EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
We are 7th- and 8th-grade students at the Telluride Mountain School. The Telluride Mountain School is an innovative learning community where strong academics, enriching experiences, and meaningful relationships develop confident, curious students who passionately contribute to the world. One way they do this is through their experiential trips. The concept of experiential trips is that we, the students, get more depth on what we are studying than what we get in the classroom. We see the sites of those historical moments we studied, talk to experts on that particular slice of history, meet people who lived that history, and see science in action and those who practice that science.
A NOTE FROM OUR TEACHER
On trips such as this one, the most memorable experience for me comes from the kids. We have a unique and humbling privilege in our ability to visit these historical sites and to meet pioneers of justice and stewards of human decency. What makes these trips special for me is in observing how these opportunities visibly nest themselves in my students' hearts: seeing students' faces soften at the sight of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, listening to their laughter as they play a game of pickup basketball with some neighborhood kids, and watching them try to wrap their words around a nascent, solemn commitment to making a healthy, just America.
I am forever grateful for and humbled by the opportunity to meet leaders like Mrs. Wimberly and Mr. and Mrs. Boynton; speaking with them and hearing their story is a gift that will change my life. But I am moved more than I thought possible by witnessing the spirit of that same gratitude in my students. For them to acknowledge in the light of full consciousness how fortunate they are to have these opportunities is heartening. For them to take the lessons they learned from this trip and turn them into voiced, unsolicited, fervent vows to make the world a better place is inspiring.
I hope you enjoy the work that these kids have contributed to their website. As you read it, know that it is founded on that desire for a better world. They have worked very hard on this collaborative website, and through it, they have transmitted the life-altering character of their experience in the south.
Sincerely,
Mary Hearding
I am forever grateful for and humbled by the opportunity to meet leaders like Mrs. Wimberly and Mr. and Mrs. Boynton; speaking with them and hearing their story is a gift that will change my life. But I am moved more than I thought possible by witnessing the spirit of that same gratitude in my students. For them to acknowledge in the light of full consciousness how fortunate they are to have these opportunities is heartening. For them to take the lessons they learned from this trip and turn them into voiced, unsolicited, fervent vows to make the world a better place is inspiring.
I hope you enjoy the work that these kids have contributed to their website. As you read it, know that it is founded on that desire for a better world. They have worked very hard on this collaborative website, and through it, they have transmitted the life-altering character of their experience in the south.
Sincerely,
Mary Hearding