THE THREE RS AS YOU’VE NEVER KNOWN THEM
High in the wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State I came to know a group of remarkable educators who, in my esteem, stand as tall as the snowy peaks that surround their little school. There they teach a remarkably different version of the three Rs.
Theirs would be new to most, yet at this school it’s nearly as old as the original reading, writing and arithmetic. What’s most striking about this Adirondack version of the three Rs is they cannot be learned in a classroom only.
North Country School (NCS) ensures each and every day that the classroom also extends outside into the barn and onto the fields and the lake that are part of the school’s campus. Their Adirondack classroom includes a working organic farm, a ski hill, a towering crag for rock and ice climbing, horse riding rings, and hiking trails that lead in all directions. For 75 years, this little Adirondack boarding school has taken full advantage of its setting amidst the six million acres of mountains and wilderness that make up the great Adirondack Park.
It’s in this wholesome, natural environment that these dedicated educators lead a community that fosters the discovery of self-confidence and instills values that, in turn, lead to happy adults who contribute to the world. NCS recognizes true success and contentment in life are a matter of how you feel about yourself and how you respond to challenges. By placing daily (and equal) emphasis on arts, outdoor education, knowledge, and values, NCS instills a unique set of life skills. Each successive generation of students has proven these skills as solid as the miles-thick ancient rock on which the school stands.
These values are NCS’s very own three Rs: ruggedness, resourcefulness and resilience.
“It is not so much where you live, what work you do, where you have travelled, your I.Q., or how much or little money you have. It is most of all how you feel about yourself, your family, other people, your work, our planet, the stars, sky and the universe that matter.” – NCS Founder Walter Clark
In fostering ruggedness, the NCS experience builds physical and emotional durability and determination. Somewhat paradoxically, this is accomplished by a highly nurturing, kind, and caring staff that always places the wellbeing of the children as their greatest priority.
Growing to be resourceful means these children develop an innate ability to thrive in difficult situations and rise to the challenges life inevitably throws at us. And isn’t that the ultimate goal of any quality education? By combining learning with real life, in-the-field experiences, NCS offers the kind of personal growth through knowledge that students eventually leverage to change the world.
And in nurturing an internal sense of self, NCS cultivates resilience which helps students meet the world with humor, patience, and optimism. Students do chores first thing each morning, caring for the farm’s animals and gardens, and composting. They hike. They ski. They ride horses. And they persevere in through the cold but adventure-filled Adirondack winters. With the guidance of caring adults, NCS students become confident and resourceful as they work together, try challenging new things, and cultivate skills toward mastery.
Of course, few children have the opportunity to attend a school that affords these advantages. But having grown up right here in southwest Wisconsin, I understand on a very deep level how our own local environment can also serve as a catalyst to instilling ruggedness, resourcefulness and resilience. Ours is also a wild and natural land with hills and valleys left untouched by glaciers. And our landscape offers abundant challenges if one just really looks. With a little nudging by an adult active in a child’s life, our neck of the woods also offers a vast natural landscape to explore and discover.
One simply has to put down the cell phone. Turn off the TV. And go out looking more closely at what’s around us. There’s a challenging physical activity, an engaging science experiment, and a creativity-inspiring writing or photography or art subject just waiting for us to discover alongside every little stream and just on the other side of every familiar old fence line. Take a child you know and go in search of what’s right outside your everyday field of vision. And inspire some kids you know with this alternative set of the 3 Rs.