"Book Reviews" by Sylvia Dresser |
Morton East H.S. by Roman Emano and Rafael Ramirez Adventure/Challenge programs in high schools do not have to be part of the curriculum to be meaningful and effective. For many years we have used adventure/challenge methodology in our classes (Health and Sciences), in the Bilingual Club (a socio-cultural club), to facilitate workshops for students, clubs and teams, and in the summer challenge program for students at risk. Roman also facilitates the Saturday challenge program (an alternative to Saturday detention). Without a doubt, the Adventure Club is probably one of the projects we feel most passionate about. Like anything else that is worthwhile in education, it is a ton of work; however, it is worth it—believe me. Let us start by sharing with you a description of our school community. Morton East High School is located in Cicero, Illinois, an urban suburb of Chicago. Traditionally, Cicero has been the first community for many immigrant groups such as Italians, Polish and Eastern Europeans. In the 1980s a new wave of immigrants arrived from Mexico and other Latin-American countries. Currently the school population is 90% plus Latino. Mexicans are the largest group. Some of the issues that our students deal with are learning the language as well as the culture, lack of documentation, being unprepared for high school, low literacy level, and cultural value conflicts within the family. Other issues are low graduation rate (approximately 70 percent), gangs, drugs, teen pregnancy, and despair. Our experience has shown us that when a group of committed educators work together toward a common vision and use a methodology that engages students in meaningful and relevant learning experiences, success will follow. We do not mean success in the narrow view of doing well on standardized tests, but in creating a learning community where students and teachers feel empowered to take risks. Notwithstanding, with the many challenges we face at Morton East a lot of good things have been happening. There are many good teachers and programs. The Partnership Academy and the ESL/Bilingual programs are among our successful programs. Our Adventure Club/program was developed three years ago. Previous to this we had taken students on camping trips where we used teambuilding initiatives to teach them outdoor skills. In the backcountry classroom amazing things happed. Students were able to learn and to be challenged. We wrote a strategic plan and our vision was to have the students become the leaders. This extracurricular program has gone beyond being a simple social-recreational club to becoming a leadership-training program. We realized that young people are hungry for meaningful experiences. Many students at Morton wanted to be challenged and experience true leadership. In the Adventure Club students develop outdoor and leadership skills as well as a sense of service. The Adventure Club is set as an educational program. Students learn, among other things, to fund-raise money for our trip, communicate effectively, and learn to be competent in the outdoors. Some people wonder why we spend so much time with the club and take such chances. Let us tell you why! Many wonderful things happen on overnight camping trips. Powerful dynamics take place when students step out of their comfort zone. Students plan meals, buy the food and finally cook wonderful dishes. EL (English Language Learners) students start speaking English on a regular basis. Students for whom college was not in the picture start to reconsider after they hear other members who plan to attend no matter what obstacles. We have witnessed some gang members break down in tears and, for the first time, realize that there is something better for them than the cycle of violence. We use many of the teambuilding initiatives that most adventure/challenge educators use, but pay close attention to debriefing and processing. We use circles to process all our initiatives and projects. After two years in the club, students have developed plenty of leadership skills to provide training for the new members. Once this happens, we try to be in the background guarding the process and providing some guidance. In a year students get to participate in four or five camping trips (three to seven days in length). We do trekking, canoeing, top rope climbing, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, and caving and wilderness exploration. Students become competent in skills such as trip planning, fire building, cooking, LNT, backpacking, and general camping skills. We all enjoy the outdoors, but far more important is that the backcountry provides plenty of teachable moments for all of us to grow. If you look closely, students are learning English communication skills, science, nutrition, math, decision-making, arts and physical fitness, etc. We also encourage journal writing as a way to reflect on the experiences. Another important component of our program is community service. In a typical year we do hundreds of hours of community service. Just recently we had our students working cooperatively with the horticulture and the carpentry clubs on a 3-day-weekend service project at Circle Pine Center (a non-profit organization that provides summer camp opportunities for inner city kids). We rebuilt a sauna, got the garden ready, and did a detailed cleaning of some of their facilities. The director of the facility noted these young people are absolutely amazing. They are the most competent group of young people that come around. They work hard and have fun at the same time. Are our students special? Definitively! So are yours. Many adults in our society, including some educators, see groups of Latino youth as a threat. Others think of them as poor kids, to feel pity for. We see them as leaders. Let us share a story with you. When we first met Viri, she was a sophomore student recently arrived from Mexico. She worked in a restaurant and she felt uncertain about her future. She told us of her troubled past. I challenged her to join the club. Over the next three years we saw her blossoming academically and improving her English skills. She also became a capable student leader who not only got everybody moving, but was not afraid to be criticized by her peers. She became a true role model for many younger students. Viri could climb a wall and also coordinate a dance for 500 students. Viri went on to win one of the prestigious Golden Apple Scholarship Awards and a full scholarship to a private university. She is currently in college training to become a teacher. We do not have Adventure/Challenge classes in our curriculum yet. However, these extracurricular programs and summer courses have shown us that Adventure/Challenge education works if done right. These are powerful reasons to keep doing what we do. And there are many other wonderful stories. It would be arrogant not to acknowledge all the good things and committed educators who work tirelessly at Morton to create positive learning experiences for our students. I honestly believe that our program makes a substantial difference in the educational experience of many students at Morton. We would be happy to talk with you anytime about our programs and how they impact kids. Please contact us at: Morton
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