Our
Journeys Continue
When this year
began, we were told to come up with a big question. A question that didn’t
really have a right or wrong answer, but was something that each individual
always wondered. My big question was, why are people afraid to make mistakes
when it’s proven that we learn from them? I asked this question because it was
something that I was guilty of. When this class began, I was afraid of change and
trying new things because they were unfamiliar and I didn’t want to make a fool
of myself. After spending this year trying to find an answer to this question,
I figured out that sitting around hoping for change was much more foolish than
putting myself out there and making a few mistakes along the way.
Being a part of
this Open Source Learning network gave every student a huge amount of freedom.
Whether we deserved it or not, which I think that most of it did, this freedom
really helped all of us grow. Grow as people, students, friends and as a
network; we all became better and more responsible people with the freedom that
we were given. If we wouldn’t have had this freedom, Terry Lawless would have
never come to our class and we would have never gone to Yosemite! Structured
guidelines are only good for one thing, sucking creative ideas out of
imaginative people. Organized freedom on the other hand provides a gateway for
free thinking and implemented ideas. Did we earn this freedom? I think that we
did. Did we honor it? I don’t know if I can speak for everyone, but I sure did!
I wish that I
could say that there are a lot of fictional stories that relate to my journey
in this class, but I don’t read that much fiction so this is going to take some
thought and creativity. I would say that Jack London’s books embody the sense
of adventure that this year embodied. This year also had a congruity with Lewis
Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland as
dreams turned into realities. All of our masterpieces began as crazy ideas that
somehow became real and tangible things. I also have a deep connection with the
character Ender from the book Ender’s
game. Ender spent the entire book thinking that the game was controlling
him when it was really him controlling the game. This connects with our
learning; in tradition classrooms we are taught to memorized facts that will
only last until the test is done, but in Open Source Learning, we are shown
that we are in charge of our on learning and make out of it what we want. We
all drive our own future and don’t need to depend on the school’s curriculum to
gain the knowledge that we need to be successful. We are playing school, not
the other way around.
I have always had
a passion for Yosemite National Park, and now my classmates, and teacher, do as
well! Through my masterpiece, I became more connected to the park and the
people in it. Yosemite has always been my driving factor, when it comes to
visiting the park nothing can get in my way. I’m normally not the biggest fan
of fundraising, doing paperwork and public speaking, but when it came to my
project, these became things that I wanted to do because they meant that my classmates
and I would be closer to making the trip happen. I was hoping to inspire my
classmates to indulge in the wonder that Yosemite has to offer, but it turns
out that I inspired others as well. I could have never expected the reaction
that I received from the people in the park that helped make this program
possible. Even now that the trip is over and done with, they are still in touch
with me and are helping me find more ways to visit the park and continue my
learning there. The support and help that I have been receiving from them has
been incredibly humbling, especially because this support is coming from people
that I greatly admire and look up to.
Oh man, something
from this course that makes me laugh out loud? Well, Dr. Preston’s wife mocked
his teaching style during an improve game in Yosemite in front of all of his
students! The laugh out loud aspect of this was answered by the intense laughter
in the background after it happened! There is a clip of it in my masterpiece
video.
I sadly had to
miss an entire week of presentations because I was pursuing my own passion of
outdoor education at the Outdoor School, but from what I saw on people’s blogs
and the few presentations that I had the pleasure of actually being present
for, all of the projects covered some sense of self-discovery and a bigger
picture. Edmond described how writing his novel helped him discover parts of
himself that he never knew. Sam’s presentation, who had the entire class in
awe, showed us how finding your niche can help you overcome any hardship and
express yourself in a way that makes you happy. The projects were also
innovative and capable of being expanded upon. ClassyU for example is something
that I will definitely use in college and is something Sarah and Rachel can
continue to work on after they graduate.
Nakesha and Danny had a similar project. Colter’s website was also very
innovative. His idea of encouraging people to just “Go” is awesome and catchy. Each
new idea that people presented upon were new and creative and were things that
could be taken with them once high school is over which was the goal for this
Masterpiece project.
The process I went
through to make my masterpiece happen was the epitome of a hero’s journey. When I found out about NatureBridge I was called
to my adventure. When our date was reserved, the threshold was passed and my
mentor was established. I went through all of the challenges of recruiting
classmates and preparing paperwork and was plummeted into the abyss as I waited
to hear if the program would let Dr. Preston’s daughter join us. Without Tara
meant no Dr. Preston, which meant no trip. When the reservation coordinator
went out of her way to ensure that Tara would be able to join us, the
transformation occurred and I was able to work with NatureBridge to plan a
program that worked out for both of us. The actual trip itself was the
atonement, and the literal return home and the reaction that I got from my classmates
was the end of the adventure. The cool part is that the end of this adventure
is just the beginning of my journey!
Very informative and creative writing .I think it will help all the students of English literature .
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