This trip was amazing! The thought of being able to travel outside of the country is just a blessing in itself! And to do it with some of the smartest and brightest kids on the southside of Chicago, along with two of the most amazing teachers, is just an additional blessing! I had fun from start to finish, and cherished every moment of this experience -- from the long yet exciting rides there to watching the best plays.
On our way to Canada, we got to visit the University of Michigan. It was such a lovely school. The campus life was very appealing, and the resources they offered as far as academics are something I really would find helpful. I enjoyed the school so much I decided I’m going to apply there.
But once we got to Canada, it didn’t hit me until we walked the town. The elegant restaurants, the beautiful landscapes, and the classical architecture all brought so much life to the trip. The best part by far, though, was watching the plays. While Romeo and Juliet and Measure and Measure were good, Fiddler on the Roof was the best! It brought to the table a message about selfishness while at the same time entertained the audience with such great choreography and song. I even downloaded some songs from the play.
Besides the plays, and the scenery of the Canada, this trip was definitely a learning experience and created life-changing bonds between me and my peers, as well as my teachers. It allowed us to be on a more intimate level with each other. In doing so, we all were able to leave our comfort zones and grow together. In doing so, we all learned how to be more adaptive individuals and become open minded to any situation. And as result, we’ve gained much more awareness of ourselves and have become more mature individuals.
-- Michael
Overall, the trip was pretty awesome because we got a chance to go to another country. I learned the importance of being in a new environment and stepping out of my comfort zone. It can be difficult, but it teaches you that life isn't always going to be comfortable. I also learned how to be social with others outside of my two best friends. Some things that I enjoyed about the trip were the plays, especially Measure for Measure, and having fun with my peers.
-- Danielle
Overall, I had a pretty great experience on this trip to Canada. I had new experiences and got to explore on my own. I didn't like that our roommates were hidden from us and we didn't get to choose who we bunked with, it would have made everything a lot easier. I also didn't enjoy the little "surprise" of going on a little "tour" of the woods in the middle of the night, but maybe this is because I won't fully understand it until I am off on my own in college. However, I had a fantastic time on this trip and couldn't have asked for better people to spend this adventure with.
-- Asia
In the week since we returned, I headed back to Kansas City and fortunately had the chance to share the experience with some of the friends and family who donated. But I wanted to take a moment and write to all of you readers and contributors. This trip was everything I hoped it would be, but nothing like what I expected. It felt like just about everything that could have gone wrong, did, but having to adapt, and teaching adaptation, ended up being the theme of the trip.
Before David and I left, we'd spent a long time talking about what we wanted the theme of the trip to be. In each of the three plays, and throughout Shakespeare really, the struggle between the individual and his/her community is provocative and something we'd considered as a society. How does your community shape you? What do you owe your community, if anything? If you leave your community, is it your duty to return or give back? David and I answered these questions from our own experiences, but asked the students to reflect on them as well.
I'd have to say that as students took their first stabs at considering the individual vs. the community, their ideas were pretty surface level. But as we watched the plays and drew connections between the three, kids were able articulate a pretty complex relationship between themselves and their families, their school, the South Side of Chicago, and American society. Though proud of their development of this idea, I don't actually think this was the most valuable lesson of the trip.
Admittedly, taking 20 kids out into the woods at night probably sounds a little crazy. It may have been a little crazy. But we were really dedicated to its purpose. For some of you readers, it may seem unimaginable that students had never been in the woods before, but for most, this is true. And I don't think any of them had gone, in small groups, with dinky flashlights, at midnight. We knew for them this would be scary. Even the students with the most bravado walked into those woods shakier than I'd seen them. But the idea was that they'd come out the other side changed. Maybe in a small way, or maybe profoundly, at this point it's hard to tell. But I am confident that every student understood that in the uncomfortable experience, they were meant to depend on each other, use what they know, and encourage themselves with certainty that the end was reachable.
After the hike, a few students even said how this unnerving experience would directly impact their future. In a somewhat exasperated tone, Danielle said, "The whole point of this was to show us that in college, when we may be out of our comfort zones, we'll know how to get through it, so that we aren't just going to college, but graduating from college." Ha, yes Danielle. That was the whole point.
I know college won't be a Canadian midnight excursion through the woods. It will, however, be new and different and a lot of times uncomfortable. I believe they will better digest the newness and discomfort because of this experience, and that to me, is its greatest success.
So thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for you financial support, or words of encouragement, or pair of ears when I needed advice. Thanks for helping me do something for these students that I only joked about doing last fall. And most of all, thanks for helping provide this experience for kids who deserve it and are grateful for it.
--Annie
I always tell my students not to start their essays off with a quotation because I think it's tacky. But this one is too good to pass up. It goes "there is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone." It was shared with me not too long ago, and I felt it encompassed my first couple years of teaching beautifully when I first heard it. I did not expect it to encompass this trip as well. As Annie wrote, we went in to the trip with much different intended outcomes than the ones we ended up reaching. However, about thirty seconds after we entered Canada (actually we were still probably straddling the international border) it became clear to all of us that flexibility would be essential to a successful trip. The border patrol got things off to a rocky start, and lots of other hiccups showcased that this was our first time leading a trip.
Yet, a week on from the trip, I am realizing that this flexibility is just a microcosm of what the past year has been with these kids. You might be thinking this means I have constantly had to be flexible. That's actually not the case. Our students have consistently had to adapt to what we have tried to impart to them. Again, in the words of Danielle at the end of the year: "I enjoyed adapting to your new teaching style." Translation: you are way less organized than all of my other teachers, but I liked learning from you anyway. The quality of these kids I admire most, more than their intelligence, humor, and optimism, is their ability to bounce back and learn from difficult situations quicker than I have ever seen. It was crystallized on this trip with the nature walk, as well as many other frustrations, but it is something that has happened all year. We are so humbled by the trust you put in us through your support, and our students put in us to lead the trip, but we were so confident because we knew they could adapt to almost any situation (even that surprise tour of the woods).
Ultimately, they did actually end up living out the themes we saw so often in the plays: the tension of commitment to something larger than yourself. It didn't happen through discussion how we thought it would though. The most common thing we heard from students was the connections and bonds they were able to solidify with their peers during this trip (I think pushing out of the comfort zone pulls you closer to those around you). They have created such a strong and supportive community amongst themselves that was beautiful for us to witness. After the nature walk, the most tense part of trip, students came to us to tell us which of their fellow students we would need to talk to more, and were comforting and caring for each other in a way which is rare in high school. I am sure they will all have aspirations to go to a wide variety of colleges next year, but I am confident that they will continue to cultivate and rely on these bonds as they move all over the country for the next chapter of their lives. So often, we talk about the larger communities they are a part of (often in a negative light, and often tinged with a desire to leave those communities all behind) but they have created their own community out of this group. All year, we have talked about communities, but here they made one. We couldn't be prouder of them, or more moved by your generosity to make this experience possible for ourselves and for these great kids.
Thank you so much for your support, and thanks for reading.
-- David
