Breaking the Boundaries of Education

This past weekend, my Yosemite team and I decided to try something a bit different.  We embraced the idea of learning without boundaries.  The former Steller Science Expedition, a trip that happens once a year at my old high school transformed into "Don't You Quit".  As talked about in this previous post, I started an outdoor education program as a student, for students, at my old high school.  Every year about thirty of us travel to Yosemite National Park to engage in hands on and experiential learning with a program called NatureBridge that not only provides students with more knowledge, but also improves confidence and leadership skills.

Students from Righetti High School atop Sentinel Dome this past weekend.

In response to the sudden passing away of my co-coordinator and fellow Righetti High School student, the rest of the team decided to take this program even further.  To honor Breanna Rodriguez we renamed the program "Don't You Quit" after an inspirational poem that she used to enjoy.  This phrase became the theme of our entire experience.

In the spirit of "don't you quit" we turned the weekend into the ultimate learning experience by incorporating as many forms of education as we could.  To begin with, this trip was open to all ages.  We had learners with us from kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, undergraduate school, graduate school, and postdoc.  All of us came together to impact each other and learn from one another.

All of us interacting in the multipurpose room at the Crane Flat campus in Yosemite.  We shared art, music and games.

Our group was joined by five students and their adviser from the school of music at Chichester University in the UK.  They shared their knowledge of music with the rest of the group and introduced us all to ways of learning through lyrics and sounds.

We bridged the gap between age and experience and made learning all inclusive.

We were also joined by an art teacher that incorporated art into our hikes and curriculum as a visual learning tool and form of expression.

We also had an improv artist that was planning on joining us that fell ill and couldn't attend, but in his honor we tried a few improvisational activities as well!

This was a part of our Giant Sequoia improv show.

In addition, we were also joined by an English teacher who inspired us to share stories and learn from their morals.

All of these things were incorporated into NatureBridge's traditional scientific curriculum.  We also learned about water shed studies, botany, ecology, National Park history, geology and sustainability.

Combining all of these things turned into this crazy awesome mess of learning and collaboration.  Once all of the participants were taken out of their daily rolls and placed in Yosemite, they were no longer defined by age, profession or niche.  Everyone there was there to learn and to grow in a way that cannot be replicated by any traditional learning curriculum.  Learning is a never ending process, it's an adventure, and we all thank Breanna for teaching us that.