One local junior high school’s student body was in full on a recent Friday and it was all in the name of the kind of education that doesn’t come from a textbook.
“It was probably one of the best days in my teaching career,” stated JoAnn Blachford, the vice-principal at W.D. Cuts. “It was just so much fun.”
The kids even thanked her at the end of the day, a first, she said.
“To me, that’s a measure of success.”
She was clearly pleased with the results of Move It Day, a day off of regular school programming to help raise money for the Global Enrichment Foundation while staying active, and yes, having lots of fun.
Teams of students worked their ways through a series of 16 stations of non-competitive “non-threatening” events including three-legged race, charades, trivia, and running while balancing books on their heads.
If you ask Blachford, the funniest and most fun event was cheerleading.
“Our cheerleading coach came and she gave them a five-minute lesson on cheer moves,” she laughed. “Some of the teams were all boys. To see these Grade 9 boys try to put themselves into a pyramid and do a back flip… it just cracks me up thinking about it. They had to come up with a chant for Amanda Lindhout.”
Lindhout is the Red Deer-born former journalist who was kidnapped by armed militant insurgents, all teenagers, and held hostage in Somalia for more than a year between 2008 and 2009. She endured various manners of mistreatment at her captors’ hands. When she came to Cuts to speak at the beginning of the school year, her words were of forgiveness and of everybody’s ability to effect positive change in the world.
Lindhout has since started the Global Enrichment Foundation, an international charity that focuses on empowering women through educational opportunities, micro financing for small businesses and other community-based solutions.
Each team at the school was encouraged to raise at least $300 for the foundation. Soon after the day was over, Blachford was calculating the overall tally at close to $11,000. The money will go to a project called the Food for Hope, a food aid effort.
“We raised a ton of money for a very, very small school. We’re just really proud of the kids for that.”
She had hoped to have Lindhout make a return visit to the school but the busy humanitarian was in New York for other appearances and in the middle of preparations to release a book of her experiences. A House in the Sky is set to come out in September.
Instead, she spoke to the students through a video message.
In the end, there were no opportunities to assign homework but certainly the students and even the educators felt that it was mission accomplished because of the lessons learned.
“It was a win-win because they got to have a really fun day and it was so positive.”
