Cottage-country students give new real-life camp training course an A+
Australia's English and math classes are no match for the killer waves, attendance at Aussie high schools shows. So to curb class-cutting, one Australian high school is offering surfing as a full-credit course next year.
On the other side of the world, teachers at John Adams High in Bobcaygeon, Ontario are facing a similar problem. Students at Adams are notorious for skipping classes, especially on Fridays and Mondays, in favour of camping.
“It's truly becoming an epidemic here at Adams,” said school Principal Jerry Shipley, “and we need to find a remedy. After studying the Australian surfing model, we strongly believe that a similar program here is the solution.”
This solution takes the form of an outdoor classroom, much like an extended field trip. The course is called Outdoor Entertainment Survival, and includes classes such as Barbeque Technique, the Science of Beer Chilling, Sunscreen Application and Cannonball Safety.
While much of the cottage-country community is skeptical about the new course, the students are looking forward to the new curriculum. Even ninth graders, who will not be able to participate in the classes until their junior year, are preparing for class by studying ghost stories and practicing carving tree branches into hot dog and marshmallow sticks.
“People don't realize it, but there is a great deal of skill needed to enjoy a good weekend at the cottage,” said Adams senior and Varsity football player Derek Aimes. “Packing a cooler properly is so freakin' hard, man. And keeping beer cold enough when you're sitting on a dock all day in the sun — that's practically impossible.”
Shipley agrees that camping involves much more than good times. “Academic applications are used all the time at the cottage,” he said. “Packing a cooker takes geometry skills and cooking a burger is an art. Even hitting on a drunken stranger at the next campsite is easier if you have a good command of the English language.”
The trial course will begin at the start of spring semester, and will run every weekend until July. The final exam, however, will be conducted over the May 2-4 weekend.
Disclaimer: Stories printed in the Fanshawe Distorter are in fact fictious. Any resemblance to persons real or dead is unintentional and entirely hilarious.
On the other side of the world, teachers at John Adams High in Bobcaygeon, Ontario are facing a similar problem. Students at Adams are notorious for skipping classes, especially on Fridays and Mondays, in favour of camping.
“It's truly becoming an epidemic here at Adams,” said school Principal Jerry Shipley, “and we need to find a remedy. After studying the Australian surfing model, we strongly believe that a similar program here is the solution.”
This solution takes the form of an outdoor classroom, much like an extended field trip. The course is called Outdoor Entertainment Survival, and includes classes such as Barbeque Technique, the Science of Beer Chilling, Sunscreen Application and Cannonball Safety.
While much of the cottage-country community is skeptical about the new course, the students are looking forward to the new curriculum. Even ninth graders, who will not be able to participate in the classes until their junior year, are preparing for class by studying ghost stories and practicing carving tree branches into hot dog and marshmallow sticks.
“People don't realize it, but there is a great deal of skill needed to enjoy a good weekend at the cottage,” said Adams senior and Varsity football player Derek Aimes. “Packing a cooler properly is so freakin' hard, man. And keeping beer cold enough when you're sitting on a dock all day in the sun — that's practically impossible.”
Shipley agrees that camping involves much more than good times. “Academic applications are used all the time at the cottage,” he said. “Packing a cooker takes geometry skills and cooking a burger is an art. Even hitting on a drunken stranger at the next campsite is easier if you have a good command of the English language.”
The trial course will begin at the start of spring semester, and will run every weekend until July. The final exam, however, will be conducted over the May 2-4 weekend.
Disclaimer: Stories printed in the Fanshawe Distorter are in fact fictious. Any resemblance to persons real or dead is unintentional and entirely hilarious.
