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pastywhite 
Group: Members
Posts: 1558
Joined: May 2009
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Posted on: May 15 2012, 8:17 am |
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I'm going as the male chaperon for a group of 14 7th-8th graders. We are going to the Mt LeConte lodge (Smokies). It is not backpacking but it is about a 6 mile hike and there's no electricity. We will get to eat well though. I have stayed at the shelter there quite a few times but I have never stayed at the lodge. It's too pricey for me. The "lodge" is just a collection of shacks with bunk beds. Everyone eats in a communal dining room.
I'm pretty pumped about this trip. The weather looks to be perfect, I don't have to carry as much stuff, and I get to eat better. The views from up there are moving. I think this will be one of those trips the kids will remember forever.
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RebeccaD
Double Arch, Arches N.P.
Group: Members
Posts: 9855
Joined: Jul. 2004
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Posted on: May 15 2012, 10:43 am |
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Sounds great! Yes, they'll remember that. I was struck at last week's "Student of the Year" ceremony (district-wide; we're a K-8 dist.) by how many of the kids being honored cited Outdoor Ed as the high point of grade school.
It made much less impression on my boys, but even for them it was new and different--because they stayed in cabins and were with slews of other kids. Plus, they got to point out that when THEY go camping, they hike miles, carry a pack, and sleep on the ground 
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Bits of writerly thoughts and random short fiction found at
The Ninja Librarian Blog
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TacGuy
Group: Members
Posts: 38
Joined: Dec. 2010
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Posted on: May 16 2012, 9:33 pm |
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The trip sounds great. I have never been there. Actually, I have never been west of Ohio :-( Someday I really want to see more of our beautiful country, and camping/backpacking excursions would be a great and less expensive way of doing it.
I hope you post pictures!!!
By the way,,, where do schools teach Outdoor ed??
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Lisasvoice
Group: Members
Posts: 323
Joined: May 2012
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Posted on: May 16 2012, 10:13 pm |
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It sounds like a blast. I do trips with either all boys or all girls. The conversations are so completely different...yes, I eavesdrop, it's hard to help. It's funny that they forget I'm in the tent right next to theirs. The boys would run through the woods chasing each other with sticks, and the girls were braiding each others' hair, and swimming in the creek, and talking about their teachers' personal lives. I had no idea that there really was that much of a difference between the sexes.
Keep an eye out for the quiet kids, if there are any, they might need more one on one. Have fun!
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RebeccaD
Double Arch, Arches N.P.
Group: Members
Posts: 9855
Joined: Jul. 2004
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Posted on: May 16 2012, 10:36 pm |
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Pastywhite, I'm jealous!
Tac Guy,out here in the Westit seems to be pretty common. In our area the County runs a camp in conjunction with the Y, and all the 5th graders go. They mix up the schools so that kids from all over the Peninsula go together, maybe a half dozen schools at a time. They stay all week, no parents allowed, and go on hikes, study nature in the redwoods and the tidepools both, and generally do stuff most would never get to do otherwise.
My biggest sorrow is that many of our students, especially from Latino and Filipino families, don't get to go, because of parental fears or family custom that says that we do everything as a family, and no one goes off by themselves.
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Bits of writerly thoughts and random short fiction found at
The Ninja Librarian Blog
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Lisasvoice
Group: Members
Posts: 323
Joined: May 2012
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Posted on: Jun. 05 2012, 5:18 pm |
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It's so interesting that you mention the Latino families. We have a strong population of Latinos here in Colorado. Yet there is a fear here too of the mountains. Considering how big the population is, there is a lack of this cultural group visiting the wilderness. When I've asked kids about it, they say the same things. There is a fear of wildlife or the unknown. Latino families picnic together near strams or lakes, but generally don't travel to the high country.
What is sad to me to is that for most kids, their experiences within the schools that take them to the wilderness or national parks are a one time deal. The schools have not made it a priority to expose kids continously over the span of their childhoods to teach them what is there, help them appreciate the natural world around them, and teach them how to protect it all.
The stress for schools is on the high tech world, but not how that artificial world can protect the real life one. If kids can't surround themselves with mother nature, they can't possibly see themselves as part of it. That is a dangerous thing indeed!
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Survival Skills 101 • Eat Better
