The great outdoors: Corsicana Middle School offers new elective

Not all schooling takes place in a classroom. Sometimes, stepping outside the box — way outside the box — can be beneficial.

Corsicana Middle School is now offering a new elective, Outdoor Education, that encompasses several areas of learning. The course covers hunter and angler education, camping, survival skills and archery.

The course began as an idea CMS principal J.P. Johnson and athletic coordinator Brandon Owen came up with after spending time outside of work hunting.

“We would mention several times while we were out on the deer lease that we wish our students could have this experience,” Johnson said. “That is when we started to put some thought into a program that could get kids involved and show them a new side to learning.

Once Jason Hervey, CMS Vice Principal, started to hear about the hunting trips, he became interested in learning more. Fast forward and Hervey now has a deer lease of his own and is hooked on a newfound passion.

“We realized that a lot of these kids are just like me,” Hervey said. “They could really get into these kinds of activities, they just need the chance to get that exposure.”

The class currently has 60 students and is a blend of those who have outdoor experience and those who don’t.

“The course is really about the interaction,” Hervey said. “It doesn’t matter who is better or worse, everyone is at the same level, doing the same tasks.”

The high school currently has a bass fishing team which has been successful and helped to validate the need for this course in the middle school grades.

“We have seen this program in other districts and across at least 24 states,” Johnson said. “The success and growth has been proven and we wanted this to be a success that we knew would last for future students to enjoy.”

The program has been a new experience not only for the students, but for the trio of men as well. The process of trial and error, brainstorming and teaching has been an essential part of the class and its growth.

“We decided to host a fishing tournament,” Owen said. “It was a great experience and a huge success. We had so many kids catching fish and just having a fun time while doing it.”

Archery has also become a new addition to the curriculum, with the students taking a field trip to learn from the pros at Freedom Shooting Sports in Corsicana.

“This has been the kids’ absolute favorite activity so far,” Owen said. “We did so much prepping for it and when they finally got to shoot the bows, all the hard work paid off.”

While the class does do several exciting activities and field trips, the meaning behind the course runs much deeper.

“The idea is to get the kids outdoors,” Owen said. “The byproduct of that has turned into working together, building new relationships and the feeling of fulfillment the course brings.”

The learning and completion of new tasks such as cooking chicken and vegetables on an open flame, using a compass and more has allowed for the students to have more discipline, self-esteem and perform better overall academically.

“We offer many electives here at CMS,” Johnson said. “We just want to give kids another reason to get up and want to come to school.”

The students recently got a visit from Capt. Heath Butaud from the Corsicana Fire Department and learned more about putting out and preventing fires along with how to use a fire extinguisher. They then were allowed to put their knowledge to the test with a simulated fire on a screen and an extinguisher. These types of activities among the others mentioned all teach problem solving to students which they can use for life-long learning.

Another advantage of the program is that all the students will be CPR, First Aid and National Archery in the School Program certified by the completion of the course.

“Behind every task we have the students complete, and all of their certifications, are meant to help them learn and build on these concepts moving forward,” Owen said.

As the program begins to grow, the ideas behind the basis of the course have stayed the same.

“We want to have the ideal that there are no racial, physical, gender or socioeconomic boundaries,” Hervey said. “Students can therefore enjoy an equal opportunity to participate and become engaged in extracurricular activities.”

In the future, ideas for new concepts are in the works.

“We are just keeping an open mind to the possibilities of this course and what we can do from an educational and emotional standpoint,” Johnson said.

Not only will the curriculum expand, but so will other aspects.

“A competitive archery team is something I really have my eye on and know the kids would love,” Owen said.

The equal opportunity and the places this program can go are truly endless and the adventure has just begun for CMS and its students.