Holbrook Indian School
A Seventh-day Adventist Boarding Academy Serving Native American Youth Since 1946
Taking Education Outside Rethinking Best Practices in Education By Pedro Ojeda, HIS Principal Jovannah Poor Bear-Adams, HIS Dean of Student Programs and Services, takes a selfie while students enjoy a day at Fools Hollow
Lake.
“Have you thought of inquiry learning, student choice, hands-on activities, differentiated instruction, and outdoor learning opportunities lately? I spend much time thinking and reading about these things.” Have you ever spent time thinking about the best
educational practices? On these occasions, have you thought of inquiry learning, student choice, hands-on activities, differentiated instruction, and outdoor learning opportunities? I spend much time thinking and reading about these things. Many of our staff members are excited about these methods as well, and we all believe that outdoor school lends itself well to the concepts I mentioned. As a result, we continue to give our students outdoor school opportunities each year. The past few years we have had outdoor school at the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Kodachrome Basin. Our most recent expedition took place in the lovely city of San Diego during the last week of September, with our base camp at the Metro KOA Campground close to the city center. The theme
of this year’s trip was “The Urban Jungle.” Its purpose was to give our students a city experience and to let them explore the ocean—something many of our students had never seen before. The 1st - 7th graders stayed closer to home; their trip it is called Elementary Experience. They got to go camping and took several day trips throughout the week. The 8th - 12th graders planned many of the activities with the guidance of Anita Ojeda, our English and History teacher. One of the activities they chose was to go on a whale watching boat tour. We were fortunate to come in contact with a pod of about 1,000 bottle-nosed dolphins. This particular pod has the world-famous dolphin named Patches. Our tour guide let us know that it is rare to be able to sight him. Other activities students planned included USS Midway Museum tour;