HOPE — Two Hauser Jr./Sr. High School teachers have discovered a new way to promote stress relief, and it involves a one-night stay in a cabin in rural Indiana, a campfire and obstacle courses.
For the second year in a row, Advanced Placement teachers Stephanie Tom and Kaylie Fougerousse took the 13 juniors from their AP U.S. history and AP literature classes to the FFA Leadership Center in Trafalgar for an overnight retreat.
This is the second year since Hauser implemented its AP, or Advanced Placement, program. The nationwide program, led by CollegeBoard, offers college-level courses and exams to high school students who want to gain college credits while still in high school.
Tom said many of the students in their AP courses are also students who are involved in other school activities, athletics and the community, which comes with lots of responsibilities.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“AP can be really rigorous,” Tom said. The retreat gives students an uninterrupted period of downtime to learn what CollegeBoard expects and how to approach the curriculum.
Fougerousse said the three goals for the retreat are academic, team-building and stress management.
Throughout the 24 hours the students spend together, the students navigate obstacle courses, do yoga, make essential oils and repair pottery with gold, a Japanese art that translates to a message that imperfections in gold make something more beautiful and unique.
“Starting an AP program can be an extremely stressful thing, especially for very type-A kids who are used to getting A’s or A+’s, especially when they’re really competitive about their class rank,” Tom said. “You’ve got to break down a lot of those barriers. It’s about building a skill versus getting an A on every single test.”
Hauser offers seven AP courses which are optional to students.
“They took on this responsibility — they didn’t have to,” Fougerousse said. “It’s cool we have kids who want to learn and are passionate about the subject and want to know more and push themselves.”
Tom came up with the idea of an overnight retreat during the summer before her inaugural year teaching AP U.S. history. She said she wanted to do something where she could work with students on their skill sets but also break down the barriers so students feel comfortable critiquing one another’s work.
She brought Fougerousse in on the adventure and the two now work together to create a retreat that students will remember.
“I think all of these are experiences they wouldn’t normally have in the classroom and they’re experiencing it with people they normally wouldn’t hang out with,” Fougerousse said. “That time to build those memories is super important because then they are more comfortable when we do tear apart each other’s essay and give each other critical feedback. It makes for a smoother academic year.”
