BC News

In Adventure Education, BC students learn the ropes
Release Date: May 13, 2008

It is said that there are four stages in the life of a team — forming, storming, norming and performing, Physical Education and Health Subject Supervisor Frederick Powers notes on a recent spring morning at BC High School’s Adventure Education ropes course.

Nearby, students are helping classmate Joiele Coplin up a ladder for her first turn on the course’s Giant Swing. Another helps a classmate fasten her climbing harness in preparation for her swing. Students prepare to pull together on the line that will hoist Coplin into the sky before she takes the plunge — safely.

This group — sophomores who are a little more than halfway through the 20-week, required Adventure Education course — is starting to perform. The High School’s Adventure Education program, based on Outward Bound principles combines teamwork, problem-solving, physical activity, personal growth and identifying and tackling healthy risks.

“They struggle together and it’s a hands-on activity,” Powers says. “They get to know each other well and recognize that together they can accomplish what wouldn’t be possible individually.”

Adventure Education was introduced to BC at Elsmere Elementary School in the late 1980s by physical education teacher Peter Hogan, and a course was introduced at the Middle School in 1990-91, where students continue to go through a more abbreviated program that focuses on students transitioning into the middle school.

Students began taking Adventure Education in 1993-94 at BC High School, where today there is an extensive course with 15 high- and 14 low-rope elements (with names such as Whale Watch, Giant Swing and Two Ships Passing). Much of the course, in a wooded patch between the High School baseball fields and the district’s bus garage, is a testament to the dedication of retired physical education teacher Vicki Bylsma and her family’s contracting firm, which donated the materials and labor for many of the elements. (The course is inspected annually by staff from the High Five Adventure Education Center in Brattleboro, Vermont).

Mr. Powers said one of the strengths of the Adventure Education program is that it takes all students, as a unit, outside of their comfort zones and requires that they build trust for the sake of safety and the team’s success. In addition to the Giant Swing, typical tasks may be to use problem solving techniques they have learned to help the entire team scale a 12-foot high wall or for two students suspended three stories in the air to pass each other on parallel wires connecting two trees.

“Students need to be able to leave their comfort zones and identify healthy risks that are worth taking. But you don’t get to that point without building trust,” Mr. Powers said. “This is a learning laboratory for real-life situations they’ll find themselves in. How will you deal with a friend who has been drinking and wants to drive? Will you go away to college or stay home?”

Student Brendan McCann agrees that teamwork and meeting – and trusting – new friends and classmates are a big part of the program.

“I mean, I’m close with my PE class because of Project Adventure,” he said.

The program itself got a big boost this year with the introduction of a new indoor climbing wall, made possible by a $6,177 donation from the BCHS Class of 1965. The wall, which features three climbing routes and one feature overhang, enables students to begin building climbing and belaying earlier in the program, giving them a jumpstart on the skills they will need when they visit the outdoor course as the temperature warms up later in the spring.

“The indoor wall has been a huge addition,” Mr. Powers said. “Everyone started on the wall. We can get a class of 28 up in one period.”

While the Adventure Education class may begin on the wall, it ends with an activity that is much less hands-on but no less essential: Students write an essay exploring their personal and team growth over the course of the class. In many classes, students are also required to keep a journal on their observations, participate in processing discussions, and develop a personal and group goal.

Retired PE teacher Vicki Bylsma and her family's contracting firm were instrumental in establishing the extensive BCHS Ropes Course.

In addition to the required sophomore Adventure Education course, which more than 400 students will take this year, juniors and seniors can elect to take advanced adventure education classes. These provide more in-depth instruction in adventure education and culminate with students going into the grade 10 classes as co-instructors with the physical education teachers.

Brendan McCann seems a likely candidate to continue the program in the latter grades.

“It’s just great being outdoors,” he said after his first whirl on the Giant Swing. “And when you get up there and you’re about to pull the line — it’s a thrill. I’m not going to lie to you.”

His advice to next year’s sophomores?

“Learn how to tie your harness correctly because if you can get it on quick, you can be the first one up.” 

 

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