Torrential rains followed by snow-melting temperatures touching the 60s have brought mud season to campus earlier than usual. If no more snow falls (and we can reasonably expect snow well into April,) this may be a blessing, and we can get on with spring. In the meantime, school grounds are dark brown and muddy, so I'll spare you photos of that reality. A week from now, the entire school will be fully committed to Project Period, a week of small group activities inspired by faculty passions. Many of these projects have been honed and refined over years. Patrice Martin and Sarah Will have a crew cycling the remote pathways of outer Cape Cod. These pix are archival:

 




Project Period is just one example of Proctor's approach to education. Other schools have adopted special programs of similar kind, and they should, but this concept was launched way back in 1972 when Chris Norris and David Fowler insisted on a curriculum that married college preparation with direct, hands-on, experiential teaching and learning. Since then, the entire approach has been absorbed into the fabric of the school. Gathering maple sap for sugaring:

 

That call for action changed the nature of Proctor Academy in fundamental ways, and Project Period--which begins Monday morning--is just one manifestation of this school's mission to educate through real-world experience. Sweet products in a steamy maple sugaring hut may include M&Ms.....


 

Projects strive to provide community service. Some are wholly cut out to give back. Malcolm was a virtual pied piper to kids at Andover Elementary and Middle School.




The plethora of experiential programs at Proctor are a reflection of our commitment to this methodology, but some clarification may be warranted. Everyone knows that the school's commitment to experiential ed is inculcated from Day One on Wilderness Orientation, and now we've clarified that Project Period is a special week at the start of Spring Term, but what of Morrocco, Spain, France and Costa Rica? Well, you failed to ask about Mountain Classroom. Each of these programs is a single, 10-week trimester elective. It all started with Mountain in 1972, when Proctor broke new ground in college preparation with an academic adventure in the Southwest.



 

Our programs in Spain and France operate on the same trimester calendar. So does Ocean Classroom, which is offered only during the fall trimester.

 


The quality of academic learning when delivered through immediate, first-hand experience is indedible. 

 


Deck Classroom!

 

Yardarm Classroom!