Torch - Spring 2018

Travelling Beyond HC

Experiential Learning Lessons By Susan Pink

B eyond the walls of Havergal College, the world is wide and expansive. The Forum for Change offers various opportunities for Upper School students to travel under our Global Excursions Program (GEP). Participants grow in mind and spirit through these experiences by working with and learning from our community partners in areas around the world. Apart from Havergal’s GEP offerings, the school supports experiential learning in different capacities, which is why the administration could see value for the Sturdee family’s four-month excursion to Costa Rica. Their interest in travel and adventure rewarded them with the unique opportunity of living abroad and joining a small community on the coast of the lush island. Grade 11 student Gerol Fang’s experiences in the Arctic (offered through an external organization, Students On Ice) helped her gain a new perspective on culture and communication. Enjoy these stories about experiential learning beyond Havergal and how they have made impact on the lives of the participants. Lessons from the North In summer 2017, Grade 11 student Gerol Fang participated in a ship-based expedition to the Arctic with 100 students to learn more about the land and culture behind one of the world’s polar regions. It was an opportunity of a lifetime for Fang to experience the North first-hand, as she has been interested in the region’s climate change and social issues for many years. Fang spent 12 days aboard the ship, seeing the unique landscapes of the North, while building new friendships with her shipmates. “More than 40 per cent of the students on the expedition team were

Fang takes in the sights of the North.

Indigenous, which meant that I got to meet people from across Canada with lives completely different from my own.” The expedition began in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, which Fang remembers studying in Grade 10 History as one of the places in the High Arctic where the Inuit from Northern Quebec were relocated in the 1950s by the federal government (with the goal of claiming the Arctic Islands for Canada). “[The people of Resolute Bay] were not nearly as upset with the government as I would have expected,” Fang says. Through discussions and interactions with some of the people of the region, she learned about the many challenges they face and wanted to help. “[This experience allowed us to] step out of ourselves and our own cultures. It was then when I saw these other people as who they actually were [and not just their problems]. Through this lens, we can hear what they have to say about their problems, their people and their land.” Fang continued on her journey. The group sailed toward the eastern mouth of the Northwest Passage. They participated in zooplankton research and visited historical sites. “The more time I spent up north, the more I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about it. I was the intruder. The Inuit were the ones who had lived there for tens of thousands of years and knew almost everything from the way of the land and animals to tomorrow’s weather. To think that I, immediately upon arriving, could have helped the communities in any way sounds ridiculous now. How could anyone attempt to reach a solution when they don’t understand the issue?” Fang returned to Toronto with a new perspective on life and an eagerness like never before to actively listen to others. “If I had known how to listen, my first question would have been: ‘How can we work together?’ rather than: ‘How can I help them?’ ” She shared what she learned from this experience with the Upper School community at Prayers on Friday, January 12.

Students travel by boat to remote areas of the Arctic.

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