The CWW trip has been a long held tradition at CNG. Not only this is a trip for which students wait for all year long, it is also a huge learning experience, which relates fun activities with character development. More important than learning about bioluminescence or playing on the beach, this trip helps us understand the beauty of our country and to really acknowledge the lack of resources for which many suffer daily, things we take for granted, economic resources, water, and education. CWW is an essential component to our mission statement. At school we educate the mind, strengthening the body is a big part of CWW, pushing your body to the limit. But what better way to develop character than to help the communities in our own country and to learn how to cooperate with our classmates in activities that are interesting and entertaining.

 

           Many people believe that the CWW week is a waste of valuable learning time; on the other hand, I believe it is the week when we learn the most important life lessons in the entire year. People always look at the setbacks when analyzing this trip, “It’s too expensive!” or, “That trip is a complete waste of time, you skip school to go on a little vacation”. This is not true. Even though academics are very important and necessary, having a strong character is the most important thing in life. CWW is where we build our character the most in the whole school year. We learn the importance of generosity, teamwork and sacrifice. All these are very important values. These values are very hard to learn and inculcate when we are within a classroom.

 

           Traveling as a learning experience, especially traveling without our parents is very important for city kids like us. We learn that generosity is very important. We see that even though many of the people we visit lack economic resources they are not poor, they are rich. These people are way richer than us in culture and in natural resources. Money isn’t everything, happiness can be found in any situation if you have the right attitude. We are used to everyone and everything being at our disposal whenever we want. I believe that we need to learn autonomy, to fend for ourselves. We need to know that life isn't always so easy. Even though the priority of these trips is our security, the type of learning we receive outside our comfort zone, with no communication to the outside world, is completely different from the learning we receive inside of a classroom.

 

           The CWW is a very important part in the education of the children at CNG. There is no other time in the whole year were we learn as many lessons about character and values as in CWW. In this age of transition between childhood and adulthood, we must learn to be autonomous. We must learn that we won’t always be within our comfort zone, a place where effort is not truly required. We must be thankful for everything we have, but we must understand that money is not everything in life, This generation has spent a lot of time educating the mind and strengthening the body at school. But where are we going to develop character? Where are the leaders of tomorrow going to learn about true effort, about the value of generosity? CWW.