-- Foreword to The Obstacle Course by Neal R. Voron --

By Sharol Brunner, B.A., Education

Teacher, Elementary Education

The Obstacle Course is the “classroom” experience of a lifetime.  Don’t put this book down until you have read it, or you will miss a great opportunity to be educated in a most unusual way.  Whether you are ten years old, or 100 years old, this book will give you simple insight into some of life’s toughest and greatest lessons.

The Obstacle Course is fun and enjoyable reading, filled with suspense and anticipation.  Author Neal R. Voron has captured a style and quality that will entice even the youngest of readers to take this “advanced course” and reap its benefits.

All you need is the desire to learn, and this book will give you the tools to help you achieve your own personal goals.  Do not expect immediate answers; expect the unexpected and some interesting insights.  If you want to learn in a more traditional and serious manner, look elsewhere. The Obstacle Course is for you if you’re willing to enjoy yourself while you are being taught.

This book must be read in order, from beginning to end, to experience the fullness of its message.  After reading it the first time, you will want to join this classroom setting again and again in order to continue your education and gain insight.  The page-turning quality and the writing style will keep you coming back for more.

I found The Obstacle Course on the Internet, quite by chance, before its print publication when it was only available in an electronic format.  The first 5 chapters of the story were offered for free reading, and I shared them with several of my fourth grade students.  They immediately wanted to read more, and I contacted the author, Neal R. Voron, directly to obtain some copies.  My students’ response to the story was highly favorable.  Since then, all of our lives have taken on new and enlightened perspectives to apply in our everyday situations.

In the story, Dr. Acton is the professor the students are all waiting for – someone to challenge them and to make learning interesting.

The characters in the novel are easily recognizable, having many of the preconceived notions and mindsets which so often block our ability to learn…

When my students were presented with a challenging problem to solve, they quickly began to draw upon their own, very limited past experiences. It was my challenge as their teacher and coach to open their hearts and minds to new ways of looking at very familiar situations.  Rather than direct them to the answers, my goal was to challenge them to seek and find their own new and creative answers.

Eager and enthusiastic learners, my students absorb most academic information readily.  Born with strong senses’ of justice, and right and wrong, social and philosophical lessons are often overlooked with these children.  Yet these very lessons are also important to teach in order to help them see that there is more than one way (their way) to look at any given situation.

By reading this book, my students have learned that change can be good, to be prepared for the unexpected, to take on challenges with curiosity and anticipation, and to expect to fail sometimes but not to give up on their goals.  What great lessons!

This book has an approach and creative style of teaching that can, and should, be used more often in our classrooms.  It could be used effectively as a teaching tool in many settings, from school counseling offices, team building sessions, to larger classroom environments.

Take this book home or to your place of work, read it aloud to your family or friends, or keep it to yourself… but guaranteed when you reach the last page, you will have completed a course of life lessons that you will take out into your life!