School Brings Out The Wild Child: 7 Good News Stories

ACROSS AMERICA — The philosophy behind Eric Stone’s “forest school” in Westchester, New York, is elegantly simple. Rewilding School flips the old desks-in-a-row factory model and sends kids into nature to explore, be creative, and learn to be self-reliant and make decisions for themselves.

“The environment naturally lends itself to exploration as the primary mode of learning,” Stone told Patch’s Lanning Taliaferro. “As a teacher you can spend a lot of time putting together an amazing lesson plan, but you come across a box turtle walking across a trail and this is the lesson now. This is the most interesting thing around.”

Reams of research supports Stone’s philsophy that nature provides both a rich setting for learning, lowering stress and promoting attention, and also promotes children’s healthy development.

“This trend for pushing for writing and literacy earlier and earlier works for some, but not all kids,” Stone said. “Plus, all kids benefit from more exposure to social situations.” » A Patch Exclusive by Lanning Taliaferro for Ossining-Croton-On-Hudson Patch

Reward Isn’t Always What You Think

Ryan Beck, of St. Petersburg, Florida, got the notion three years ago to hike the Appalachian Trail to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, which has since claimed the life of his grandfather. About 100 friends, family members and a few strangers recruited along the way were going to hike with him, but canceled as the coronavirus made its way to this country.

“It seemed crazy,” he told Patch’s Tiffany Razzano. “But I figured I could stay in the woods for 10 days at a time on my own, it was like a quarantine. With that mentality I just kept going and state parks would either close or open just days before I would get there. So, mostly, the rules didn’t affect me.”

He has hiked about 3,500 miles since then and plans more treks. “Now, it’s a way of life,” he said. “I didn’t get anything that I originally expected out of it. What I didn’t expect was the bond that it built with my family — my kids and my wife. I leave for a month or more at a time, and my kids think I’m a superhero. They didn’t think I was hiking these mountains; they thought I was flying through these mountains.” » A Patch Exclusive by Tiffany Razzano for St. Pete Patch

‘Bear Down’ On This, Darling

Jake Mazanke and Catie Coghlan got married last weekend at a chapel at Loyola University-Chicago. Eighteen of Mazanke’s friends showed up, wearing Chicago Bears sweater vests and aviator sunglasses in their best impression of the 1985 Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Ditka.

They’d gained internet notoriety last fall in their choreographed “Dancing Ditkas” tribute to the coach. The bride gave her blessing to a performance, but getting her to agree to a 45-second dance to the soundtrack of the Bears fight song, “Bear Down,” required some fancy footwork, though. » By Jeff Arnold for Chicago Patch

Finding The Lesson

When the circumstances are so horrific — and in the case of siblings, Sophia and David, 3- and 5-year-olds who were critically injured in a hammer attack by a roommate in the multifamily apartment that killed their mother, the circumstances are especially so — finding anything positive requires digging deep. The profound bond between the children is leading to what doctors at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital told reporters Thursday is a “remarkable recovery.” They could be reunited within a few weeks with their father, who has been working in Ohio to support his family.

The tragedy also exposed a problem, state Assemblyman Lester Chang must be reckoned with. “There’s a lesson to be learned in this tragic story,” he said. “The stresses of life, making a living. While I don’t know the exact circumstances, we can imagine the close-quarters living in this kind of environment for these immigrant families” was a factor, he said. “There’s no winners here.” » A Patch Exclusive by Emily Rahhal for Brooklyn Patch

Prior Experience Doesn’t Help Here

The high school students and young adults applying for jobs at a New City, New York, frozen yogurt shop don’t need prior experience, In fact, 16 Handles owner Lenny Spiegel prefers it that way. It’s central to everything he wants to accomplish.

“Hiring inexperienced youth gives us the opportunity to mold these young people into responsible young adults and tech them exactly what responsibilities come with taking a job and that it’s not just somewhere to kill time and get some money,” he told Patch’s Lanning Taliaferro.

“It has paid off for us over the years, not to mention all the thanks we get from parents, who sometimes tell us that these ideals have rubbed off on their kids in regards to helping more around the house, too,” he said. » A Patch Exclusive by Lanning Taliaferro for New City Patch

Now They’re Naming Him

There’s a warning along the lines of not naming any animal you don’t intend to keep. There are no worries about that at the East Haven, Connecticut, fire department. A 6-month-old dachshund-boxer-beagle mix is there to stay. Firefighters rescued the pup from a locked car, where the temperature inside had reached 122 degrees. The dog — whose name could be Cinder, Jake, Spartan, Riggs or Ash, depending on how voting goes — will serve as a “station support dog” to help firefighters deal with the stresses of their job. » A Patch Exclusive by Ellyn Santiago for East Haven Patch

Parting Shot

Exactly 22 years after the 9/11 attacks rocked the world, a double rainbow graced New York City's skyline, appearing over Manhattan about 6 p.m. after a torrential downpour, spurring people across the city to take photographs and reflect on the somber anniversary. » See more pictures and read more tributes on New York City Patch

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