Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom students are currently on a four day solo in the middle of the desert, but the two weeks prior have been group adventures. Read insights into the Mountain Classroom experience from Ang '22 and Lucy '22 in this week's blog post below.
I have always been a believer in what our school does. Ever since I first heard the name and jumped onto Proctor’s website, I found myself in love with Proctor’s version of experiential learning -- living with host families in Spain or Costa Rica, speaking Spanish, exploring deep cultural history and literature, living in an artist-colony in France and learning and exploring alongside Proctor legends Jen and Dave Fleming. Or maybe the open sea is more your speed and you can work on a tall ship sailing down the eastern seaboard all the while studying literature, the ocean that you call home, and keeping watch while you navigate the high seas. But for those of you who prefer to stay on land, you can hop in a minibus with ten of your peers and a couple instructors just crazy enough to help you navigate the American southwest, learning about indigenous cultures or geology while you hike the lands you discuss and climb the rock formations you’ve studied. These programs are proximate learning at its finest, and the only thing wrong with them is that you have to be a student to quench this wanderlust!
Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom program continues their immersion learning experience this winter. After a climbing excursion in Hueco Tanks State Park, the group prepares for Adjunct Weekend and visiting faculty Patty Pond and Kyle Connolly. Read reflections from the past week by Grace '23 and Ani '23 below!
Proctor's Mountain Classroom program kicked off the New Year with a trip to Big Bend National Park and canoe excursion down the Rio Grande. With high winds and cold temperatures challenging them along the way, the group continued to bond, grow, and learn from each other and the environment in which they are living.
Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom program concluded the first three weeks of their term-long adventure. Exploring Florida's Fakahatchee Island via canoe and learning how to work together as a group laid the foundation for what will be the adventure of a lifetime. Read journal entries from Phoenix '23 and Will '23 below!
Proximate learning does not occur without risk, but it is in those moments where students are living their education alongside the issues they are studying that world views are transformed.
After incredible time spent in Moab, Utah, our group charged southbound for our home base of Escalante, Utah where we reunited with the dusty, expansive, and sleepy Escalante Heritage Center Campground. Our return allowed me to reminisce on just how far our tight little group of nine students has come in a holistic sense; We went from dragging our heels on three mile hikes of flat terrain to tackling twelve miles of consistent elevation on the Boulder Mail Trail. I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a unique and special experience.
Proctor's Mountain Classroom shares two student journal entries from a few weeks ago as they begin their trek east after a term of adventures in Utah. Read more from Annie '21 and Luke '21 below!
