Sunday, September 11, 2011

Friday, Spray Park and NO Fear...

Last Friday afternoon a colleague and I walked with the grade 7 and 8 classes to the Spray Park down town...okay, down town Delburne may be a misnomer...anyway, we strolled in the sun to the park, let the kids play in the water and goof around on the playground equipment. Great fun for all.

While the 'off-campus excursion' certainly was a blast, my reflections are centred around the question of just what did we, both students and teachers alike, learn from this adventure? On the surface the kids learned we, the teachers, will remember that they are still kids, and that they will be given opportunities to be kids during the course of the school year. After all, sometimes fun is just plain fun.

Myself, I  learned, or rather relearned, that these students are different outside the classroom, and I should never forget that. The conversations that took place during the slow, lazy, stroll to and from the park let me into the world of these kids. They shared with me what they found exciting about the day and the trip, as well as telling me of their lives, sharing openly and honestly about what matters to them, chatting away comfortably without fear of being judged, or graded. No fear...

Amazing what we learn when we are not scared to share...

Thanks Mrs. B for the great idea, thanks kids for the joy,

Stephen

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