Paul Errickson, LL’ 08, gcLi Scholar ‘12, Head of the Middle School, Nichols School
We gathered in a grassy field next to the hut to debrief the epic day. Beginning 1.5 miles on the other side of Mt. Washington at Lakes of the Clouds Hut, we had hiked seven of the toughest miles in the northeast: up and over Mt. Washington, home of “The World’s Worst Weather” and through some fairly questionable and worrisome thunder-clouds, fog, and rain. The kids were in remarkably good spirits after spending the last three days above tree line, and the last 9 hours-straight hiking.
There were 20 of us: sixteen middle school students and four teachers from Nichols School in Buffalo, NY. Students sign up for a variety of reasons; some already see themselves as leaders and want to work to refine their skills and knowledge, others want to have a larger impact on their peers and our school. Some are drawn to the trail by the promise of closer friendships, and others come to connect with nature.
Initially one eighth grade girl was reluctant, but supported by her biggest fans: “Leadership Academy was not my choice, it was my parents. They encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone.” For another seventh grade boy, whose family moved to Buffalo from China in the middle of his sixth grade year, this experience provided an opportunity to make new friends and feel more a part of the Nichols community: “When I heard about the Leadership Academy, I knew it was the ticket to a new life in Buffalo because I would have more friends to talk to and more experiences to talk about. In the end, it all comes down to making the most out of your opportunities.”
The genesis for the Leadership Academy came out of my experiences in a National Outdoor Leadership School Outdoor Educators Course and my experience at the 2008 gcLi Leadership Lab. It focuses on actively building self-confidence and leadership and group dynamics skills while developing a sense of community. The outdoor curriculum is extensive. We model expedition behavior and Leave No Trace principles; we process and debrief daily; we prepare and adjust backpacks, plan nutrition and rations, map out or routes, and follow the compass. But the essence of this experience exists in students taking risks and allowing themselves to be vulnerable. Out of risk and vulnerability comes confidence, grit, and perspective; three essentials to navigating life as a teenager.
Five hours earlier, we left the summit of Mt. Washington in good time and perfect weather. The views were spectacular and the temperatures were in the 50s – balmy for that time of year. We had ample time to make the trek over to Madison Springs Hut. With the exception of some clouds rolling in and the mention of possible afternoon thundershowers, we seemed to be in the clear. But within a couple of hours, we hunkered down, searched for routes off the ridge, and reviewed lightning protocol with our group. Thunderclouds and a disorienting wind had socked us in. With 2.5 miles to go along an exposed, ridge trail or an 8+-mile trek down and out through remote forested trails, we – all 20 of us – had a decision to make.
As the clouds dissipated and the thunder rolled on, we trekked together to Madison Springs Hut as efficiently and safely as possible.
Once we had reached the field at Madison Springs Hut and the weather had let up, we debriefed asking the students, “Who helped you along the way? Who supported you, lifted you up, made you feel part of the group, or shared something with you to help you get through a tough time?”
The stories of support and encouragement varied. One student talked about sharing her GORP. Another student helped his peer with his foot placement on the jagged boulders along a particularly complicated section of the trail: “Follow my footsteps and we’ll get through this together” and “Be deliberate about your steps, make each one count.”
Some admitted they had been worried that they wouldn’t make it. There were several who had been moved to tears (easily ameliorated with a timely and energizing Snickers bar!) or frozen in doubt along the way, but it was their fellow hikers who helped them take that next step to get to the next cairn or krummholz. One hiker coined a useful and prophetic phrase to support a fellow hiker who was struggling with a particularly difficult stretch of the trail: “Leadership isn’t one, leadership is all.” All agreed that we felt part of something bigger than ourselves, an experience earned, shared, and now coveted, only by those who were with us.
As our hikers debriefed the day, they talked about how hard they worked, and how they had to work together in order to make it through the day. “I gained the ability to set my mind to something and, no matter how hard I had to push myself, to accomplish that goal,” shared one wise student.
The term perseverance came up a lot.
By design, this experience is uncomfortable. All together we sleep in bunk rooms sharing snores, sores, and stories of the day’s summits and blisters. And, by design, the Leadership Academy has always been about more than the outdoors. The experience provides the perfect canvas for learning about perseverance, perspective, and community. Often, we ask our hikers to stretch themselves, physically, socially, and personally. They share a lot more than the trail together over the course of the trip, and this makes them vulnerable and reflective.
Students are pushed out of their comfort zone and into what is pedagogically known as the stretch zone, learning zone, or zone of maximum cognitive efficiency. Here, they learn about grit, perseverance, support, and the need for reflection in order to improve, grow, and learn.
On that day on the ridge we, the leaders, huddled down and shared the seriousness of the situation with the students. Clearly it wasn’t just the students who were learning about grit, perspective, and power of cooperation. We needed those kids to lead each other as much as they needed us to lead them. And they did. That’s the beauty of working with students: they always do.
For one of our hikers who hadn’t seen much of the trail before joining us in the White Mountains, this was an exceptionally challenging experience. He reflected on the view of the trail from the top of Mt. Washington: “I had no choice but to keep going. And, through the pain, I kept pushing and pushing to limits I didn’t know I had.”
The perspective that he, and many of his fellow hikers, gained up in those mountains, is one that will have a lasting and profound effect on their approach to school and life. Here is his poem that he shared with the group the previous night, high above tree-line on a rocky outcropping adjacent to Lakes of the Clouds Hut (5,050’):
I Believe
I believe that no matter what we do,
or where we go,
or how we think;
I believe that no matter who we meet,
or what we face,
or what will become;
I believe that we can, and that’s all that matters.
We hiked down the next day in good spirits and with stories to share. Students were confident and proud and ready to take their packs off and put their feet up during the long bus ride home. Creating reflective, thoughtful, and selfless leaders takes perseverance, some stretching, and a change in perspective, but it can have a profound impact on each of the students who join us. As an eighth grade girl shared: “When school started this year, it felt different than all of the other years. Now, when I do my homework I don’t get all stressed and give up; I put a lot more effort into it.”
And that’s just it. Middle school is pretty tough. Having the grit and perspective to navigate the summits and thunderclouds that being in middle school can bring makes our students better prepared and better leaders for the world ahead of them.
The experience and perspective that I gained at the gcLi Leadership Lab was transformative and pushed me to develop this course for middle school students. Nearly a decade and two schools later, we continue to tweak and improve upon the work that we do with our students on the trail, but in essence it captures those core values I learned at the gcLi. Pushing kids out of their comfort zones, capitalizing on teachable moments like having thunderclouds roll in while hiking on an exposed ridge, and having deliberate, reflective conversations about leadership with these kids are what make this experience unique and transformative for both our students and our leaders.
Paul Errickson is the Head of the Middle School at the Nichols School in Buffalo, New York. Before arriving in 2010, Paul served as Director of the Middle School at The Good Hope School in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Middle School Head at North Yarmouth Academy in Maine. Paul attended gcLi Leadership Lab in 2008, and served as a gcLi graduate scholar in 2014. He earned a master’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of New Hampshire and earned a master’s degree in Independent School Leadership from Columbia University in 2011.