We did our first "all school" overnight this weekend out at Rainbow Camp. The school owns one large 15 seat van. We also had to drive 3 more mini vans to fit everyone. We left Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m. and returned the following day at 3:00 p.m. When I say "all school" that really means the "downstairs students" or the 1st through 8th grades. The "upstairs students" are the preschool through kindergarteners.
There was one large glitch in our original plan: lice was discovered on a student on Wednesday. Therefore we spent the first hour and a half of school before we left searching every child's head before they were allowed to board the vans.
On the way to Rainbow Camp I rode in the 15 passenger van with all of the 1st through 3rd graders and another teacher. As we were driving along the highway we began smelling a burning rubber smell. We wrote it off as the smell of new asphalt until we got off of the highway and noticed smoke coming off of the rear wheel. Turns out the parking break had been on that whole time: oops.
Many of the students had already been to Rainbow Camp before, and many of them were seasoned veterans. Some of the students had never been to Rainbow Camp before, let alone been on a school overnight before.
As soon as all of the vans had arrived we had a meeting regarding rules while we were at Rainbow Camp. Despite some people's misconceptions, at Free Schools the students do not do whatever they want all the time. A catch-phrase popular among Free Schools now, originally said by A. S. Neill, the founder of Summerhill a leader in the Free School Movement is, "Freedom, not license"
"I define license as interfering with another's freedom. For example, in my school a child is free to go to lessons or to stay away from lessons because that is his own affair, but he is not allowed to play a trumpet when others want to study or sleep."
So anyways, many of the rules had to do with safety and respect for the site. We set up boundaries, and if you wanted to go beyond those boundaries you had to check with a teacher. The students weren't allowed to go off by themselves. They were asked to be respectful of the neighbors and encouraged to play outside while there was still sunshine and daylight. The students were allowed to wade into the lake if they had warm things to change into, but they weren't allowed to swim because a lifeguard was required by lake policy.
There were some popular places where many of the students wanted to go. The "fairy steps" were a set of stone moss-covered steps that led into nothing more than a fern covered wooded plateau. Legend has it that if you walk silently up the steps you are granted a wish at the top. The "dinosaur rock" is a giant rock out of place in the middle of the woods. The cemetery is a dilapidated cemetery from the early 19th century. Some of the headstones are still erect and legible, while others are barely noticeable due to the earth and leaves which have come to cover them. Another hot spot is what the students call the "witches cabin", which is an abandoned house up the hill. There is a creek which leads into the lake and a bridge over the creek for cars to drive over and, it seems, for children to play under. Then there is the large grassy shaded area directly in front of the cabin, which is good for football, tag, and imaginary games. Over the weekend several of the students could often be found at the picnic tables playing Magic or Yu-gi-oh. And finally there was the lake front, with a boat and two large climbing trees that looked out over the lake.
It was incredible to see the change in the moods of the children as soon as we arrived and as the overnight went on. Their moods changed from anxiety at being in the car to peacefulness at being close to nature and to have the space to explore. Groups of 4 or 5 children would head off to one of the locations I described and the conflicts which are inevitable during the school day seemed so distant at Rainbow Camp. The older children were allowed to go off without an adult, whereas the 1st and 2nd graders were asked to stay within vision or to have an adult with them. There was very little conflict or tension. Only one council meeting was called the whole trip, and it was called on a first grader named Logan because he waded completely into the water, fully clothed, and decided to go swimming. The consequence that the students proposed and that was passed was that Logan was not allowed past the grassy area with the picnic tables for the rest of the day.
Around 3 p.m. I went with another teacher and 8 other students on a short drive to the Grafton Peace Pagoda (http://www.geocities.com/dharmadoors/grafton_peace_pagoda.html). I had heard talk of this place for some time, and assumed that it was a project of students of the free school. I learned that the Peace Pagoda was built on land that originally belonged to an indigenous American man. He donated the land to the Free School because he liked what the school was doing. Then the school donated the land to the Peace Pagoda. The peace pagoda was built with the help of monks, nuns, community members, teachers and students. It was made in the Buddhist tradition with scaffolding constructed of lumber. The 14th anniversary of the pagoda being built was celebrated the weekend after we were there.
So we were going to the Peace Pagoda, walking through the woods towards it. I was incredibly surprised when the path we were on came to a plateau, the trees parted, and there was the peace pagoda. The place resonated with spiritual vibes. The pagoda is not something you can go inside, instead it is something to walk around and observe. On the side of it's walls are images that tell the story of the Buddha.
We went to the altar house and were greeted by several volunteers visiting from Japan. They called on Jun Son, the leader of the peace pagoda, and a Buddhist nun. Bowing to us she led us into the altar room. She chanted to welcome us and then led the students in drumming. Then she asked us why we had come. We told her we wanted help her prepare for the coming anniversary celebration. She gave us the chore of weeding the gravel area surrounding the pagoda and invited us back for tea after we were done. The students started out with lots of complaints and disbelief at how many weeds there were and how small they were. However, before we knew it it had been an hour and we had made a serious dent in the weeds. We went back to the altarhouse and Jun Son was waiting there for us with tea and cookies. We thanked her for allowing us to come. One of the young volunteers gave us all pinwheels, made out of paper and pencils, with images of peace drawn on the paper.
The trip to the peace pagoda was by far the most moving and enjoyable part of the trip for me. Jun Son is an incredible person who emanates peace, joy and acceptance from her.
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