Once in awhile you have an authentic experience so unexpected, that you have to stop and process what happened. This just happened to me, on so many different levels.
My husband and I just spent a few days at Timberline Lodge in Oregon. The lodge is a beautiful, historic structure at the timber line on Mt. Hood. It is also located on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), a 2,000 plus mile trail from the Canadian Border to the Mexican Border. The lodge was full of retired couples like us, and also skiers and snowboarders (yes, Mt. Hood has skiing in the summer). There were also many hikers taking a night’s break in a real bed, with a shower. And more importantly, a very nice, all-you-can-eat buffet!
My husband hiked Mt. Hood for two days, while I worked off the buffet in the hot tub. He met so many interesting people hiking, and heard so many stories. One in particular I want to share.
He met a woman who was hiking from Mexico to Canada over a series of several summers. Her husband stayed home with the kids. Periodically, they would join her, but for most of each summer she hiked alone. He mentioned she was stopping in the lodge later that day to pick up a supply package and hit the buffet!
Later that day we ran into her at the lodge. From my husband’s description of what she was doing, I had pictured a thirty-something athletic looking woman. To my shock, I was introduced to a fifty-something, extremely non-athletic looking woman who looked like she would struggle to walk to the hot tub, let alone hike the PCT every summer. She also had seven children. (I am refraining from saying that if I had seven children I would be hiking the PCT every summer too. Oh, wait, I just said it!)
She had so many amazing stories to share. And she was brutally honest about how hard this was, and how many times she had wanted to call her husband to come get her. My husband and I have stayed at some amazing places during our quest to visit all fifty US States. But this was one of the biggest surprises. I did not expect to learn so much about long distance hiking. It is amazing the planning that goes into these hikes. And culture of these hikers. The hikers themselves all have different stories to tell. I was inspired to write a blog about this, but also to push myself more when I attempt to do something new or difficult.
Now, my blog is about teaching authentically. Obviously, you can’t take students up to Mt. Hood to learn about what is involved in hiking. But with a little creativity, you could turn your classroom into a planning/staging ground for a several-months hike. Pick your trail based on curriculum geography. Plan your hike using curriculum math. Meet reading goals by researching your path… Some problems we heard about from the hikers we met included weather, wildfires, health issues, supply shortages…plan for emergencies… Lots to authentically plan for.
Authentic teaching does not mean you have to take your students to a 2,000 mile trail and hike it. It means you open up an authentic topic to study, plan for, experience. You can have your students do fifty worksheets using miles/kilometers. Create story problems with adding up distance. Or plan a hike on a real trail. What do you think will engage your students more?
*Turn your classroom into the PCT, or any trail of your choice. Set up a campground. Let your students spend study time in your tent… Sounds impossible. I taught for several years with a student-made bulletin board sized map of our Martian Colony, and a prototype Martian Pod from the Colony in our classroom. Students couldn’t wait to spend time working on the board, and working in the pod. Trust me, you can’t measure the authentic motivation!
These photos are from One School’s Journey – Further Down the Path by Eleanor K. Smith and Margaret Pastor. Shameless self-promotion!
The Educational Journey 