Anybody who’s ever spent a day in detention is aware of the drill: a silent classroom, a packet of labor, and a trainer who would in all probability relatively be wherever else. At Morse Excessive College in Tub, Maine, faculty counselor and Outing Membership advisor Leslie Trundy puzzled if there was a greater approach.
What if, as an alternative of sitting at a desk for 3 hours for detention, college students might spend two hours strolling by means of the woods with a trusted grownup—nonetheless serving a consequence but additionally getting recent air, reflection time, and connection?
That query led to Morse Excessive College’s detention hikes—a weekly choice the place many college students now select a 3.5-mile hike on a close-by path over conventional detention. The thought has since been featured on Maine Public, NPR, and other outlets, sparking conversations amongst educators about self-discipline, psychological well being, and the ability of nature.
We spoke with faculty counselor Leslie Trundy about how this system began, what it appears like in follow, and what recommendation she has for lecturers who would possibly wish to strive one thing comparable at their very own colleges. Check out our Q&A along with her. Plus get recommendation for methods to begin your individual comparable program.
Q: What impressed you to begin providing hikes as a substitute for conventional detention?
Trundy: Within the fall of 2024, I used to be in my fourth 12 months as our faculty’s Outing Membership advisor, and I attended a management convention for advisors at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, Maine. My objective moving into was fairly easy: I needed to broaden my attain and invite college students who would possibly by no means see themselves as “outdoorsy” or be part of a membership like mine.
The convention occurred to fall on what would have been my mother’s 88th birthday. She was a particular schooling trainer who cherished the pure world. Once I was a child, she’d flip over logs so we might see what lived beneath and taught me the right way to decide up a garter snake. That curiosity stayed with me.
In my 20s, I thru-hiked the Appalachian Path from Georgia to Maine. It took six and a half months, and it was there that I made a decision to grow to be a faculty counselor. Strolling has all the time been the place I discover headspace. I’ve seen it work for my very own children and for the scholars I tackle outings. So I began questioning: May we take the idea of detention and transfer it open air? May a stroll within the woods be a consequence that additionally heals? I knew it was value a strive.
Q: How did you pitch the thought to your faculty administration, and what was their response?
Trundy: I introduced it to our admin group throughout an everyday assembly. I defined what I needed to try to why—how I hoped time in nature would possibly assist college students mirror, join, and nonetheless “pay again” their time to the college.
Their response was rapid: “Do you wish to begin this Thursday?”
By October 2024, the primary detention hike was scheduled. At Morse, college students who obtain a one-, two-, or three-hour detention can select a two-hour hike as an alternative. Most who decide in are serving a three-hour consequence—usually for having their cellphone outdoors of its YONDR pouch, failing to serve a earlier detention, or being disrespectful to employees, property, or friends.
Q: What did these first hikes appear like, and the way has the routine advanced?
Trundy: The primary few hikes have been fantastic—and somewhat shorter than I anticipated. We had three to 5 college students, and I needed to rapidly discover ways to gauge the group’s tempo and use completely different path loops to elongate or shorten the route.
We go away the highschool on foot, stroll right down to the ball fields, and enter the Whiskeag Path. The route crosses a street, passes by means of a cemetery, after which reenters the woods earlier than looping again to campus. I all the time carry a primary help equipment, snacks, and water, and I clarify the plan, the foundations, and the place we’re headed.
As we stroll, college students usually begin speaking—about why they’re there, what’s happening of their lives, or simply common teenager stuff. Early on, one scholar got here on a second hike regardless that he didn’t have detention. That’s after I knew one thing was taking place right here.
Q: How do college students reply earlier than, throughout, and after the hikes?
Trundy: Earlier than the hike, it actually relies on their consolation degree with me and with being open air. Generally an administrator will introduce us first, and I stroll them by means of what to put on and produce so it feels much less intimidating.
Through the hike, I’m continually scanning—Are they heat sufficient? Who’s hanging again? Who’s prepared to steer? I differ the tempo, separate the group briefly for quiet reflection when it is sensible, and test in with children who appear withdrawn or upset. I all the time allow them to know I’ve first help, snacks, and water, and that they’re allowed to stroll in silence if speaking looks like an excessive amount of.
