Читать книгу Keeping the Whole Child Healthy and Safe - Marge Scherer - Страница 29

The circus art of flying trapeze is a love of mine, and I teach beginners on the weekends. For the past two years, I've brought my advisory class to the trapeze school for an end-of-year field trip.

Last year Theo, an energetic and popular 8th grade boy, was looking anxious when he learned about the take-off and subsequent hanging-by-the-knees position. "It's OK," I said, "I know you can do it." He replied, "I'm really nervous." It was a real change from his usual self-assured persona.

One by one, each student climbed 23 feet into the air, jumped off a platform, swung out and then hung upside-down. Most were nervous, but especially Theo, as this pushed him way outside his comfort zone into what we call "stretch" or "risk" in our classes.

The most powerful part of the day was when he slowly, with encouragement, took one hand and then the other off the bar to hang by his knees. His face showed just how hard this was for him. We all learned a lot about him in those few seconds when he had to decide how much he trusted himself and the person on the safety lines and allow himself to be vulnerable in front of his peers.

The idea of having a "shared experience" is what Lightfoot (1997) heard repeatedly when she interviewed teens about risk-taking. By telling and retelling stories about their escapades, they created narratives that became the social glue that held them together. This was true for our group; the students became closer after looking at photos from the day, laughing at their smiling and scared faces, and reveling in the accomplishment of stretching beyond their comfort zone.

—Laura Warner