The Best Teacher? No Question: Experience
T
HE ASSOCIATION for
Experiential Education
offers a good definition of the pedagogy of experiential education: “Challenge and experience followed by reflection leading to learning and growth.” It’s a type of education that can include things such as outdoor education and service learning, and the association articulates some of its principles on its website. For example, the pedagogy offers: Experiences structured
“People who have studied character development through the ages have generally found hectoring lectures don’t help,” writes New York Times columnist and champion of character David Brooks. His is an insight that shines light on a paradox for educators interested in teaching character. If we can’t teach character in the classroom, how, exactly, do we do it? Some leading thinkers say community-building is the key. Here again, Brooks sheds some light. In a recent column, he quotes Kurt Hahn, a founder of Outward Bound: “‘It is the foremost task of education to ensure the survival of these qualities: An enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible denial, and above all, compassion.
to require the learner to take
“‘All over the country, there are
initiative, make decisions, and
schools and organizations trying to
be accountable for results.
come up with new ways to cultivate
Throughout the experiential learning process, learners’ active engagement in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning. Intellectual, emotional,
character. The ones I’ve seen that do it best, so far, are those that cultivate intense, thick community. Most of the time character is not an individual accomplishment. It emerges through joined hearts and souls, and in groups.”’ Others, including Hahn himself, have added experiential education
social, soulful, and/or physical engagement and challenge — confirming a sense that the learning task is authentic. Development and nurturing of relationships: Learner to self, learner to others, and learner to the world at large.
LEFT Camp Dudley adventurers Siyan Shaikh, Tucker Calcano, Andrew Mellert, and Paul Grasso pause for a cup of warmth. MIDDLE The Camp Dudley crew of junior boys gathers for a nightly discussion. BOTTOM Lower Schoolers George Braun ’24, Owen Unger ’25, and Tony Zhu ’25 work together in their analysis of character traits.
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