Project Adventure Emphasizes The Team And Self-Esteem

By Tanjua Damon

Imagine you are mountain climbing high in the Himalayas. You didn’t order enough oxygen and only have 25 minutes left, but you have an hour and a half trip back down the mountain. Before you started climbing, everyone on the team decided “All for one and one for all.” You made a pact that you would all survive together.

Now you have to figure out how to get down the mountain. There are magic boards that can help the team make it, but the only way they can help is if there is weight on top of them and if a person stays in constant contact with the board.

This is the scenario given to sixth graders during their Project Adventure class by teacher Chester Washburn. The class is new to Newtown Middle School, but seems to be making a big hit among the school’s student body. Project Adventure is a seven-week course that all students at the middle school take part in. The idea is to build self-esteem, character, and teach the students teamwork, communication, and problem solving skills.

The program is new the middle school this year. Faculty and staff had their own introduction to the class before school started during a teacher workday. Students learn to work through different situations by listening and learning from each other. Every student has a voice and there is no right or wrong answer, just ideas that help solve the issue at hand.

“They get so excited. The younger ones are so innocent, they don’t always think it all the way through,” Mr Washburn said. “It’s fantastic. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Even the students think the class is fantastic. Some consider it similar to another gym class, but are realizing the importance of teamwork and respecting other people’s ideas.

“It’s really fun. Working together is a really fun thing to be practicing,” sixth grader Dave Wilkins said. “It’s kind of hard, but that makes it fun. Builds a lot of character.”

Teamwork seems to be the main message the students are grasping from the new program. The hope is that students will take the skills that they learn from Project Adventure and use them in other school subjects and in every day life.

“Teamwork,” Sarah Truckle responded when asked what she has gotten from Project Adventure so far. “Everyone helps out trying to get different methods.”

Kristi Nowak agreed that teamwork is a big part of the class. But she also enjoys the games they encounter too. “Because there are creative games,” she said. “We learn how to do teamwork.”

Devaluing comments are frowned upon during class. Part of the program is to encourage the students to offer different ideas or solutions. There really is no right or wrong way to complete any particular challenge during class. But offering ideas and listening are key focus points.

“I am really pleased with how things are going,” Mr Washburn said. “Hopefully they are doing it somewhere else, connecting it to other areas of their lives.”

This group of sixth graders is halfway through their seven-week adventure, according to Mr Washburn. There is already a difference in their behavior and character in that short period of time.

“There is such a transition from when they first came into class. Just with the communication and cooperation,” he said. “They treat each other differently. Their whole affect is different. The idea is to build them together, not build them apart.”

Computer teacher Jennifer Tarabulski agrees with Mr Washburn that there is a difference in the students who have gone through Project Adventure. She currently has a group that has already completed their seven-week journey through the new program.

“Yes, I do see a change. They are more cooperative with each other,” Ms Tarabulski said. “And more patient. I think I see improvement in students who are a little below average. They have more self-confidence. I definitely see more cooperation and help toward each other.”

After losing 18 magic boards during the trip down the mountain, the resolve of the class that all would survive prevailed. All of the students made their way down the Himalayas using great communication and teamwork skills. Listening to one another was the key to this challenge.