Cheryl and Sid
They asked us to call them by their first names. I thought this was perfectly alright. It seemed appropriate to me that teachers would put themselves on a similar level to their students given that sometimes they were wrong too. It seemed I had found a place in this class where teachers were doing it right. I had know for a long time about this class offered by my local high school because my dad had advised Al Davis and Cheryl Lewis as they began a program unlike anything they had seen before. It was considered integrated learning. Students were with Al and Cheryl for several class periods during the day and after some years changed to one whole school day with an A/B schedule. Credits were given for Social Studies, English, Science, P.E. and Art. The integration of subjects came into the picture by how the teachers created projects for the students that incorporated many classes at the same time. We would go on a hike while collecting leaves to press, catalogue and identify in the classroom. Everything we did as students, we were expected to do our best.
“Self fulfillment begins when self-pity ends.” Al Davis “Self fulfillment begins when self-pity ends.” Al Davis
One day, they took us out to the west desert across Utah Lake. We were put into groups of 5 or 6 and were tasked with building shelters and a fire and we were given a chicken we were supposed to kill, cook and eat. In our group was Cory, who was a vegetarian and vociferously against the slaughter. This activity was in preparation for a “survival day” wherein we were dropped off not far from where we had killed the chickens. We were dropped off along a road in groups of 5 or 6 again. We were given a topographical map and shown where the bus would be on the other side of the mountain. We were also shown where we were on the map and where we could find a spring with water since we weren’t allowed to bring any. We couldn’t bring food either. My group luckily had Cory again who had paid attention better when we were learning map reading skills in the classroom. He confidently showed us the contour lines matching up with what was in front of us and pointed toward the canyon we should enter.
We ventured into the unknown, setting off around 9 a.m. and arriving at camp around 4 p.m., guided by the enticing aroma of Dutch oven stew being prepared by our teachers and some parents. The stew was simply divine. We weren’t the last group to arrive, but Sid and Cheryl recounted the year when one group hadn’t returned by midnight, prompting a search and rescue mission. As an adult now, considering similar adventures with my own students, I understand the fear our teachers must have felt entrusting high school kids with such a task. However, their trust in us to find our way together was incredibly empowering. It's an experience I will never forget.
