The Wilderness Classroom: Real Life Meets Indiana Jones

What if Indiana Jones was able to talk directly to his students straight from The Well of the Souls?

Or if he and Marion created a vodcast during the opening of the Ark? 

Don't you think that experience would have been worth something to his students?

I do. Read on.

The Pitch

"On April 22nd, 2010- Earth Day- an Illinois teacher will take his teaching practice, literally, into the wild. Testing the boundaries of technology, a public school teacher will be teaching remotely as part of the North American Odyssey, creating podcasts, video, and chatting directly from the field with his students."

That teacher....will be me.

I've always had the vision in my mind that a teacher can be much more than this statue in the classroom, this person that hands out worksheets and asks kids to memorize stuff. Sadly, that is still the case for many of America's teachers. I became a teacher because I loved the outdoors, I loved science and technology- and I wanted to share all of that with my students. I wanted to be a vessel for my students. Next year, if all goes as planned, I'll be hiking, paddling, and trekking with the leaders of the Wilderness Classroom. 

If you haven't checked out the Wilderness Classroom, please check out that link above. The Wilderness Classroom is an online experience, that allows students to remain in contact with educators as they embark on some pretty awesome journeys. They podcast, create video, chat from the field, and use a fully written curriculum guide to create content from the field.  These folks have already paddled the entire Amazon River, and this, the North American Odyssey, is their next great journey.  The red on the map indicates kayaking. Alas, I will miss the dogsled as I'll only be joining this first part of the the trip.

It's an awesome online experience for kids, and I highly recommend it to any educator.  They will even come to your school to do pre and post-trip assemblies. Check out this Kid Zone from the Trans-Amazon Expedition. You'd think this was part of the Discovery Channel or National Geographic.


Why Only One?
Some of us had at least one teacher that inspired us, but why was it only one? Why, when you remember back, don't you remember all of them working their bums off to inspire you to be more that you ever dreamed of? Shouldn't you remember all of them?

I remember a teacher who went on a great journey, she was going to teach from a very remote location and the whole world was going to be watching.  Remember this woman?

What is the purpose of a teacher?
The teacher, for me, is an adventurer. It's someone who experiences life, and shares that experience with their students to give their knowledge meaning, to give it context. Technology has brought us to a place where the teacher can literally share those experiences in real time with their students.

Shouldn't we, as teachers, all be reaching for the stars?

How can we expect our kids to reach that high, if we don't set the example?





Thanks to Wikipedia for the Christa image.
Thanks to Ign for the Indy image. 
Thanks to Wilderness Classroom for the image. 
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