Tol Lau is a Math Teacher at Mission High School. He also teaches an advisory period, where he spends most of the time helping kids draft their college resumes. He decided to try something a little different…. Climbing!
Many of you have seen the big white building across the street from Dolores Park, but few SF residents know what goes on inside. Originally built in 1897, Mission High School was San Francisco’s first comprehensive high school. Now in the 21st century, Mission serves a diverse population, many of them immigrants to the United States. 40-50% of the students are classified as English Language Learners.
At the end of March, Mission Cliffs donated their time to host some of those students from Mission High School. These 11th grade grade students immigrated to the U.S. in search for more opportunities for their families and future. They came from countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Mongolia, China, Mexico, and the Philippines.
At Mission Cliffs, they got a chance to take a break from the endless hours of studying, writing personal statements for college and got to challenge themselves in a different ways by rock climbing! Students learned how to put on harnesses, double back and tie their figure eights.
Some were terrified of heights, many had some pumped arms, but all had a great time in the end. “These kids are super hardworking and I’m excited about what colleges they’ll be getting into next year. But getting a chance to learn how to rock climb for the first time shows a whole different side of them. I usually get to see what they’re like as students, but it’s interesting to see what they are like as people outside of the classroom. Rock climbing is a really unique experience that they will remember for years,” said Lau.
