Better than the Classroom

Are there better places to learn than the classroom? I've always felt that the best learning took place out in the real world, and while I regularly took my students on field trips to consolidate their learning, my twin brother has harnessed the natural environment as high impact teacher in ways few people can imagine.

Todd, entered the teaching profession at the same time that I did, but he found himself yearning to connect more deeply with learners than seemed possible in the classroom environment. Ten years after co-founding Northern Edge Algonquin with his wife Martha, my brother still has the spark for innovating in delivering unique learning experiences to clients from around the world.

With a vast national and international network, Todd has leveraged evolving read-write tools to collaborate with colleagues; to communicate with clients; and to share his expertise with others in the tourism industry. In seeming contradiction, he has uniquely and creatively connected the world of the web, with the web of the world.

While custom retreats at Northern Edge Algonquin might include kayaking; yoga; drumming; natural cooking; snowshoeing; or tracking, learning at 'the Edge' consists of unique and quintessentially Canadian experiences like "Morning Tea with Moose".



Although I have the opportunity to create unique learning opportunities for students and teachers alike, I suspect that I would enjoy it even more, were it possible for me to live, learn and teach in such close connection with the natural world.