Going outdoors for this year was an exciting prospect for the Abrome Facilitators, but some of the Learners were not entirely thrilled about it. My concern was that hot weather at the beginning of the year and then dropping temperatures and rain come the fall would turn off some of the Learners from attending regularly, particularly those who have not spent much time outdoors. And if they were picky about attending during this October cycle, then they would not acclimate to the dropping temperatures and then find themselves at home far too often in the winter. And irregular attendance when we have such small operating cells due to the pandemic makes it more difficult for other Learners to regularly show up. And if people are not showing up then it kind of defeats the purpose of a Self-Directed Education community. So this October cycle is kind of a big deal in helping the Learners get comfortable with acclimating to shifting temperatures so that they can be there for each other in the winter. And this October cycle is kind of terrible, because the weather has been so perfect!
Wednesday was just another gorgeous day to be in nature. I suppose it is not the worse thing in the world for the skin to be producing vitamin D and to have the opportunity to jump in the water each day. We started our Wednesday off at our usual meet up location. One Learner decided to take the day off but the other Learners all planned to show up. With one Learner running late, again, we gathered in a dew-drenched field of grass. I asked if anyone wanted to be the game master for the meeting, and no one volunteered. So I tried something new and asked everyone to get on one knee in a circle, and I got cut off pretty quickly, with one person asking if we could reconsider me being the game master. So we shifted to a standing position and held a fairly brief meeting.
After the meeting we talked about where we wanted to go for the day and more people wanted to go to the lake than anywhere else, because they wanted to get in the water, and no one really had an objection to that. I asked if we could take at least a somewhat circuitous route to the lake and the Learners agreed, although one Learner really wanted to head straight to the bathroom so Katie peeled off with her and the rest of us began taking the slightly longer path. At that point the Learner that was running late showed up and jumped into my group, and it took us about ten minutes to make our way to the lake.
After arriving at the lake, two of the adolescent boys said they were interested in going on a hike, and seeing as one of my intentions was to go on a hike, but I have not had the opportunity to do so yet this cycle, I asked if I could join them. Then came the awkward realization that these are adolescent boys and they wanted to go on a hike to get away from the adults! One of them said they were okay with me going if the other one was. And the other one just shrugged his shoulders. I put an end to the awkward moment by giving them a walkie talkie and telling them to enjoy their hike. After all, there were some Learners hanging back at the lake that could still take a hike with me.
One of those Learners had brought her father’s old guitar to give to another Learner who is learning how to play. The Learner who received the guitar got into a nice conversation with Katie and then tuned her guitar, while the other Learner got lost in one of her projects. I asked each if they wanted to go on a hike but both said no. I spoke to Katie about the challenge of needing to stay present and with the Learners (especially younger Learners or those with additional needs) when we are all alone as a Facilitator with a cell, so this week would be a great week to be able to take off on a hike while the other Facilitator stayed back with Learners who needed support, but how I feel a responsibility to only go on hikes with Learners instead of by myself. Almost as if I went on a hike by myself it would be self-indulgent. And that I hoped that at least one of the Learners would want to go on a hike with me on Thursday or Friday.
While we sat near the lake and engaged in our various activities, to include petting Cuddle Buddies Ivan and Ingrid who I brought out for the first time this cycle, the Learners who went on a hike would periodically come back to drop off some flowers as part of an ongoing ‘flower war’ that they were participating in. Unlike the prior two days, the adolescent boys did not stay away from the rest of the group for most of the day, returning before noon. The then moved toward the dock and the Learner who was playing around with the guitar joined them. The other Learner gave me a copy of the book she just had published and we had a long conversation about the various tendencies and behaviors of each of the two Cuddle Buddies.
It was not long before one of the Learners decided it was time to jump in the water. She took off on a run down the dock, in much the same way as I did the day before, but she successfully landed in the water without a painful back splat. And her entry in the water slowly pulled the rest of the group toward the water. One Learner got changed into swimming clothes she brought with her and waded in. Another Learner who insisted that he would never get in the water ended up jumping in. And later I took a dip. It was refreshing, as always to jump in the water, and it was refreshing to see these Learners taking advantage of the opportunity in the warm October sun.
The rest of the day revolved around people talking, people swimming, and people just enjoying being around each other and the Cuddle Buddies. There was a conversation about all the zebra clams attached to the dock and a lot of splashing around in the water. There was joking about the possibility of seeing water snakes (not funny, a Learner reminded me), smearing of charcoal on faces and arms (I don’t know why), playing with a pocket knife (and being reminded of knife safety), and one Learner allowing another Learner to paint a copy of his necklace on his skin (a washable tattoo). I had some longer conversations with Katie about Self-Directed Education and issues around race and equity in education, and many of us spent a good amount of time just enjoying being outdoors on such a beautiful day.
Unexpectedly, one of the Learners did see a snake. It was a Learner who was already uncomfortable with the idea of snakes in or near the water, so I am not quite sure if he will be jumping back in the water anytime soon. It was clear that the snake was not interested in being around us, though.
We held our afternoon roundup at the dock where many of us spent our day. A Learner offered to be the game master and then led us through the meeting where we once again used rose-bud-thorn to share how we felt about the day. It was a really great day for us individually, and for many of us in terms of connection, but I am still hopeful that we will find more ways to be mindful about recognizing the needs of others and supporting those needs. And while I enjoyed the conversations with Katie, I am hoping that I can gain some trust of some of the adolescents, and that they will let down their guard to have some deeper conversations with me.