The Outdoors Adventure class at Pinkston Middle School is said to combine real-world outdoor knowledge with state-approved curriculums to teach students skills they rarely experience in a school setting.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) states Freddy Penka’s elective class has the key to capturing students’ imagination and attention and it’s something he’s willing to share with any teacher wanting to deliver an elective to students they’ll be excited to attend.
Outdoor Adventures is a partnership between AGFC and the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation (OTF) to deliver a semester-long course of curriculum satisfying all state requirements for a co-ed physical education course, a local elective or an agricultural science course.
Penka states, “We’ve taught Hunter Education (at Pinkston) for 15 years, but it’s only a seven week class. The addition of lessons in the curriculum we received from AGFC allowed us to turn the course into a full-fledged elective for our students…We’ve covered archery, paddling canoes, fishing and survival skills like building a campfire and using a compass. The student’s have really enjoyed all the different things we cover through the semester.”
According to Sheila Lovelady-Connerly, the AGFC’s school connections coordinator, Pinkston Middle School is one of 18 campuses enrolled in the program.
The program is said to require a small commitment from the school at startup, with the curriculum costing $1,000, but the school then receives a matching grant from OTF in the same amount to cover supplies needed for classes. An offset for the initial startup expense is one of AGFC’s conservation education grants, funded by fine money accrued from wildlife citations in every county.
Visit agfc.com for more information about Outdoor Adventures.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI