6th Grade Solo Night

How does it feel to be 12 years old and alone in the woods at night? Scary? Exciting? Empowering? If you ask a sixth-grader at The College School, he or she would probably say all three.

When our sixth-graders spend a "solo night" in the woods as part of the Wilderness Experience, it's a chance for them to be alone with themselves and reflect on the skills they've developed in facing this challenge.

The students finish their backpacking trip dirty and exhausted, but also exhilarated and proud. They speak with a newfound wisdom and confidence...

• "When you think you can't do something, that's when you have to try your hardest."
• "When I was climbing, nothing could stop me. I was determined to get to the top."
• "We do it because there's no better teacher than the wilderness itself."

We don't use the Wilderness Experience to make backpackers or rock climbers out of these children. Our goal is something deeper. Through this experience, our students learn to take intelligent risks, to push themselves, to cooperate and to be self-reliant.

We believe that safe and calculated risk is an essential part of any learning experience  However, the greater risk is in being complacent. You don't find out what's on top of the cliff by staring at it from below.