Lessons learned

I took a group of 6th grade students to Mo Ranch last week. We had a super time. The weather was great. The teachers did a fantastic job. The students enjoyed themselves and learned a thing or two while we were there.

One thing I loved seeing on the trip this year was how a couple of students responded when they were scared to death. We do many different activities while we are at the ranch. One of the activities is called the Big Gulp. It is a swing contraption that takes the swinger to the top of a telephone pole (over 50 ft. in the air) and then you freefall and swing. It is an amazing rush. As you can imagine it can challenge some students. This is a great activity to challenge themselves and overcome some fears.

There were two students this year that were not going to attempt the Big Gulp. You could see the fear in their eyes. They were upset and wanted nothing to do with the swing. Sometimes after watching their peers have so much fun, a hesitant child will get more comfortable and join in on the Big Gulp challenge. I was hoping that would happen with theses two students, but as time wore on I thought their chances of swinging dissipated.

However, I was pleasantly surprised. The first student, AK, dug up enough courage and began to climb the ladder. He had been visibly upset for a couple of hours, but he chose to muster some courage and at least to climb the ladder. He got harnessed in and said he wanted to do it. Sometimes we have students get their harness on, see how it feels, climb the ladder and then that is enough. AK then chose to go all the way to the top of the Gulp and swing. He was so proud of himself afterwards and he enjoyed the swing immensely. The second student, JF, was not going to swing at all. He did climb the ladder, but broke down and said he could not do it. After some encouragement and watching his peers, he then decided he would go half way to the top and swing. He wanted to do it but looked quite scared. He swung from halfway and had a blast. He was very proud of himself. He then decided that he could go to the top and swing. He did it and had the biggest smile on his face that I had ever seen. At the beginning he was not going to attempt the swing and at the end he had done it from the top.

I love the lessons I learned from AK and JF. To see them that scared and wanting to give in to their fear was hard for us all. Watching them work through the fear, step up to the challenge and stretch themselves was a blessing to observe. Their lives truly are changed because how they looked fear in the face and got the strength to overcome. It taught me a lesson as well.