Shaver's Creek
Student essay by Gregory, 2008
What do most seventh and eighth graders do on their third week of school? Do they study textbooks, start history projects, do assigned reading, take math quizzes or other assorted schoolwork? They probably do. Do they canoe for 5 miles, climb up rock walls, hike, spend ninety-percent of their day in the woods or walk on wires thirty feet in the air? They probably don't. Most people do the probable, but on their third week of school the NCCL seventh and eighth grade class did not.
The NCCL school community refers to this aforementioned break in normality as the "Shaver's Creek Trip". It happens every year and is best described as being a trip where the seventh and eighth grade classes (known as "Group 4") go on a 5 day camping excursion to central Pennsylvania where they come into close contact with nature, challenge their fears, get to better know their classmates and think about who they really are. This may seem like an unusual thing for a school to do, taking their students on a camping trip at the beginning of the year, and it is unusual when compared to most schools. One might ask why such a thing would be done. Don't the students need to work on their schoolwork? Isn't summer for camping? Isn't after school for socializing? It's all very well, but what does one learn on a camping trip that can be applied to the strict academic structure of normal life? The answer is a lot. At Shaver's Creek we learn many things, among them how to work as a team, how to challenge fears and how to succeed at something you never thought you could do. These may not be things taught in normal academic lessons, but when you think about it, are they really any less important?
Having heard so much about this renowned camping trip, you may wonder what exactly happens there. You will see. On the first day we arrive, we do team building activities, meet our counselors, unload our bags and haul them over to our cabins. We then play active group games in which we have to follow instructions and have fun. On the second day, we take a short hike over to Shaver's Creek environmental center where we learn about the local plants, animals and birds and get to see quite a lot of them right there. On the third day, the real adventure begins. We spend half the day rock-climbing and the other half either caving or doing a ropes course; the activities change every year. On Thursday we go on a 5 mile canoe trip downriver in which we see wildlife, play games and go through rapids. We also do a night walk in which we learn, among other things, about our night vision and how to be calm in a dark forest without a light. In addition we stargaze while our science teacher and a counselor point out constellations and planets, explain about the moon and even draw attention to a skunk (on the ground) which suddenly appears.
One of the most challenging things for me on my most recent Shaver’s Creek Trip was the challenge course or ropes course. I have only ever been on two ropes courses, counting this one, and the previous one was tiny compared to the Shaver's Creek course. The best way to explain the structure we climbed on was that it is an obstacle course 30-40 feet in the air with no safety net. Don't have a heart attack. We were attached to a cable about 2 feet above our heads by two lobster claws strong enough to hold up a car, so there was never any real danger. But if you think that made it not scary, I'd like to see you up their standing on a near-pencil thin wire with nothing below you saying that. We were split into small groups. There was a series of 10 foot by 10 foot wooden platforms (without railings) between which stretched various different combinations of wires, beams, both vertical and horizontal, and lots of open air. Four people could go over at a time. The way it worked with the group I was in was that we climbed up a net to the first platform, got our team across four challenges, climbed up a net to the second level (40 feet in the air this time) did four more challenges and then, rode a giant zip-line in order to get down. I almost got off half-way through (it was impossible to get off before then), and I was seriously considering it, but I didn't (partially because my team refused to let me) and I'm glad I didn't. I got through the four other challenges, rode the zip-line down (It was extremely fun.) and finished something I didn't believe I could do.
Whether observing wildlife and learning about nature, sitting with your legs dangling off a platform 40 feet in the air knowing you are about to jump off, or sitting talking with your friends, the experience at Shaver's Creek is unlike most others. While the trip may take away from school time where students could learn important intellectual skills like math and reading, it also teaches students life skills like living with nature, stepping beyond your comfort zone and trusting your friends with what feels like your life. While academic skills may be important, so are these others and if you think not then I'll tell you I know better.
