In Maine, Students Choose a Hike Over Detention–and Feel the Benefits

In Maine, Students Choose a Hike Over Detention–and Feel the Benefits

In Maine, Students Choose a Hike Over Detention–and Feel the Benefits credit – Giulia Squillace and Getty for Unsplash + Getting in fights, texting too much in class, skipping school—they are the kinds of stories that the parents of most high schools will have heard of before, and know the ending of. But at Morse High School in Maine, detention is enforced with an altogether different approach—a hike. Misbehaving students can, of course, choose normal detention, but ever since school counselor Leslie Trundy started offering hiking detentions, the children overwhelmingly pick that. When Maine Public Radio reporter Madi Smith joined Trundy on a hike through the green hills near Bath, the mix of freshmen and sophomores had unremarkable tales to tell. “Playing video games in class,” said Wyatt Wells; “Yelled at a teacher,” said Nicholas Tanguay; “Probably, like, skipping class,” said Elsie Nelson-Walling. They trundled along behind Trundy who got the idea for hiking detention from an outdoor edu…