A few thoughts have been rattling around in my brain and I thought I'd dump them out here before they get too mixed up.
While I have no idea where I will be in 5 years, I know what I love. I love teaching, I love the outdoors, I love kids, and I thrive where I can be creative. I also love not being told what to do, but that's another story.
While I have no idea where I will be in 5 years, I know what I love. I love teaching, I love the outdoors, I love kids, and I thrive where I can be creative. I also love not being told what to do, but that's another story.
A coworker at the gym and I had a quick discussion one night about the fact that urban gyms are so... vanilla, for lack of a better word. A lot of it has to do with the cost associated with the sport - I was told point blank I couldn't get involved when I was younger due to how expensive gear is. You typically see a lot of middle/upper class suburban kids climbing after school, then waiting for their parents to come pick them up in their Lexus SUV. Hooray for the adventure lifestyle.
His idea to help bring in some diversity was to run an after school mentoring type program for at risk kids in the city. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. We could partner with schools or afterschool organizations, invite kids through teacher nominations, provide gear, climb twice a week, expose them to indoor and outdoor climbing, maintain a one to one student/mentor ratio, and give them the opportunity to grow their confidence in an unusual way for their demographic. For students who make it all year, they keep their gear with the hopes of continuing in the sport.
There is also potential to spread it to summer programs like BCM where we take the same students out of the city and let them discover the world as it should be. After hooking @Adventuregrrl and @Vkearns on the idea, I did a little research and can't find anything quite like BCM out here on the east coast, so maybe there is a niche to fill. It's doable, right?
I'm not talking about doing everything at once, but I am proposing to dream without limits. What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? If we aim high, whose to say we won't get it? It's better than not aiming there at all. I'm no good with paperwork and legal stuff, so we'd need a lawyer on board. We'd also need someone with a gift for solicitation, and someone who loves to administer. As long as I could teach I'd be happy.
I'd love your input. Is this worth pursuing? Do you have any experience we can learn from? Please, please share!
His idea to help bring in some diversity was to run an after school mentoring type program for at risk kids in the city. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. We could partner with schools or afterschool organizations, invite kids through teacher nominations, provide gear, climb twice a week, expose them to indoor and outdoor climbing, maintain a one to one student/mentor ratio, and give them the opportunity to grow their confidence in an unusual way for their demographic. For students who make it all year, they keep their gear with the hopes of continuing in the sport.
There is also potential to spread it to summer programs like BCM where we take the same students out of the city and let them discover the world as it should be. After hooking @Adventuregrrl and @Vkearns on the idea, I did a little research and can't find anything quite like BCM out here on the east coast, so maybe there is a niche to fill. It's doable, right?
I'm not talking about doing everything at once, but I am proposing to dream without limits. What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? If we aim high, whose to say we won't get it? It's better than not aiming there at all. I'm no good with paperwork and legal stuff, so we'd need a lawyer on board. We'd also need someone with a gift for solicitation, and someone who loves to administer. As long as I could teach I'd be happy.
I'd love your input. Is this worth pursuing? Do you have any experience we can learn from? Please, please share!
