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by Dan Creely,Jr. There are many, many outstanding educators who quietly impact the lives of their students and change them forever. Gus Pausz is one of these teachers. Gus is a true renaissance man with a wide variety of interests. His passion for birding, planting Midwest prairies, and illustrating books are but a few of the gifts he shares with his students. Gus has taught art for nearly thirty years at McCracken Middle School, District 73 1/2, in Skokie, Illinois. Ten years ago, with the support of a new superintendent and a school board that was sensitive to the needs of their students, he designed their adventure-based experiential education program. Each student in grades 6, 7, and 8 receives nine weeks, five days a week, of experiential education. Gus is the "moving spirit" behind the finest middle school adventure/challenge program in the State of Illinois. How did an art teacher with twenty years of experience start an adventure program? "I was exposed to adventure/challenge education through a course I was taking at Northern Illinois University from Bill Quinn. The experience literally transformed me. It transformed how I teach because I experienced the same fears and anxieties our students have. It helped me understand what our students experience and what they need most from me as a teacher. I love teaching art, but there is something very, very special that occurs through the process in our experiential education classes." Each class has some type of culminating experience near the end of the session. It may be a rock climbing and caving trip or an outdoor education experience. Gus shared, "Don Stahlberg, a legendary band director in the district for over thirty years, would volunteer to drive the bus for our trips. He was emotionally moved by what he heard the students share in our 'talking circles' at night around a traditional fire. As a result, he commissioned some Native American artists to make a talking stick to use on our trips. I was truly honored." Gus has also introduced the concept of service-learning to his students. The students organized two separate fund raising events to support the Play for Peace initiative. Play for Peace is an experiential process that brings children of conflicting cultures together through the goodness of play using experiential based group initiatives. His students raised over $2,000.00. Gus models servant-leadership for his students. He has generously contributed in every way possible to the success of all the events sponsored by T.E.A.M. He has helped with this newsletter since it started, volunteers at every workshop, and , this year he is the co-chair, along with Maureen "Mo" Kelty, for the 1999 T.E.A.M. Conference, February 19 & 20, 1999. He also worked for sixteen months on the planning committee for the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) International Conference, at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in 1995. He also found time to serve as the union president in his district for four separate terms. You can reach Gus at McCracken Middle School, 847-673-1220 ext, 245.
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