A Different Education Path But A Very Interesting One

Thu., June 3, 1999

Adam Haines M.E.A.D. Alternative

Ah, high school. A time of peak experiences coupled with sojourns back into the valley of experience where all of life ferments. Each high school - and life for that matter - is an unusual experience filled with a mixture of feelings and adventures which are unique to each person.

M.E.A.D Alternative (or Creative Learning Center, as it is now known) is a place where you can express your most precious gift. Not your clothes or what car you drive, but sharing the gift of who you are without any fear or ridicule from others. This is the mainstay of our school.

This place is a collection of people who have problems in their family environments, aren’t good at the test-taking, assembly-line style of learning, or - like me - they simply aren’t interested in being told what they need to know instead letting their intuition guide them to what they need to learn at any particular time (ala the Montessori style of learning).

Memories for me during my educational excursion at the Alternative included Accelerated Learning expert Glen Capelli teaching us about how the brain works; school canoe and camping trips to Priest Lake and Porcupine Bay; a summer trip my sophomore year to Glacier Park; traveling through Columbia Falls and Whitefish, Mont., where my parents were born.

Actively choosing and creating your own education is the most enjoyable and fulfilling style of learning there is.

My experiences of volunteering in the community (community service is a requirement to graduate) included seeing the wonder and enthusiasm of children moving cardboard blocks and putting imaginations to work on playing house and cooking in the kitchen with clay. Participating in the city council campaign of Steve Thompson gave me valuable insight and taught me a great deal about how you run a political campaign.

These are the experiences that can never come from a school textbook or a lecture from a valued and knowledgeable instructor. That is what experiential learning is all about.

Graduations are a time of remembering. The message from me to all the seniors of not only our graduating class, but to all graduates past and future is to make connections in your life and savor the memories. And don’t forget to enjoy the ride, Class of 99!

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