St. Benedict's Prep has a rule: no freshman becomes a sophomore without hiking 55 miles first
If they can't complete it, they just have to start all over again.
For most high school freshmen, the arrival of early spring brings a sigh of relief and the anticipation of warmer days. But for high school freshmen at St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J., early spring doesn't mean relief. On the contrary, it signals the start of grueling physical training and a heavy backpack in preparation for a 55-mile trek along the Appalachian Trail. This 53-year-old tradition was highlighted by CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) in a May 6 clip, which has gained over 522,000 views since.
Long-standing tradition
Once St. Benedict's winter term concludes, the school begins a five-week spring phase in which most students don't learn in classrooms but instead focus on life skills, as per the Los Angeles Times. Although there are several classes on offer from "Real Men Cook" to "Art, Nature, and Protest," none are more remarkable than the "Backpacking Project." This tradition is a requirement for all freshmen to move to the sophomore year. This weeklong trek through the mountains of northwestern New Jersey teaches these urban kids teamwork and survival.
Rite of passage
This program, which is a rite of passage for these freshmen, begins with exhausting training leading to the actual trek. However, instead of teaching every kid everything, the staff gets creative. The entire class is divided into small teams consisting of a captain, a camp specialist, a navigator, a cook, and a medic. Each of these students is given training in their specific skills, meaning that they need to work together to survive this 5-day-long walk through the forests.
With that concluded, the kids submit their phones to the teachers and begin their trek with only "some adult supervision," according to St. Benedict's Prep school administrator Glenn Cassidy. Once they begin this journey, there's no turning back — rain or shine, they need to finish the trek or start it all over again; otherwise, they won't make it to their second year in high school. But surviving isn't all they have to do while they walk through these mountains. There's much more to this amazing project.
They need to write an essay
That's because to complete the course and to receive a grade, they also need to write an essay explaining what this trek meant to them. "Walking through forests and climbing mountains isn't just about getting from A to B," one student wrote. "It's about finding out who you really are. If I could do the A.T., I can do anything." This goes on to show how much this experience teaches these kids, who show up at the other end, all bruised up and tired, but come away with a once-in-a-lifetime lesson about staying together and managing the ups and downs of life and surviving despite it all.
Well, that isn't a huge surprise given St. Benedict's is the ultimate testament to survival itself. After being founded in 1868 and becoming a cornerstone of the immigrant community, the school was on the verge of closing during the 1967 riots because of racial tension. In fact, in 1972, monks voted to close this establishment, and half of them even left, but the other half stayed. They extended the school to 11 months and set high standards, which we see even today.
Not all schools can follow suit
Nonetheless, even though this trek shows that children can learn so much from outside, not every school can afford this luxury. In fact, since the pandemic, about 30,000 from leading outdoor education programs have been furloughed or fired. At the same time, it has also caused a whopping 11 million learners from all across the country to miss out on such experiences while also causing a $600 million loss in revenue, as per UC Berkeley's research.
Regardless, people were more than happy to see these kids learn outside of the classroom. @jeweltoned77 wrote, "Love how everyone has specific roles and gets specialized training. Everyone is essential and has to step up for the team." Meanwhile, @64CSAR commented, "That’s how you go from boys to men. I’m proud of all of them. After 55 miles, you definitely overcome your internal hurdles as well as external ones. I think every young man needs this."
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