Building Confidence and Independence Through Challenge

By learning to face these challenges, students have the opportunity to build confidence and independence. 

 

The incremental challenge built into the OE program as students move from grade to grade is designed to push students beyond their level of prior experience. The annual fall trip is an opportunity to learn how to manage the trepidation that comes with taking on new ventures. In some instances, a week away from family, friends and the comfort of home is a big first step. For others, the first overnight canoe trip is unfamiliar. Our hope is that students will do their best to meet these challenges.

 

As they become immersed in the program, students can use these trips to challenge themselves physically. One Grade 10 group canoeing in Temagami managed to cover over 90 km on their six-day trip, which is well beyond the typical distance travelled on these trips. In an effort to make our Grade 11 hiking trips in BC more challenging, we added more summiting to the program. Though the trek was hard work, students rose to the physical challenge and impressed their instructors with their fortitude.

 

It is not uncommon for our Grade 12 students when looking back on their time at Greenwood to observe that though parts of the OE program were hard, they gained a great deal of satisfaction in proving themselves up to the challenge.