New Student Orientation
The Eagle Rock School's wilderness program places students in unique situations that provide for valuable learning experiences. This learning is made possible by placing students in a new, unfamiliar setting (wilderness) where they must rely on each other to succeed, and where the usual “distractions of adolescent life” are absent (i.e., TV, fast food, drugs/alcohol, cars, malls, make-up, etc.). Underlying this novel setting and providing the basis for change is a foundation of trust, a constructive level of anxiety, and the student’s perception of the wilderness as being riddled with danger and risk. Overcoming the unique problems that a wilderness trip typically offers requires a cooperative effort among all group members. Putting together the “wilderness puzzle” of problems leads to feelings of accomplishment, higher self-esteem, and feeling of personal responsibility for self, others and the natural environment. In the end, the skills that students develop on the course are the same skills that they will need to successfully contribute to the Eagle Rock community and ultimately to society as a whole.