These projects provide an opportunity for students to give back, create
global connections, build a worldwide kayaking community and promote the sport that has brought them together. Kids come from all over to join World Class. The only real requirements
are an open mind, a willingness to try new things, a strong work ethic, a love of kayaking, a solid roll and the skills to paddle class III rapids. They leave the program a tight-knit family, bonded to their own group and graduates before them by the unique experience.
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CONSPICUOUS WOULD BE ONE GOOD WORD TO DESCRIBE THE CIRCUS that is a traveling kayaking high school. No matter where we are, it is easy to iden- tify our group of 15 teenagers, headphones in, loaded down with drypacks, duffel bags, Pelican cases and kayaks. Everywhere the school goes, we run into other paddlers and friends hoping
to join us for a paddle, or simply looking to say hello. In Chile, our 15-passen- ger van, affectionately named La Muela, receives honks and waves. Constant shouts of Hola Niceto! greet our well-known Peruvian program director. While life at World Class seems glamorous, the reality of traveling and pad-
dling with a group is also grueling. Living, breathing, eating, smelling, talking and thinking about kayaking can be overwhelming. Students and staff live and travel in close quarters. Personal time and space become precious. Long days, lots of travel and sleeping in a tent lead to stressful moments. Normal high school drama, like whom made out with whom, what kids are
wearing, or who brings who to prom are far from mind. Life centers around when we will get to do laundry or where we can find Internet access. Conflicts arise over who didn’t wash their dish, who stole the chocolate bars, or who decimated the bathroom. There are no debates over team Edward or team Ja- cob. Instead arguments focus on whether one should paddle a Nomad or a Mamba, or who is a better kayaker, Rush Sturges or Steve Fisher. Students maintain a full schedule in order to balance a full day’s academics and still have time on the water. On top of schoolwork, students rotate through duties like cooking all three daily meals for a group of 20 and cleaning up af- terwards. Twenty-five push-ups are a common price for lateness, swearing or any other offence deemed unbecoming of the WCA. “First, you need an alarm,” writes Logan Marlow in his essay for English
class called How To Survive WCA. “If you don’t have an alarm, you will not be able to get up for morning workout and end up doing a lot of push-ups. Or worse,” he continues, “be taken off the water. Next, get to breakfast while there are still eggs and make some coffee to get you going for classes.” Academics are a key part of the daily routine. Classes are two hours long and run on a rotating schedule. In a school where the entire student body is 10–15 strong, most classes have between two and six students. Smaller class sizes and 24-hour access to teachers are some of the perks that make up for the challenges of a non-traditional classroom environment. Inconsistent access to electricity and Internet limits resources, forcing us
to get creative and interactive with our teaching environment. Biology labs are more likely to involve walks in the jungle than dissecting a frog. A physics lesson may entail looking at the hydrodynamics of a rapid or the intricacies of kayak design. Video class projects highlight river access issues. Spanish students can chat with local South Americans and English lessons strive to use literature relevant to the semester’s destination. Having young teachers with similar interests makes school more toler-
able. But students have a stronger motivation to get their work completed: if your homework isn’t done, you are off the water until it is. On the river, there’s a heavy emphasis on safety. Students are only al-
lowed on the water while carrying a throwbag and pin-kit. They’re taught hard skills like setting up Z-drags, and learn soft skills like evaluating risk and group management—abilities that lead to better decision-making.
38 RAPID EARLY SUMMER 2013 HOLA NICETO!
CURIOUS NEPALI ONLOOKERS
“I want these kids to be individuals I would want to paddle with. People who I trust on the river to make good choices.”
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