In July a group of young adults from the Counseling Enriched Classroom program at Berkeley High School visited Berkeley Ironworks for a day of climbing and team building. CEC classrooms support students with mild to severe learning disabilities.
“Education is something that comes in multiple forms, and we pride ourselves on taking advantage of non-standard forms of education in order to fortify our children’s well-being, creativity, and self-confidence,” said coordinator Saskiya Salm. “Our kids are magnificent in ways that are not necessarily done justice by pure academic work – this experience at Berkeley Ironworks allowed them to acknowledge this about themselves.”
One student marveled over the mental aspects of climbing. “The experience was more scary than I would have ever imagined because I was confronting one of my greatest fears; fear of heights. However, it was also very fun to climb with friends. I recommend it if you are afraid of heights because it helps you overcome your fear and every time I climbed I got a little bit higher each time.”
“Our experience at Ironworks was everything I could have hoped for,” said CEC staffer Rolando Morales. “To see the students were truly happy and full of joy makes being their teacher all the more rewarding. This type of kinesthetic learning is paramount in their development. Thank you once again for providing the space, your professionalism, and skills in working with children. The CEC was all the more richer in our spirits for the heights we were all able to achieve to the best of our abilities.”
“Education is something that comes in multiple forms, and we pride ourselves on taking advantage of non-standard forms of education in order to fortify our children’s well-being, creativity, and self-confidence,” said CEC counselor Saskiya Salm. “Most of our students would not be able to afford this opportunity by themselves, but due to your generosity they were able to come to the gym and find a strength in themselves that they didn’t know they had – to play and enjoy themselves, and share this with one another and with the Berkeley Ironworks staff.”
We had a wonderful time hosting the CEC students and teachers. Seeing people experiencing the challenges and joys of rock climbing for the first time is always a refreshing, and we’re so happy to have the opportunity to share our space with our community!
