming, canoeing, and tree climbing. Boys and girls each have a dorm for sleeping, but other than nighttime, you’re pretty much outside. As you’re probably able to guess, I was invited to chaperon this year, and it was a fun and worthwhile, although exhausting, experience. Potential future chaperons, plan on portioning out about 16 hours sleep throughout. I immediately headed to Baltimore upon my return, and I slept for close to 10 hours Thursday night.
(Putting out a fire after Mission: Survivor.
Students had one hour to orienteer to a safe space, practice first aid, build a fire and shelter, and boil water.)The whole experience makes me question most public school reform techniques. I understand the thinking behind tying success and test scores together. But it's not enough. So much learning takes place outside the classroom. Remembering back to my own 7th grade year, I realize how much more effective my teachers would have been if they had lived with us for four days and known our habits and our interests, not just how well we performed in English or Math classes.
7th grade is hard. Not only are students able to begin understanding critical thinking projects, they're hitting puberty and trying out new identities. When observing a classroom, you don't get a full sense of the drama behind the scenes. Students are jockeying for academic placement and social status. In schools like ours, when many of them have known each other since toddlerhood, they're figuring out ways to reshape a mold where they may have been placed years before. Cedarkirk is good because it takes students out of their comfort zones and into a new (and neutral) environment. They're forced to interact with students outside their social groups, and they begin to see their teachers as well-rounded individuals.
(No, this is not a statement on my energy level at the end of the trip. I was "injured" on the trail during Mission: Survivor. A team of students needed to use their first aid skills to take care of me and get me back to the group shelter. This student did an excellent job caring for me. She even spent about 20 minutes dabbing my face with cool water and later formed a human shield over me to protect me from the storms. In case you're wondering, here's the back story. I was bitten by a snake while hiking and tripped over a log. I hit my head hard, and I have a concussion and a possible neck injury---if they're going to practice first aid, why not give them a challenge.)
(Putting out a fire after Mission: Survivor. 
