FAQ -- Why Do You Have so Much Extracurricular or Enrichment Activities?


FAQ: Why Do You Have so Much Extracurricular or Enrichment Activities?

Answer: What You are Seeing is an Integral Part of Each Students Curriculum.

FFA jacket

You might think that much of what our students do is extracurricular or enrichment. No, not at all. All of our youth programs are integrated into each other. What appears to be extracurricular is by design a highly integrated curriculum.

The FFA is a Great Model to Follow

Since 1928 agricultural education has integrated classroom instruction and the youth organization The FFA. For more than 90 years The FFA has be integrated into a proven and highly successful model of agricultural education. The integration has bettered the lives of youth, preparing them for their future through leadership, personal growth, and career success, and comradery. We have used this successful integration of agricultural education as a model for Northwestern Outdoor Leadership Institute for more than 20 years in all of our programs. Our regular school day, their supervised experience programs, our afterschool programs, our winter, spring, summer camps; our leadership programs are all integrated into a much larger experience for our students. Their passions are the vehicle for learning and applying math, science, history, English, and more. The supervised experience program, the camps, the fairs, and shows apply these skills and is an opportunity for them to learn skills beyond the time spent school from the best people in the field and have boots on the ground exposure to places beyond the time constraints of the school. There is a demonstrated synergy when our students participate in all of these programs, it is measurable. However, it doesn’t stop there.

This integration of applying skills such as the trigonometry into navigation, truss design, electronics, engine mechanics, and machine shop the students not only see the relevance that is lost on the students in the standard classroom but they also learn to be creative and apply these skills in other applications.

Our adult wilderness, agriculture, and teacher training programs are all integrated into our youth programs. As you look at our photos and slideshows you will see veterans and other adults being mentored, veterans and other adults then mentoring youth, youth mentoring both veterans and other adults. Since 1980 our founder has used this integrated approach to education and since 2001 Northwestern Outdoor Leadership Institute has been a proving ground for these best practices of education.

We believe that in the next 90 years our model of education will continue to produce generations of leaders that will better serve our communities far and wide.

"I have had more fun in the past 3 days then ever in my life."
—Liam, a teen as we were driving back from a trapper's rendezvous.
"We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles."
—Jimmy Carter