Classroom Observation

July 7th, 2016: a beautiful 89 degrees fahrenheit at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation. The campers are unloading, the cooks are preparing for dinner, and the sawmill staff, well, they’re in the middle of a fiery ping-pong tournament. The staff represent an image of order, control, and knowledge; but only outside of the staff area. In the classroom setting, Climbing Instructor Cody is very strict. Students won't listen to a teacher if he doesn’t enforce his rules. Outside the classroom, Cody is an entirely different character. Last night, Cody ate 44 cheese balls simply because he had to follow his own rule: one cheese ball for every point scored against you. Ethan, a camper from 266, holds an entirely different personality when he’s with

Now, which cave would you like to visit: Gambler’s or good old Uncle Wigly’s?” “I don’t know much about either cave, but if you like Uncle Wigly’s better I guess I’ll give it a shot.” Ethan had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. “Great!” Cody was clearly excited. “We’ll head west from here and then follow the creek until we reach the opening. I hope you don’t mind getting those clothes dirty.” 7 Minutes later it was high noon and the boys had arrived at their destination. The opening to the cave was large but unmarked. Rumor had it that the cave was not actually open to the public unless accompanied by a staffer. Ethan was looking around while Cody began to unload the flashlight and water from his bag, and put his valuables near the crevice. Ethan prepared for the adventure ahead as Cody urged him to get out of the heat and into the cave as soon as possible. His favorite phrase was hydrate or

The opening room connected to the outside, and to two hallways. The first hallway went the same direction as the entrance but was clogged with dirt and debris from rainstorms. The ceiling of the opening room and the first hallway were just slightly too low to be able to stand all the way up. There was very little natural light in this room as the entrance was up a 20 foot slope. Directly to the right was the second hallway.
The entrance to the second hallway funneled to one point, the breaking point. This point is only large enough to fit through in an army crawl, one small person at a time. This point is where you decide who goes first, and who stays first until the end of the cave. The boys decided that Ethan would go first, and would hold the flashlight while Cody held up the rear with a headlamp. The breaking point was truly the point that turned away the most visitors. Ethan approached the point with a nervous caution, but once his shoulders squeezed past the lip, he had no problem with the crawl to the first