Ready To Climb

Megan Capuano

South Middleton School District

W. G. Rice Elementary

Boiling Springs, PA

2015 TTEC Cohort

If I had to sum up the first TTEC workshop in one word it would be incredible. Incredible because it was a great experience to be in a room with so many educators who want to find innovative ways to teach. I teach special education and the last few years I have only had boys in my classes so I’ve been researching possible reasons for the identification of more boys and researching new ways to teach boys. Three ideas that were consistent was competition, playing, and being outdoors. After creating a summer program that uses the Appalachian Trail the application for TTEC came across my desk and I knew I had to be a part of it.

I created the Ready To Climb (RTC) program for 4^th grade boys who are in learning support or have academic or social needs. The basic idea of the RTC program is to give boys a different approach to learning. We preview 4^th grade math and science curriculum and use the Appalachian Trail as one of the learning environments. The TTEC program was introduced to me and I thought it could be helpful and informative or even a great compliment to RTC. The boys in the program are lucky that I am in TTEC. The spring workshop was filled with important information that I have been able to use this summer. We have been using lessons from the “Leave No Trace” binder to teach the boys about the trail and etiquette on the trail. I gained insight about taking kids on the trail from the guest speakers and alumni who presented their experiences.

I look forward to the summer workshop and collaborating with more innovative educators.

Pictures: The end of the hike with TTEC in October, muddy and heading back to school at the end of the last hike with the boys, Ready To Climb learning about human made changes to the environment under the bridge