Close your eyes and picture being 40 feet above the ground and you look down and you’re walking on a rope. The wind is whipping past your face and your classmates and teachers are cheering you on. You’re rocking back and forth holding on for dear life as you walk across the skinny rope.
The ropes course at Glen Edwards Middle school has been here for a really long time. Have you ever wondered why it got shut down? If anybody got hurt? Or even why they built the ropes course here at Glen Edwards Middle School?
Now you probably are wondering what you would get if you do the ropes course? Well not much, your grade would just increase and you probably are telling yourself that’s not much but the ropes course was more for the experience. A 7th grader named Mateo said “I would not do the ropes course because I am afraid I might fall.” Students were not forced to do the ropes but according to Mr. Smith, “The students were given an option according to their comfort levels.”
OK, The reason Glen Edwards shut down the ropes course was because they didn’t have the insurance or funds to cover it. For now there are no plans for the ropes course to return, but Ms. Fernandez said maybe an obstacle course could replace it. Ms. Fernandez claimed, “It’s been quite some time and there were no injuries that I remember.”
It’s kind of underwhelming but it’s still a ropes course. If you ever did a ropes course, you would know how high you were, and how scary it might have been.
Some benefits of the ropes course that were brought to Glen Edwards Middle school, was it helped students overcome their fears and helped work on team building. If they still had the funds and insurance to cover it people would definitely still do the ropes course. It helps with team building because you have to trust everyone to help you get through the ropes course by cheering you on and encouraging you. It helped students overcome their fears because you had to walk across a skinny rope 40 feet in the air, and it’s not dangerous because you are strapped in well, but it is a scary experience.
The ropes course would be an amazing thing to have at Glen Edwards for the students, hopefully it will return or as Ms. Fernandez mentioned, an obstacle course.
Leila G. • Nov 4, 2024 at 10:36 am
I really loved your article. I think that it would be a great experience for students to try this out if they wanted to.
Jon Wroten • Oct 6, 2024 at 3:08 pm
Great article. I have never heard of a school having a high ropes course. I can’t help but wonder how much it would cost to fund the insurance and maintenance to reopen this. It seems like it would be such a valuable experience and learning opportunity for the students, teaching self-confidence, trust and teamwork. three soft skills important for life.
Raylan Vanderpool • Oct 7, 2024 at 11:32 am
Thanks
Elijah • Oct 24, 2024 at 12:30 pm
Interesting story.