To promote a sense of adventure and curiosity in my students, I look for ways to incorporate out-of-the-box ideas into my teaching. Last year when I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with three children with disabilities, my students also “joined” me on the hike. Before I embarked on the trip, I lead my students through a week of discovery about the trip. We had class discussions on the why, what, where, and when of my hike. My students even had the opportunity to do a bit of service learning by taking part in a “change for Kilimanjaro” by collecting loose change and raising money for a disabled student to attend school in Africa.
Through this experience, my students learned about the plight of disabled students in East Africa, how that culture perceives people with disabilities, geography of the world and the various climate zones of Kilimanjaro. Most importantly, they were able to take part in the trans-formative power of participating in something much more beyond themselves: changing another student’s life. I was shocked by how my students responded to this project. It was so well received that when I returned home, I held a community night and presented photos and videos about the trip to my students, parents, colleagues, and community members. |