Afterward, everyone knows one another in another way. We greet one another by identify within the hallway. There’s this shared reminiscence—like seeing a bald eagle, slipping on the primary snow, or how moist our sneakers have been that day. I all the time thank them for strolling with me. Children usually thank me again.
Need to begin one thing comparable?
Trundy is fast to level out that what works in a wooded nook of Maine would possibly look completely different in a desert city, a dense metropolis, or a district with completely different insurance policies. However she believes the core thought—shifting some self-discipline from punitive to restorative and transferring it open air when doable—is adaptable.
Listed below are a few of her sensible suggestions for educators:
1. Begin together with your “who, what, the place, when, how.”
- Who: Resolve which college students are eligible. At Morse Excessive College, any scholar assigned a one-, two-, or three-hour detention can select the hike as an alternative, with mum or dad permission.
- What: Make clear the construction. Trundy’s hikes are about two hours lengthy, roughly equal to a three-hour detention. College students stroll in teams, with clear norms round security, conduct, and respect for the setting.
- The place: Use what you have got. Their major route is the Whiskeag Path, however in icy circumstances, she typically leads a extra city stroll that also ends within the woods. Should you don’t have a forest close by, think about a secure loop round campus, a park, or neighborhood streets.
- When: Consistency helps. At Morse, detention hikes occur after faculty on Thursdays from about 2:05 to 4:00 p.m.
- How: Associate carefully with admin. At Trundy’s faculty, directors inform households of the choice, monitor who’s attending, and make sure the hike is listed as an accepted technique to serve detention.
2. Get your security and logistics so as.
- Permissions: Discover out what your district requires for off-campus actions or “strolling discipline journeys.” Trundy makes use of a digital permission slip that covers taking college students off campus.
- Coaching: In Maine, Trundy holds an Instructional Journey Chief certification and Wilderness First Help, along with her coaching as a faculty counselor. Your context might not require as a lot, however be certain at the very least one grownup is skilled in first help and acquainted with the route.
- Gear: She retains a primary help equipment, snacks, water, ponchos, and spare hats and gloves for youths who come unprepared. College students are inspired to decorate in layers and put on closed-toe sneakers, however she additionally gently provides further gear in the event that they’re chilly on the path.
- Group measurement: Speak with the admin a few secure student-to-adult ratio. If detention numbers are excessive, you might want a second grownup or an assistant, or you’ll be able to cap every hike.
3. Be clear that it’s nonetheless a consequence—only a completely different type.
Some critics fear that mountain climbing seems like a reward. Trundy understands the priority however says college students not often expertise it that approach on a chilly, wet day. Generally the hike does really feel like a punishment—they’re expending effort, they’re drained, however they nonetheless really feel seen and supported. She frames the hike as:
- A technique to restore (by means of dialog, reflection, and exhibiting up)
- A technique to repay time to the college
- An opportunity to reset by means of motion and nature
4. Construct in small rituals: snacks, tales, and quiet.
You don’t need to be a poetry skilled to borrow Trundy’s thought of studying a brief nature-based poem partway by means of the hike. Retaining it easy issues greater than making it excellent. She additionally recommends:
- A predictable halfway break for water and snacks
- A short, age-appropriate reflection (a poem, quote, or query)
- Occasional brief stretches of silent strolling
“Due to me, I hope extra children spend extra time outdoors.”
Trying forward, Trundy plans to proceed this system and preserve gathering information as the scholars who’ve hiked along with her transfer by means of highschool.
She’s already seen management develop: One sophomore who attended three detention hikes later joined the Outing Membership, grew to become a go-to chief on journeys, recruited buddies, cooked meals, and even made her counselor’s mattress at a lake home retreat. One other scholar, a junior firefighter and avid mountain biker, ended up main the group on a brand new native path he knew properly.
“My hope is that due to this program, extra college students spend extra time open air—not simply in highschool, however for the remainder of their lives,” Trundy says. “If that grows out of a detention, I’ll take it.”
Should you’re an educator questioning whether or not your college students would ever say sure to one thing like this, Trundy has one final piece of recommendation:
“Don’t underestimate them. Give them the choice—after which see who reveals up on the trailhead.”
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