When people think of search and rescue, the first thought may be of a call they hope they never have to make. Yet many of these response teams do more than emergency backcountry recovery. Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA), one of the oldest rescue teams in Colorado, is approaching four decades of offering safety skills workshops […]
experiential education
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Experiential Education: CMC backs outdoor skill development for adults
This summer and autumn, I explored the history of U.S. and Roaring Fork Valley experiential education and shared about some of the many programs available for local youth through school and private organizations. In this winter feature the series turns to outdoor education opportunities for adults of all ages. For this iteration I spoke to […]
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Buddy Program teaches Valley youth how to LEAD
What started out as a creative solution to mentorship waitlists has become a staple of 10 Roaring Fork Valley schools. The Buddy Program’s Leadership through Exploration, Action and Discovery (LEAD) courses began in 2013, offering additional support and mentorship to local teenagers. There is always a need for more adult buddies to fill one-to-one matches, […]
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At Marble Basecamp, experiential education is free and accessible
“All kids need this. All humans need this.” That’s the guiding philosophy for Brian Hightower, Aspen Valley Land Trust’s (AVLT) outdoor education coordinator. He taught eighth-grade social studies at Aspen Middle School for 12 years, and has been involved in outdoor education consistently for over two decades. “Our vision is to create as many opportunities […]
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Basalt School District and Basalt Education Foundation sowing the seeds for an experiential ed legacy
In this valley, it’s easy to take experiential education for granted, since it has been well-established in Aspen and Carbondale schools for decades. Teachers and administrators, though, put in significant time and resources to maintain experiential ed programming. Desiree Pimentel of Basalt Education Foundation (BEF) is one of many people working to make experiential education […]
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Downvalley schools see early enthusiasm for hands-on learning models
Introductory-level environmental education has become a staple for Valley elementary schools. Each year, Basalt Elementary, Crystal River Elementary and Aspen Elementary welcome full-time educators from Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). This program, which started at the Aspen schools in 1975, is a cherished facet of elementary education for many local children and adults who […]
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History of Roaring Fork Valley experiential education programs
For families who have lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for multiple generations, experiential education (ex-ed) programs feel like a joyful legacy and a tradition. What those rites of passage look like varies between individuals who have participated in school-based programs compared to private or summer programs, but the skills and confidence gained are consistent. […]
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The history of formal US experiential education
Once upon a time, experiential education was the pedagogy. Many high-ranking nations for education today heavily center primary education around experience and play. Once academia became established in the U.S. as the primary method of learning for young people, however, desire arose to offer alternative means for learning skills inadequately covered in memorization-based classrooms. Some […]
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Breaking down barriers with experiential ed
I was a big nerd when I was a child through my teenage years. (Spoiler alert: I’m still a pretty big nerd now.) I enjoyed academic learning — from multiplication tables to practicing cursive to assigned reading, from Dr. Seuss in elementary school to Shakespeare and Solzhenitsyn in high school. When classmates were looking at […]