Most people think of school as just classrooms, desks and tests—learning that happens inside four walls, measured by grades and schedules. But this structure doesn’t consider that people don’t always think the same or learn the same way. At Archie Williams High School, the TEAM program is a two-year program that is unique in the United States. TEAM allows students to learn through backpacking trips, leadership challenges, problem solving and real-world experiences. Programs that challenge the outdated education system and allow students to think freely are always the first to be cut, even though they offer some of the most meaningful learning experiences available.

Recently, there has been an attempt to reduce TEAM from a two-year program to a single year. This decision was made without any warning or communication with the school board or the students involved, showing how easily programs like this can be disrupted despite their proven value.

Most students at Archie Williams know TEAM as not just as a trip or a break from school, but as one of a few programs that actually gives them a chance to learn through real experiences, independence and time in nature.

In 1903, the General Education Board was funded by John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the world from the oil industry. A quote commonly attributed to him states, “I don’t want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers.” The board focused heavily on systems that emphasized obeying authority, following rules, memorization rather than thinking independently, and preparing students for predictable work structures. Much of modern schooling still reflects those ideas today.

Because of that system, many schools are built around rigid schedules, long hours indoors and heavy memorization of subjects like math and English. Students sit under fluorescent lighting and stare at computer screens. Many schools are even designed in ways that resemble prisons. Students spend most of their day sitting still, asking permission for basic needs and memorizing information they often struggle to connect to their real lives.

This is why programs like TEAM are so important. They offer a different approach to education that many students benefit from. Research shows that students who spend more time outdoors are more focused and more engaged academically. Studies by researchers Ming Kuo, Matthew Browning and Milbert Penner examined the relationship between time outdoors and classroom engagement in a study titled “Do Lessons in Nature Boost Subsequent Classroom Engagement?” Their research found that spending time learning in nature significantly increased students’ focus and engagement afterward.

There are also biological reasons why the traditional classroom environment can be difficult for students. Fluorescent lights operate on alternating current and flicker around 100 to 120 times per second. This constant flicker can be stressful for the brain and disrupt circadian rhythms that help regulate our energy and focus throughout the day. Combined with hours spent sitting in front of screens and remaining physically inactive, it can make learning much harder than it needs to be.

Humans were not built to sit still in a classroom for hours every day. We are meant to move, explore, create and think openly. Programs like TEAM allow students to learn through movement, teamwork, leadership and real-world experiences. Skills like wilderness medicine, outdoor leadership and problem solving are meaningful forms of education that can carry people into many different paths in life.

Not everyone is going to follow the same career path, and the world does not run only on office jobs. Society needs farmers, teachers, artists, outdoor guides, tradespeople and many other professions. Education should support different types of learners and different paths instead of forcing everyone into the same narrow system.

Finally, the TEAM program clearly works. Interest in the program has grown almost every year. When something is successful and students are excited about it, the solution should not be to eliminate it. If a product is constantly selling out, you do not abandon it; you expand it to meet the demand. The same logic should apply here.

Students who want to participate in TEAM are not trying to avoid education. We are looking for a deeper and more meaningful form of it. Missing some traditional classroom time does not make us less intelligent. Many of us are simply looking for ways to learn that actually engage us and help us grow.

For students like me, programs like TEAM are one of the things that keep school meaningful. I wake up every day knowing that eventually I might have the opportunity to participate in a program that lets me learn in a way that works for me. Taking that away removes something that motivates me and many other students to stay engaged in school.

Programs like TEAM are not a break from education; rather, they are a powerful form of it. They remind us that learning does not have to happen at desks and that students are capable of much more than standardized systems often allow.

Dyami Mason is a sophmore at Archie Williams High School, in San Anselmo. He lives in Forest Knolls and Fairfax.