We started off the day by once again saying goodbye to the
Gates and Jeff’s parents before we left for the Battle Creek Outdoor Education
Center. Before ECOEE I never knew such
program existed in the United States. I was amazed to find out that
Battle Creek was the first facility of it’s kind and was created thanks to the
generosity of the Kellogg foundation during the Great Depression. Battle Creek
had a beautiful facility that featured a high ropes course and a rock wall for
older students to try. It made me wish my schools had offered me the chance to
spend up to a week learning about the outdoors
in a place where nature matters. I was also glad that over the decades
budget cuts and other hardship hadn’t prevented this place from giving children
the chance to understand instead of reciting information. After we finished our
tour we got the chance to talk the staff in training and learn about how this
place operates a well as how each instructor got the job. Largely we heard the
same phrase that has been recited to us every year of our lives, It’s who you
know, not what you know. Although I have trusted this statement to be true, I
was surprised how many people at the camp had gotten the job through word of
mouth instead of merit based. I was reminded today of how thankful I am to have
this opportunity to see how the world really works.
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