Half a century ago I was principal of a school in Dorion, Northern Ontario. It was a rural area where lumbering was king and commercial fishing was a close second. The residents of this area were mainly European, first and second generation. People from Finland and Denmark were in the majority and their culture was apparent. Steam baths and cross country skiing were the winter way of life. I lived in the village in a teacherage provided by the board of education. The whole area was in an improvement district and was not incorporated. My role was to bring the school up to a respectable level and I was given a free hand to reach this goal.
I attempted to give the students a feeling of "you can do it". I hired a complete new staff but kept one local. Every staff member I hired had to have energy and a attitude that would blend with my philosophy. I wanted to have the students appreciate their environment and to take advantage of the wilderness surrounding the school to learn the academics necessary.
We designed an outdoor education program involving getting out there one half day a week. Walking tours and skating on the lakes but above all examining the natural wonders found there.
Hearing from a trapper of a natural wonder made me think of a long range project. There was a canyon with no bottom some said a few miles from the school. We never knew exactly where so we had this wonderful geography project for the grade sevens and eight classes. We pretended we were explorers and started to study the available maps. We sought the best possible routes to reach the canyon and with compass and charts set out to discover.
We had four groups, each with a leader and a local parent as helpers, and decided to make it a Friday -Saturday project. 58 students and 8 adults were to have the time of our lives. We all started from the school with everything we needed, food, tents and lots of fly dope. We planned to join up at the small lake close to the canyon floor. Only one person in the group ever saw the canyon. The routes we chose were all about the same distance from the school and ranged from 5 to 6 miles. What a sight to the local people to see us trekking through fields, along cattle trails and lumbering roads to find this natural wonder.
We did arrive at the selected sight for the camp around dark. Tents were raised, fires started and food prepared. I discovered that there was an Independence about these students and first hand knowledge of the land. Everyone seemed to know what to do, what a relief for me. Before settling down for the night we told a few stories and I listened to the tales of this place. Although they were never there they all heard stories. We told of the plans for tomorrow and with a few camp songs we retired. It started to rain so everyone settled down quickly.
Next day we set about exploring. What a sight. Canyon walls hundreds of meters rising from a deep hole where the sun never reaches with its warm rays. Unfamiliar vegetation and a lake filled with land locked salmon and brook trout. All morning we saw, recorded, mapped and stared at this wonder. As we retraced our steps home one student said he discovered Ouimet Canyon. It was spontaneous and we called it by that name ever since. Actually it was marked on a map in that way.
What a wonderful couple of days. Our local reporter was one of the parents and wrote a huge story of the event. Our school fed off of this little safari and for the next weeks our English and math programs were received by the students with enthusiasm. Mapping became a pleasure, not a chore and I achieved what I wished - students who wanted to learn.
Fifty years later this Ouimet Canyon is a provincial park and nearby Eagle Canyon is a tourist attraction. I have re-visited this place several times since and I always remember the first time I saw Ouimet Canyon with my kids, the students of Dorion Public School.
I attempted to give the students a feeling of "you can do it". I hired a complete new staff but kept one local. Every staff member I hired had to have energy and a attitude that would blend with my philosophy. I wanted to have the students appreciate their environment and to take advantage of the wilderness surrounding the school to learn the academics necessary.
We designed an outdoor education program involving getting out there one half day a week. Walking tours and skating on the lakes but above all examining the natural wonders found there.
Hearing from a trapper of a natural wonder made me think of a long range project. There was a canyon with no bottom some said a few miles from the school. We never knew exactly where so we had this wonderful geography project for the grade sevens and eight classes. We pretended we were explorers and started to study the available maps. We sought the best possible routes to reach the canyon and with compass and charts set out to discover.
We had four groups, each with a leader and a local parent as helpers, and decided to make it a Friday -Saturday project. 58 students and 8 adults were to have the time of our lives. We all started from the school with everything we needed, food, tents and lots of fly dope. We planned to join up at the small lake close to the canyon floor. Only one person in the group ever saw the canyon. The routes we chose were all about the same distance from the school and ranged from 5 to 6 miles. What a sight to the local people to see us trekking through fields, along cattle trails and lumbering roads to find this natural wonder.
We did arrive at the selected sight for the camp around dark. Tents were raised, fires started and food prepared. I discovered that there was an Independence about these students and first hand knowledge of the land. Everyone seemed to know what to do, what a relief for me. Before settling down for the night we told a few stories and I listened to the tales of this place. Although they were never there they all heard stories. We told of the plans for tomorrow and with a few camp songs we retired. It started to rain so everyone settled down quickly.
Next day we set about exploring. What a sight. Canyon walls hundreds of meters rising from a deep hole where the sun never reaches with its warm rays. Unfamiliar vegetation and a lake filled with land locked salmon and brook trout. All morning we saw, recorded, mapped and stared at this wonder. As we retraced our steps home one student said he discovered Ouimet Canyon. It was spontaneous and we called it by that name ever since. Actually it was marked on a map in that way.
What a wonderful couple of days. Our local reporter was one of the parents and wrote a huge story of the event. Our school fed off of this little safari and for the next weeks our English and math programs were received by the students with enthusiasm. Mapping became a pleasure, not a chore and I achieved what I wished - students who wanted to learn.
Fifty years later this Ouimet Canyon is a provincial park and nearby Eagle Canyon is a tourist attraction. I have re-visited this place several times since and I always remember the first time I saw Ouimet Canyon with my kids, the students of Dorion Public School.
Oh what a beautiful story! You had quite the spirit even back fifty years. These achievements nourished those children for decades, and gave your staff a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Kudos to you for organizing such worth-while experiences.
ReplyDeleteNow-a-days, most schools worry about meeting standards set arbitrarily in some dark corner of the universe, and forget the real pleasure and accomplishemnts that come from knowing how to survive and conquer your physical environment. You were lucky to have had that experience too. Many of us in education do not have carte blanche as you had.
I've enjoyed this story tremendously.