My Other Job: Keewaydin Temagami by Mr. Parker

I have been teaching for almost 23 years. I started as a second grade teacher in public school, and after nine years I had the opportunity to move to Seven Hills, and I have never looked back. I love my job, and the boys I get to interact with every day. I always tell people that it is a new adventure every day. But this job ends each year in June, and I get to go do another job that I have had for even longer. In the summer, I work at a wilderness canoe trip camp in northern Ontario, called Keewaydin. 

Way back in 1893, a couple of teachers in New England decided they wanted to take their students on an adventure that would challenge their bodies and their minds. They loaded up some canoes and headed into the wilderness of Maine for the summer. They explored lakes and rivers that few people had even seen. After a couple of summers, they decided that it was getting too crowded in Maine, and so they set their sights on a bigger wilderness called Temagami, in Northern Ontario. Nearly 130 years later, the camp, now called Keewaydin still travels through this same area in wood canvas canoes, carrying all the food and gear for trips from five days up to a full summer, 50 day expedition. 

I was lucky enough as a young boy to be able to experience this adventure for several years as a camper, culminating with my own “Bay Trip” of 50 days, following the Winisk River down to Hudson Bay. After that, I began to lead trips for the camp, working with adolescent boys, and helping them through the trials and tribulations that come with this type of adventure. I led trips for nearly 20 summers, before moving on to other responsibilities at the camp, which include carpentry, maintenance, transportation, and logistics. My family and I have spent our summers together on the island basecamp for the last 15 years, and our children have benefitted from the many experiences that come with living in the wilderness for extended periods. 

Along the way I have worked with hundreds of adolescent boys, and been able to help them navigate this challenging time in their lives. One of the most important lessons we learned along the way is that we can do hard things, and learn from them. Canoe tripping is sometimes beautiful and serene. Floating on a calm lake on a sunny afternoon is an experience that everyone should have. Sometimes however, canoe tripping is really, really hard. Carrying that canoe through mosquito infested knee deep mud in the rain for a half mile is also a valuable experience. After you have successfully completed that challenge, you know a little bit better what you are really capable of. This brings self confidence and resilience that is immensely valuable in everyday life. 

Adolescent boys face plenty of challenges on a daily basis. They navigate every day through new experiences, new schools, and new social dynamics, in an ever changing body and developing brain that sometimes seems to be designed to make them fail. And yet they get up every day and give it their best, whatever that may be. They are constantly being asked to try new things that they are not yet good at, and even when they fail, they are asked to try again. The feeling of pride and accomplishment they get when they succeed is what keeps them going. This is why it is important to challenge them regularly, but also remember to keep the challenges reasonable and winnable. The stakes and consequences need to be real, but not so high as to make the boys overly frustrated. There is a balance there that is important to keep in mind. In the right environment, the growth that happens is inspiring to watch. 

It can sometimes be tempting to shy away from challenges that come our way. Procrastination and avoidance may seem like good ideas at the time, but in the long run you are only putting off the inevitable. Once you learn that lesson you realize that there are rewards to be gained through hard work. To get to that calm sunny afternoon float on a beautiful lake, you just might have to carry that canoe through the mosquitos.