Experiment in Living: Homeless Immersion

Imagine the impact it can have on a group of young teens to be immersed in a simulation of homelessness for five days and four nights. They live on $1 a day, walk 10 miles daily in discarded shoes, sleep outside on the ground. The life-altering experiences of the immersion become a powerful teaching tool.

The course titled "Experiment in Living: Homeless Immersion" has been taught 4 times in the junior high at Paideia School and is in high demand amongst our student population. While experiencing many of the conditions of homelessness, students visit agencies where they meet the dispossessed, learn how this condition develops, how it is addressed, and conduct service projects. This is a three-week course taught during the junior high short term, a period that allows for flexible scheduling due to suspension of longterm classes. Five full days of coursework precede the immersion and 5five days follow for processing their experiences and deepening their learning following the immersion.

For another story about this class, click on this link for a story from Fox 5 Atlanta.