{"id":3085,"date":"2015-02-01T18:05:20","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T18:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/?p=3085"},"modified":"2015-02-02T18:26:41","modified_gmt":"2015-02-02T18:26:41","slug":"education-beyond-ecf-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/2015\/02\/education-beyond-ecf-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Beyond ECF Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo by Eleanor Paasche: Chewonki students take a solo out in the woods<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Milking cows. Tracking fish in the Bahamas. Three nights alone in the woods. These activities are just a few of the offerings from semester schools for students seeking an alternative semester during their junior years. Though each of these schools resides in a unique place and operates on a specific pedagogical foundation, the schools all present a common opportunity: to wander off the beaten path and do something different.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1983, The Mountain School first established the semester school paradigm. In addition to five required academic classes, the TMS experience is defined by the daily rigors inherent in living on an organic farm. Students take a break from classes every day between 1:30 and 4:00 to participate in a work period, which can range from picking squash to mopping classrooms to caring for the barn animals.<\/p>\n

TMS alum Maxine Stern (V) commented on her experience of engaging with the land and the school on so many different levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learned how to live in the present,\u201d Stern said, \u201cobserve and take care of the place that we were in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located on a 400-acre peninsula in Wiscasset, Maine, Chewonki Semester School is also built on a working farm. The day begins with a community gathering outside, which is followed by breakfast and a school assembly. Students then attend classes from 8:30 to 12:30. Afternoon activities vary. Depending on the day, recent alum Jane Herz (V) recalls, \u201cwe would harvest on the farm, do community service in town, or help out chopping wood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chewonki emphasizes hands-on, place-based learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose Chewonki because it is not just a school and a farm and a forest and a waterfront,\u201d alum Eleanor Paasche (V) said. \u201cChewonki is a complete experience where my French, English, Precalculus, Art and Science classes all connected with Chewonki Neck in interdisciplinary, intellectually challenging ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s High Mountain Institute offers another kind of experiential, environmental semester school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes HMI unique is its expeditions,\u201d alum Caitlin Durcan (VI) said. \u201cThey take place in the Colorado Rockies and the Canyons in Utah [and] include a mix of backpacking, hiking, and rock climbing.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no question that HMI is physically demanding: in addition to these ambitious excursions, classes always follow a morning workout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gained so much from the experience,\u201d Durcan said. \u201cI gained a better work ethic, more confidence, and the most amazing friendships in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trade wilderness for art studios and the Rockies for downtown Napa, and discover Oxbow. Though Oxbow offers typical academic classes, it primarily focuses on the visual arts. Each student must complete a final project that combines academic study with artistic pursuit \u2014 an essay and a work of art.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking art and enjoying each other\u2019s company were everyone\u2019s main priorities,\u201d Oxbow alum Julia Daniel, a senior at the Dalton School, said. \u201cNot getting into college, not getting straight A\u2019s, but simply enjoying life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The School for Ethics and Global Leadership is the not only the newest semester school, but the smallest, enrolling 24 kids each term. SEGL utilizes its home of Washington D.C. as students work with experts on case studies of various domestic and international issues. With ethics and politics at its core, SEGL enables students to immerse themselves in current events, leadership strategies, and a craving to improve the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of your \u2018normal\u2019 classes take on such an interesting ethical spin,\u201d alum Maia Berlow said. \u201cSEGL introduced me to real world issues and helped me work through how to tackle them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last but not least, The Island School certainly offers the sunniest program. Stationed in the Bahamas, The Island School works to integrate conventional academics with the history and marine life of Cape Eleuthera. On a typical afternoon, alum Alex Weinstein explains, \u201cyou [might] have a three hour block of Marine Ecology where you observe and then discuss the coral reef.\u201d After classes, Weinstein shared, there is time to go to a beach with friends and swim. This social time proved powerful for Weinstein. \u201cThe Island School,\u201d he says, \u201ccreates a sense of community that cannot be replicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fortune that comes with attending Fieldston is that junior year can be incredibly rich and engaging, even without going anywhere. Junior year marks the beginning of electives, the launch of the college process, and the increase in exciting opportunities for leadership in the arts, in athletics, and clubs. Yet Ella Murray (V) feels that her experience at TMS was invaluable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to learn things,\u201d she said, \u201cthat I don\u2019t think I would have had I stayed at my home school.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Milking cows. Tracking fish in the Bahamas. Three nights alone in the woods. These activities are just a few of the offerings from semester schools for students seeking an alternative semester during their junior years. Though each of these schools resides in a unique place and operates on a specific pedagogical foundation, the schools all present a common opportunity: to wander off the beaten path and do something different. Founded in 1983, The Mountain School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":3130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"coauthors":[90],"class_list":["post-3085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slider"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/semester.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3085"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3132,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3085\/revisions\/3132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3085"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}