Last Monday, I traveled with 19 7th grade students, and one other teacher from school, to the Outward Bound Residential Centre in Aberdovey, Wales, for a week-long adventure course. Accompanied by professional Outward Bound instructors throughout the entire week, we pushed, challenged, encouraged, and motivated our students to try new activities. Through building a raft, learning to canoe, pier-jumping into the sea, hiking, rock-climbing, and overnight camping, the students had ample opportunity to become independent and resourceful learners, work as a team, and develop their self-confidence. As the adults, our role was to supervise in the background, motivate and cheerlead, ease the homesickness, do a bit of parenting, and enjoy the early mornings with a cup of coffee, overlooking the sea.
My Outward Bound Top 9:
1) Top Moment of Community: 19 7th graders, four adults, standing around six mini camping stoves in darkness, cooking communal pots of re-hydrated pastas and rice, sharing, laughing, and eating.
2) Top Most Exasperating Question: "Ohhhhh Miss, how much further?" Whether on a 6-hour coach from London to Aberdovey, or on a 6-hour mountainous hike with heavy rucksacks, let me assure you that this question wears out, quickly. Learned a few distraction techniques as a result - like telling stories from my own childhood to pass the time, or offering to race a child up the hill, since the infusion of competition seems to dull the whinging just a bit.
3) Top Moment of Teaching: Showing a 7th grader, a child who is 12 years old, how to tie her shoe laces. Humbling.
4) Top Outdoor Activity: Exploring the ruins of an old Welsh castle - climbing the stone remains, on a warm sunny day, overlooking rolling hills of sheep and horses, and feeling, if just for a moment, like a small child on top of the world.
5) Top Moment of Nostalgia: Accidentally interrupting a group of giggling 7th graders playing a game of Truth or Dare. Whoops. :)
6) Top Student Quote: On having to wake up at 7:00 am for breakfast, "But Miss, my tail isn't bushy until 8." My reply: "Well, this week, we are just going to have to be bushy at 7."
7) Top Moment of Motherhood: Informing the girls that eating Oreos and Sour Cream & Onion chips, in bed, at 10:00 pm, isn't really the best idea. Oh, and making sure I always had enough sunscreen for myself, and for everyone else.
8) Top Lesson Learned: Standing back to let kids struggle, in a safe and supportive environment, is actually a remarkable way to teach. Encourage, cheer, and applaud - yes, the more the better. Coddle, takeover, or do - not so much. Turns out that true accomplishment, pride, and confidence comes from recognizing momentary defeat, trying again from a different angle (or just a bit harder), seeing something through, and earning a sense of mastery.
9) Top Photograph: Taken on our day hike through the mountains. It doesn't get much better than this.
It was a powerful learning experience for all of us - so much so that I actually teared up on the bus ride back to London, reflecting on how far the students had come in one week, and how proud I felt about their achievements and willingness to take calculated risks with encouragement. Throughout the week, a few of them cried, some of them matured beyond their years, most all of them whinged at some point or another, and nearly all of them left Wales with a new-found sense of pride and self-esteem. I witnessed transformations and personal achievements, tested my own patience and ability to let students fail in order to learn, and experienced all of the above in the most serene, breathtaking natural environment. This experience was, undoubtedly, the highlight of my professional career to date. What that means for me, from a professional standpoint, I'm not really sure at the moment. All I know is that I feel completely honored, humbled, fulfilled, and let's be honest...exhausted :). Now that's a rewarding place to be.
-Brandina
"Experiencing this heart-beating and emotional journey to Aberdovey, Wales, has made me realise that I have more inside than what others see of me." - Year 7 Pupil
