Outdoor Education as Character Building

Allan Hardy, Principal
Witnessing all of this activity reminded me of a song lyric written by two members of our Class of 2011, in which they posed the question, "Are we campers or are we students?" Prospective parents often ask a similar question, though usually it is framed as, "Why do we have a mandatory, week-long fall outdoor education program as part of our curriculum?"
 
The answer to this question starts with our past history. Our founders hoped that Greenwood, like a summer camp, would be a caring community in which students were encouraged and supported to take on new challenges.  For some students, these challenges are physical, such as navigating Kilcoo’s high ropes course, going on a multi-day canoe trip or trying out for a fall sport. Other students navigate social challenges by living together for a brief period in a tent or cabin, preparing a meal around a cooking fire or auditioning for a part in this year’s Junior Play. Tryouts for the play and some U14 teams began over the past few days at Kilcoo.
 
It is our belief that stretching oneself in the fall outdoor education program creates a foundation for taking on new challenges during the remainder of the school year.  For example, the habit of learning through trial and error how to stern a canoe is a great habit of mind to have when you first learn how to solve a quadratic equation. Though our school year begins beyond the school walls, the work we do during the first weeks of school is a vital part of a Greenwood education.
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Greenwood College School

443 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811
We acknowledge with gratitude the Ancestral lands upon which our main campus is situated. These lands are the Ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek and the Wendake. The shared responsibility of this land is honoured in the Dish with One Spoon Treaty and as settlers, we strive to care for the land, the waters, and all creatures in the spirit of peace. We are responsible for respecting and supporting the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. When away from this campus we vow to be respectful to the land by protecting and honouring it. We will create relationships with the people and the land we may visit by understanding the territories we enter and the nations who inhabit them.
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