HES Celebrates New Wisdom Corridor; Welcomes Founder of Project FUEL
2/13/2023
Highlands Elementary students, now in fifth grade, and former art teacher Isabella Beebout collaborated last year to gather the stories and life lessons of adults throughout the elementary building. Their work resulted in the development of Highlands Elementary’s Wisdom Corridor, which is located on the hallway wall near the school’s auditorium. Painted on that wall is a huge tree that branches over eight photos of faculty and staff and their “wisdom” for the students. The school's mascot - a ram - is painted on each side of the tree.
The Wisdom Corridor project, which is supported by Remake Learning through the Grable Foundation, uses the framework of Project FUEL (Forward the Understanding of Every Life Lesson), an international organization founded in 2009 by Deepak Ramola. The organization gathers and publishes the wisdom of individuals through published works, performance pieces and artwork. Project FUEL also helps sponsor the Wisdom Corridor project.
Ramola visited Highlands Elementary on Friday, Jan. 20 after spending several days in Pittsburgh with Remake Learning and over 100 students from the 12 schools that installed Wisdom Corridors last year. After HES Principal Dr. Stan Whiteman gave a tour of the school's Wisdom Corridor, Ramola met with the 4th grade junior safety patrols to share his own "wisdom session" with them.
During their visit together, Ramola guided the students through some engaging activities, including one called “Odd One In”, which focused on being empathetic toward everyone. “Showing empathy is not always easy. It takes a lot of effort, but it’s always worth it to be kind,” Ramola told the students. In the end, Ramola's activities with the students demonstrated several lessons for them to remember -- enjoy who you are and be yourself; respect your own wisdom; and learn life lessons from others.