In 1973, when the faculty hammered out the details of Mountain Classroom, they created a prototype that remains wholly unique in American education: adventurous, experiential learning of legitimate, college-preparatory academic material. After that, creating immersion programs in Spain, France and on the North Atlantic were relatively simple, because we had figured out a template that makes these things work. One key is the teacher's passion for the activity. (We didn't hire Bert Hinkley because we needed a kayaking coach; we offer kayaking because he's here. Likewise: Tim Norris and ski jumping. They've got passion for the program.) Phil Goodnow stood in front of the school a couple of weeks ago, and offered to take kids for an overnight to The Fort at #4 if they were willing to come back early from Bonus Weekend. On Monday, he took a full minibus to the 1740's replica on the banks of the Connecticut.
It was just 24 hours of immersion, but--for the students who participated--it was a magical trip to a place 50 miles and 260 years away.
Drawing on the love of Phil and a couple of other "interprepreters" for living--reenacting--history, they learned colonial militia drill and fired muzzle-loaders.
Part of being a great teacher is communicating to students who bring varied levels of interest to the classroom that this stuff really matters. Phil leading discussion of Hamilton's economic policies this morning:
