Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE CLEARING
discover & reflect at a campus in the woods
ELLISON BAY, WISCONSIN
It's beautiful. You have to really see it and smell it to get the whole pic-
ture.
—Mike Schneider, executive director of The Clearing
65 |
You can learn about mushrooms, birds, great books, or environmentally responsible de-
velopment at The Clearing, a rustic outdoor folk school in Door County, Wisconsin. But the
real reason people take classes at this school in the woods is because they want to connect with
nature, with themselves, and with a community of people who realize there is joy in doing
things with your heart and with your hands.
Unlike most schools where grades, competition, and dog-eat-dog strategies are employed,
this school cheers on every sincere endeavor. The only thing that matters is that each student
is engaged and growing as a human being. Conversation, nature study, and hands-on work are
emphasized, rather than a bunch of stagnant texts. Of course, you'll likely read and write about
the topic you choose, but you will also draw pictures of the mushrooms you're identifying,
for example, or debate with fellow classmates on why Virginia Woolf's
To the Lighthouse
was
written for nonacademics.
Jens Jensen, the world-famous Danish landscape architect who launched the school,
modeled The Clearing after the Danish folk schools he attended as a youth. Rather than sitting
in a classroom, students at a folk school get out into nature, work with their hands, and engage
in lively discussions. Like the Danish folk schools, students at The Clearing live communally
(although you
can
pay extra for a private room) and eat family-style meals together.
“It's a safe place to try something new,” says Mike Schneider, the Clearing's executive
director. “It's very informal and cozy and there's no competition. I hear from people that it's
very freeing, that it gives them new direction, a new view of the world.”
WHILE YOU'RE IN THE NEIGHBHORHOOD
