rock climber

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-54210413

Matthew Shifrin is a rock climber from Boston USA who took up the sport a year ago. Matthew is blind so he climbs with the help of his friend Max Hernandez. Max and Matthew plan and map out Matthew’s climb before he begins using lego bricks, and then Max stands at the base of the wall calling out to Matthew to guide him as he keeps going.

Matthew says, “The trouble is as a blind person, when you fall you never know how far down you are falling…. The way to overcome that fear is to just get more in to the unknown.”

Matthew explains why he loves rock climbing; “It’s just me, the wall and the caller; that’s it…. It’s very rare for blind people to have these moments of control and moments of freedom.”

There is a film of Matthew climbing in the link above. Before telling the story, ask children to look at the pictures and work out what the story is – what is the person doing? Why might they be wearing dark glasses, what is the lego for and how is it related?

-          How do you think being blind affects Matthew?

-          Why do you think Matthew started rock climbing?

-          What difficulties might a person who is blind experience when rock climbing?

-          How is lego helping?

-          When Matthew first approached the rock climbing gym, what do you think the instructors thought? Why didn’t they turn Matthew away?

-          “It’s very rare for blind people to have these moments of control and moments of freedom.” What does Matthew mean?

-          How does rock climbing help Matthew to feel in control?

-          Why is this a story of hope?

-          Why is this about No Outsiders?

What can we learn from Matthew?