At High Trails, one of the activities we do with students in the cabin is a community building exercise called Tribes. During initial training, in my very first Tribes circle, our trainer Bip told us that this was the main reason students wanted to stay here come the end of the week. I was a little surprised later when I found that it filled such a small part of each day’s schedule. How can 45 minutes a day be such a huge influence on students? Eventually, I figured out a few secrets of why Tribes is such an effective teaching tool and how it can become one of the most valuable lessons we teach.

Nothing else we teach is as strong as Tribes is at helping students see that they carry the tools they need to face the challenges of this new environment. Students each week come up here and face new surroundings, without many of the comforts they are used to. They are often increasing their activity level at altitude. They are away from their families, often for the very first time. This is one giant adventure that brings with it obstacles like homesickness. Each cabin on camp has amongst its students what is needed to take this adventure and come out the other side as the strongest of communities. Amongst each Tribe is the smile that is needed to overcome sadness, the encouragement to get through a long hike, and the bravery to quiet fear in the dark. Tribes is the time we have to help our students realize how much they can rely on each other to find all these answers.

How can we fit all of this into 45 minutes a day? The truth is we can’t. The slot on the schedule that says Tribes is only enough time to come together with your students and figure out what they learned in that day about being good friends. The activities in the lesson plan are great tools to start this discussion each day, but every single activity can be a Tribes activity. The group doesn’t stop interacting when they hike across camp to dinner, play a game, or get ready for bed. The best teachable moments about community come from these less structured times in between classes and activities. Think about how each interaction you have with a student can help them to see a strong example of community support and respect. In this way, the whole day can be a teaching tool; even organizing your students to brush their teeth first thing in the morning.

How can we make sure these lessons stick? Challenge the students everyday to find ways to build community and celebrate the moments they show honest, strong friendship. Challenge them to find ways to be a good friend, to help someone out even without it being noticed, or say a kind word to everyone they speak to in that day. At the end of the week, take a few minutes to celebrate the strides they have made in building friendships and community, no matter how small they may seem. Then challenge them one last time to take home the friendships they’ve built, and keep building. Tell them how amazing it will be when they are adults, out on their own, and they still have the friendships that they built in this week. If even a few of the students we have in our Tribes circles build this kind of friendship, we will have made an amazing impact on the schools and communities our students return to.

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously, but the most important thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” –Kurt Vonnegut.