Designing a program for the Ithaca Waldorf Students

I designed a program last fall that gave me a personal example of the advantageous outcomes of experiential learning. I recently finished an internship at The Waldorf School, working with 4th, 5th, and 6th graders, where I lead games and initiatives and taught lessons in the classroom. In August, I started adding to the curriculum I had established with the school by coordinating a field trip for the students to climb at Cornell University.

There were many logistics to make decisions on with The Waldorf School and Cornell Outdoor Education staff, and my biggest accomplishment was lowering the cost for the school by finding both a grant and volunteers to help belay and lead the activities. I planned to run more of an organized program than simply a time for bouldering and top-roping. For the first half an hour, we did some introductions, explained comfort, learning, and danger zones with an activity to better understand them, and assisted a few initiatives with trust falls. There was half an hour for lunch, which included free juice from the sponsor I found, Red Jacket Orchards, and half an hour for explaining rules, putting on equipment, and bouldering to find candy on the wall, something I thought would be a good sequence to top-roping. There was an hour for the three volunteers and me to belay the students while they climbed, and I ended with a demonstration of …show more content…
It was rewarding to be able to add such growth to the school, and apparent that I had strengthened the students’ love for learning when they were especially curious and attentive during my lessons after the field trip. Making a difference with the skills I gain in college is one of my long-term goals. I take pleasure in working with people and hope to contribute my leadership to more worthwhile