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City and Wilderness as a Classroom
Our program features curricular initiatives which give focus to the workshops and field work. One of these initiatives is the Wilderness/Art Initiative which links a right of passage experience in the wilderness with community art projects. All students participate in at least 2 week-long backpacking trips a year. The first trip teaches the students how to survive in the wilderness with such skills as making a shelter, tying a pack, lighting fires without matches, map reading, hanging bear bags, staying hydrated and cooking. Students are challenged both physically and emotionally as they adjust to an entirely new environment and ways of staying safe. The emphasis at first is on survival and becoming self-sufficient. (see separate document: Wilderness/Art Program Protocol for more details)
The next stage for most students is a focus on health issues including mind, body and spirit. Students participate in group activities in which they learn reflection techniques. They listen to stories round the camp fire and share their ideas about what it means to be away from the city. Students are also expected to participate more and more fully in the process of planning and executing an effective backpacking trip—they plan the food, help filter all the water, help each other with shelters and packs and generally start to take responsibility for the success of the trip.
Once the students have mastered the essentials of staying warm, fed, hydrated, clean and comfortable, they are ready to incorporate field work into their backpacking trips. Ninth graders start their high school experience by going on an initial Wilderness/Art Initiative trip during the second week of school. By the time students reach the eleventh grade, the survival aspects of trips in which we travel and backpack become less significant. Project Weeks away from Baltimore still involve backpacking, but the focus at this stage is far more on the content of project as opposed to warmth and comfort.
The other major initiative is our Urban Studies Initiative which leads students through a re-discovery of familiar buildings, near-by places of interest and local neighborhoods with an historical, economic, geographic, scientific and political perspective. Friday trips are devoted to this initiative. Over time students learn about the infrastructure of Baltimore and other cities. They learn about commerce, the legal system, waste water management, and public transportation. Students participate in organized protests about issues that affect their lives; they learn to travel safely to Washington, D.C. for as little as $4; they learn to trace storm water from their neighborhoods out to the Chesapeake Bay; they learn to eat in restaurants where only Spanish is spoken; they learn to be active members of the city in which they reside; and they learn how to learn from the world around them.
The next stage for most students is a focus on health issues including mind, body and spirit. Students participate in group activities in which they learn reflection techniques. They listen to stories round the camp fire and share their ideas about what it means to be away from the city. Students are also expected to participate more and more fully in the process of planning and executing an effective backpacking trip—they plan the food, help filter all the water, help each other with shelters and packs and generally start to take responsibility for the success of the trip.
Once the students have mastered the essentials of staying warm, fed, hydrated, clean and comfortable, they are ready to incorporate field work into their backpacking trips. Ninth graders start their high school experience by going on an initial Wilderness/Art Initiative trip during the second week of school. By the time students reach the eleventh grade, the survival aspects of trips in which we travel and backpack become less significant. Project Weeks away from Baltimore still involve backpacking, but the focus at this stage is far more on the content of project as opposed to warmth and comfort.
The other major initiative is our Urban Studies Initiative which leads students through a re-discovery of familiar buildings, near-by places of interest and local neighborhoods with an historical, economic, geographic, scientific and political perspective. Friday trips are devoted to this initiative. Over time students learn about the infrastructure of Baltimore and other cities. They learn about commerce, the legal system, waste water management, and public transportation. Students participate in organized protests about issues that affect their lives; they learn to travel safely to Washington, D.C. for as little as $4; they learn to trace storm water from their neighborhoods out to the Chesapeake Bay; they learn to eat in restaurants where only Spanish is spoken; they learn to be active members of the city in which they reside; and they learn how to learn from the world around them.
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