Seven Summits: Out of 'Bubble Trouble'
By Seven Summits Centre for Learning
Post-pandemic many people find themselves still feeling disconnected. The past two years separated and stopped people from interacting and sharing time together. Forced into the ‘bubble,’ they now find getting back out ‘trouble’ with feelings of apathy and uncertainty about where or how to fit in.
Humans are social, not solitary. Isolation is harmful if left unchecked. Positive mental health is supported through participation in healthy activities with many options for inclusion.
Such an event was the Rossland Golden City Days.
Seven Summit Centre for Learning students volunteered by giving away free ice water, snacks, and stickers while entertaining conversations about their high school education in downtown Rossland.
The booth was buzzing with activity, and the support from the community was overwhelmingly positive.
Seven Summits students discussed how blended learning promotes the balance between learning and life, especially with later starting days and a four-day week. The students defined the school as providing public education in a private setting. As well, the culture at Seven Summits firmly encourages students to support one another, leaving no place for bullying.
“Bullies just don’t fit into our culture,” says Audry Hall, co-president of the Student Council.
“It’s really just that the behaviour is just easier to recognize and stop with smaller size,” says Ber Laird. “When attendees act aggressively, it is not accepted, so they find new positive ways to interact.”
Aggressive behaviour is habitual. Breaking the habit takes recognition, action, and repetition to support change. Bullying is more than conflict; it represents the unbalance of power as perceived by the victim. Bullies run in packs and maintain their control through this imbalance of physical or social power. Seven Summits Centre for Learning recognizes that bullying is a societal problem that has been ignored for too long. A supportive and nurturing environment promotes
acceptance, inclusion, and conversations about recognizing healthy behaviours. “I like that I can just go to school, be myself, and be accepted. I feel safe at Seven Summits,” says Laird.
Seven Summits students have found the good in a bad situation. After all, the pandemic mandated a time-out from regular habits, allowing people opportunities to reflect, make better choices about their future, and engage in what is most important. Seven Summits
Centre for Learning offers a safe space to move comfortably out of one’s comfort zone and re-engage in social and physical opportunities. Seven Summits Centre for Learning offers supportive, high school educational solutions. The cohort actively participates in classrooms, field trips, and community events. The close knit culture allows students to get together thus easing them out of the pandemic’s ‘bubble trouble.’
