Mr. Michael Trotta This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. Welcome to Four Feathers Wilderness Program

   www.fourfeatherswildernessprog - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/15/2007   Last Visited: 2/26/2008

   "My husband and I have the deepest respect for Mr. Trotta and his teaching philosophy. We feel he gave our child back to us. Sam is now a motivated learner and a much more thoughtful and critical analytic thinker-someone well-prepared for the challenges of middle school. Even more important, we believe that Mr. Trotta has set Sam on a lifelong course of loving learning for its own sake, of respecting the earth's resources, and of valuing the many different intelligences with which we are all gifted.
   ...
   Michael Trotta--A "Coyote Teacher" At Ridgeway School
   ...
   So says Michael Trotta, a fifth grade teacher who has been incorporating the Apache art of mentoring into the fabric of his classroom teaching at Ridgeway Elementary School.
   
   The legacy of Apache culture, as well as other Native American values and concepts have been maintained and espoused through an educational program known as the Wilderness Awareness School. Although much of the focus of this program has to do with Naturalist Studies, the encompassing goal of Wilderness Awareness is to instill educators of all types with the gifts of mentoring, as traditionally practiced in Native American cultures. Storytelling, questioning, and situational techniques are important tools for the mentor.
   
   Most important of all, however, is the mentor's ability to communicate his or her passion about whatever the subject-at-hand may be. Trotta beams enthusiastically as he speaks of this: "Textbooks are just a starting point for me.
   ...
   Taking a goldenrod stem between his palms, Trotta vigorously rubs one end of the plant into a piece of wood. Within seconds, there is smoke, and from this...fire. "Now that my kids know that for centuries people have used this plant to build fires, they will never look at a Goldenrod wildflower the same way again." Not that Trotta's intent is to develop a classroom of pyromaniacs! Rather, it's the passion and natural curiosity that Trotta seeks to draw out of his students. "They take it from there," he says.
   
   Trotta's own travels down a path toward an unusual teaching career began in a quite ordinary way. A native of Chappaqua, he attended public schools there, and then went off to SUNY New Paltz as a psychology major. He developed an interest in teaching, and went on to receive a Master's degree in Elementary/Special Education from Manhattanville College. A parallel interest began to manifest itself, as Trotta explored the histories and traditions of Native American cultures. "Reading "The Tracker" by Tom Brown awakened my own passion for renewing my relationship to the Earth," says Trotta.
   ...
   I did not want this to happen to me." Trotta began intensive study of the concepts of "Coyote Teaching"--a mastering of the art of mentoring thorough a close study of nature, heightened sensory awareness, and the practice of wilderness survival techniques.
   
   Adapting these concepts to his own classroom has been a source of joy for both teacher and students. "My students would rather take a hike in the woods around the school than play in the playground," notes Trotta.

2. 2. Welcome to Four Feathers Wilderness Program

   www.fourfeatherswildernessprog - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/15/2007   Last Visited: 2/26/2008

   Michael Trotta: With a B.A. in Psychology and an M.P.S. in Elementary and Special Education, Michael has been combining his knowledge and experience as an educator with his passion for wilderness living and primitive cultures for almost ten years. He has studied tracking and wilderness survival with "America's most acclaimed outdoorsman," Tom Brown, Jr., and has participated in naturalist and mentoring studies with both the Wilderness Awareness School and the Vermont Wilderness School. He has also served as the Asst. Director of the Deep Wilds Adventure Camp for children and teens in Vermont.
   ...
   Michael Trotta