OK, it's true, Link isn't common. And that's what makes it great. A few days ago, the students called a school meeting to discuss some issues on their minds, and in the course of the meeting, one of the students said, "we are the Link School." He was explaining that Link is different from other schools because here, the students and the staff are equal. We all plan together, make decisions together, work together, learn together. Staff and students experience the same challenges, and we come up with solutions together.
We've now completed three weeks at Link. After an initial week of settling into the lodge, we packed up and drove out to Moab, Utah, where we set out for a 100 miles of paddling down the Colorado River. Our seaworthy crafts were a collection of duckies (or, if you're too macho for a boat named after an animal, "inflatable kayaks"), hardshell kayaks, and a giant support raft. The second week, therefore, was a combination of sixty miles of flat water, twenty miles of some of the biggest rapids in the country, and thirty miles on a lake. Oh, and biology and Shakespeare.
Since coming to Colorado, I have duckied, kayaked, and rowed. My training for the school year included curriculum maps and scooter training, horseback riding and unit designs. It's been quite a shift from FRCDS, I must say; FRCDS was a great place to learn how to teach outside of the box... at Link, there is no box.
What I've appreciated the most isn't the beautiful surroundings or the adventurous expeditions, the freedom to create an English curriculum from scratch or the opportunity to work with my new husband. All of those are pretty amazing aspect of life in BV, but what I appreciate most is working with a group of high school students who are excited to wake up in the morning, who care about what they learn and are invested in their work, and who genuinely enjoy challenging each other to grow. Sure, we still have a lot to learn as a community, but what a cool place to learn.
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