Each night at Wolf Ridge, before we retreated to our dorm rooms, students shared
a highlight and a habit of mind for that day's activities. Again and again, students said, "Persistence." It is a theme for the week, one exhibited especially strongly in our Thursday activities: the Ropes Course and Basic Survival.
The Ropes Course is about 30 feet off the ground and, for many students, the single wire is the most daunting element. This year, although many students were nervous, they got right out on the line and made it. Amy, our instructor,

suggested that I stand on the platform at the end of the wire. In previous years, I've stood at the beginning of the

wire and there have been many, many dramatic minutes during which students debate about taking the first step out on the line.
I've been thinking about it a lot and I think it made a big difference to be at the end of the wire. It's extremely hard to leave security and step out by

oneself. Perhaps it was easier to take that first step because security was ahead and not behind the students. It was easier to pull the students with encouragement than to push

them. It's a lesson that will stick with me as I teach.
Basic Survival was our other Thursday class. The premise is that the students are on a bus that crashes and they have to

construct a shelter, create a fire, and make hot water (for cocoa) in the three hours of the class. On the surface, it looks like a lesson in fire making but it's actually a complex group initiative activity. I actually requested that our instructor not teach the kids explicitly about fire making because I wanted them to struggle in their groups. Struggle they did. In the end, none of the groups were able to sustain a fire long enough to make hot water.
Failure? At first, most of the groups felt they had failed. (They also thought it extremely unfair that all of the adults were in one group instead of in mixed into their groups).

But during our discussion, we slowly came around to all of the very positive things their groups had done. Many had found ways to laugh and relax. Others had talked to each other and worked through their conflicts. They had continued to try together, despite early set backs and disappointments. They had tried many different approaches and had listened to each others' ideas. They had remained cohesive groups despite the stress they were feeling.
Yes, they would have loved to have hot cocoa, too. But the knowledge they gained about leadership and working in groups was the true measure of success.