TVS: FORGING A PATH WITH BOUNDLESS POSSIBILITY THROUGH TOE

Szalan Ellis, Director of Experiential Education

In TOE, we are constantly engaging with the idea of Boundless Possibility. The outdoor education world allows us the opportunity to experience something new and unique every time we enter it. Due to the immense number of variables that come into play in nature and the uniqueness of each individual child, no two people will have the same experience or walk away with the same lesson. We approach every situation with our own personal biases and apprehensions which is a big reason that we are so adamant about “challenge by choice” in the TOE program. 

This principle of challenge by choice is exactly what it sounds like and is an integral part of students' success on TOE trips. Each person has the choice to challenge him- or herself as much as he or she is comfortable doing. It is all about the students knowing they have a choice in the process and learning how to listen to themselves and do what they think they can do. When we think of the word challenge, we think of complex, physical tasks. That is not necessarily the case. A challenge for one person can also be stepping off the bus into the outdoors or sleeping in a tent. People do not learn the same way, nor do they push themselves out of their comfort zone in the same way. This could range from something as significant as climbing to the top of a 40-foot rock cliff to sitting in a kayak on the riverbank. 

One of the many amazing things TOE offers is the opportunity for students to have new experiences at a level where they are comfortable, while knowing this will not be their only chance. Students often will have the opportunity on later trips to try things they may have been afraid to attempt in the past. We offer these opportunities again to allow them to reflect on how they felt the previous time and encourage them to try again, looking at the challenge through a new lens.

We want every child on a TOE trip to deeply understand that trying equates to succeeding. There is limitless potential for students and teachers to expand the possibility of what they thought they were physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of accomplishing. Through TOE, we provide the environment for this boundless possibility to take place through experiential education. Enjoy a few examples of how our students feel that TOE has given them the opportunity to try and accomplish things they never thought they would experience. 

"My favorite TOE memory is my first time being a student leader. I loved being on the other end of it, getting to help kids and get to know other kids from different grade levels."Janie Lesok

"My favorite memory from a TVS TOE trip is when I was a student on the 8th-grade trip to D.C. This trip happened to fall on the same week that Taylor Swift was releasing her new album Midnights. Due to the fact that students could not have their phones we had no way of listening to this album, but Mrs. Bundrick promised to stay up with some of the girls and listen to the album using her phone."Delaney Leech

"As a student in 8th grade, when we went on our yearly TOE trip, the water was too low for us to river raft. Instead, we went on a 2-hour kayak trip in the freezing cold. Yes it was miserable, but it was also really goofy and fun! The biggest prize was the hot cocoa and fire after the kayaks!"Harmon Baker

"I really enjoyed going caving on the 7th-grade trip to Enchanted Rock. My small-group leaders were fun to be around and I got to share a cool experience with friends."Audrey Guevara

"My favorite memory is having a snake in my hoodie and I had to walk around with it. This experience was so worth it because I felt like I tried something new that I have never done before." Note from Mrs. Ellis: This was at the native Texas species rotation where our students got to hold snakes, spiders, and lizards.Sonoma St. Peter

"We went rafting down this really fast water a million times and the other people I was with would all scream BELLOOOO! whenever we couldn’t see anyone from the group."Drew Dawson

"Kayaking in the lake at Camp El Tesoro. I loved getting to experience nature’s complexity while paddling in the calm, therapeutic water. It wasn’t like that for long though, because my friends and I were having races and splashing each other with the cold, refreshing water. All in all, this is just one of many breathtaking experiences from TOE trips and I am excited to make many more in the future."Alejandra Hardy

"My favorite memory from a TOE trip is the cat walk in fifth grade. I went all the way up but then I got scared and went down. After that I went up again and finished it."Nola Moncrief