| |
Part I:
Outdoor Education, As I Envision It
Imagine
walking down a green path
On an unknown journey
With not a care in the world
Other than exploration of one’s self
And one’s connection to a world beyond time
Let
us start with an understanding of outdoor education which is not bounded
by common definitions. Let us imagine a pure, theoretical elixir which
has no detectable chemical qualities, a pure homeopathic. When applied,
it has infinitely perfect effects. All approaches to human healing,
growth and sustenance might strive to be as such, a perfect supplement to
human experience; so too might be the goal of outdoor education.
Let us imagine the perfect experience, the perfect education. So did
John Dewey (1938/1997). He said, let us start the task of education
with the task of understanding a student’s experience. He said we
need a theory of experience, in order to get some structuring and
sequencing experience.
At the same time Kurt Hahn, founder of many
educational experiments, including Outward Bound, the forerunner of modern
outdoor education, was observing that modern society had lost its rudder
and that young people were becoming lost in the rapid societal changes of
industrialized and post-industrialized life. No longer were there
crafts and apprenticeships to educate people in the discipline, patience,
and necessary skills to cope with visceral life tasks. No longer
were there the same opportunities and requirements for physical stamina,
endurance, perseverance, tolerance, tenacity, and having the wherewithal
to hold up in difficult conditions in which the only way through was via
sheer persistence, inventiveness and dedicated support of one another.
So, John Dewey (1938/1997) said, let us organize education better;
Kurt
Hahn said yes we need to, just look at all the ills of modern
society. Kurt Hahn said, let’s provide physical and moral
challenges, let’s put huge faith in people’s inner capabilities being
discovered and support them in discovering more than themselves than they
might have thought possible. Let's create experiences which call on
the deepest spirits of people in the name of the greatest good.
John Dewey's view of a new, progressive education was one which designed
experiences based on intimate understanding of people’s past experiences
which, he claimed, significantly determine their present experiences (the
principle of experiential continuity). According to
Dewey, the continuity
of a person’s stored individual past experiences interacts with the
dynamics of the present experience, to create individual's current
experience of 'reality'. For
Dewey, the educator must manage the quality
of students' experience in the present situation by interacting with, and
adjusting, the circumstances. The educator must finds ways of presenting
relevant subject matter which maximally engages the interest and
motivation of the student; Hahn would add that this experience must
stretch the person beyond the students' limited self-conceptions and
towards their potential. This requires compelling circumstances.
What is this strange notion of going beyond one’s self? How paradoxical
is sounds to intentionally design an experience to go beyond known
boundaries. This enters a realm of risky education. Thus, deeply
embedded within outdoor education is the notion of risk. To risk is to be
prepared to lose hold, to fall, to be smashed. To risk is to stumble
forward in the hope of rising through the clouds and flying higher than
ever before. To not risk is safe education, education which does not
reach beyond known boundaries.
Too much so-called outdoor education is safe education (e.g., see
Neill,
2002), simply a walk in the woods or a camp in a cabin, with as much of
the normal boundaries of life maintained as possible in order to be
comfortable and 'safe'. I have my toothbrush from home, I have my
picture of my Mommy, I have my familiar clothes, I have my you-beaut
sleeping bag, I have the assurance that I have the choice to do only what
I want to do, I have brought the food I like, etc.
This is not real outdoor education. This is a nature walk, a cozy
camp, a recreational experience. It is not risky in an existential
sense; it is not outdoor education. Outdoor education is about
taking the real risk of finding out that your current being can be opened
up and altered via engaging itself in different contexts and taking the
risk of behaving and thinking differently from normal.
This does not mean that outdoor education is a paradisiacal, ideal land of
heaven and glory. Far from it. In fact, to the extent that
human beings have become divorced from the grimy reality of life on earth,
there is a long journey back through the steps of civilization, like
flicking the pages in a picture book about evolution, before any
sustainable happiness can be experiences in the outdoors. This is no
skiing package holiday. Outdoor education should try to capture the
essence of dramatized and treasured educational adventure stories such as
in Robinson Crusoe and Huckleberry Finn.
Outdoor education must dispense with the glitz of leisure class outdoor
recreation, which uses the environment as another consumption, preying on
thrill, novelty and aesthetic beauty. Outdoor education means getting
down and dirty, organizing experiences for all sorts of different
individuals which allow them encounter their atavistic and potential
selves. The pathway to such goals will be necessarily littered with
barriers, particularly constructed, limited beliefs based on previous
stored experiences. It is difficult to survive all the minutes, hours and
years spent in artificial, chaotic cultures without taking on limiting,
false messages about who the person is and the potential for who he/she
might become.
Outdoor education is simply the design of adventure experiences to bring
into light the nature and possibilities of self. So, I count among
outdoor education experiences any intentional use of nature and adventure
for facilitating insight into, and change of, self. Thus, the outdoor
education method should be intensely psychological. By this I mean that
Dewey’s underlying argument is critical – understanding and managing the
quality of experience is the key to good education. Since every
experienced carries its legacy on into the future, every minutiae of
experience for every person is vital and should be the prime concern of
the instructor.
The
instructor’s responsibility to the quality of participants' experience is
infinite and therefore impossible to fulfill. The instructor is a guide,
a gatekeeper to realms of possible experience. The instructor creates
some rough boundaries, maps out a route, follows his/her charges closely,
and yet must remain behind a cloud of obscurity to allow the experience to
be as fundamentally pure as possible.
The
instructor is subject to many dangers of power and the perilous
temptations of therapeutic compensation via attaching to participants.
Until an instructor knows him/her self thoroughly and has been through
his/her own psychotherapeutic process, an instructor is likely to impact
negatively on his/her participants’ quality of experience to the extent of
the instructor's own inadequacies. Inner maturity and motivation are the
only necessary qualities for an outdoor education instructor. Other
qualities, such as communication skills, capacity to envision, plan and
execute a program, empathize and relate to participants, and learn
necessary outdoor skills, can be learned relatively by those with inner
maturity. Only such individuals should be considered as worthy of outdoor
education instruction, in an ideal world. In such a world, all outdoor
education experiences would be sacred and the instructors would be
shamans. Of course, since all individuals have infinite potential for
growth, all individuals are also capable of being such outdoor education
instructors. (You may be interested to read more about these
ideas in Facilitation & Processing)
Part II:
Outdoor Education Programs Need Sound Theory
I
have drawn on Kurt Hahn,
John Dewey, and existential and psychodynamic
psychology; now I draw on the role of nature. There is much evidence and
logic which suggests that human beings evolved from a long, long history
of intimate engagement with nature (e.g., see Frumkin, 2001). In a very
recent flicker of time, industrialization began shielding whole human
societies remarkably from nature. Hence the need for ‘outdoor education’
and ‘outdoor recreation’ has been recent. However, at the moment, this
relatively new practice of taking people into the outdoors for organized
educational experiences, varies greatly in the quality of experiences
provided to participants (e.g., see Hattie, Marsh, Neill, et al, 1997).
Most outdoor programs provide fluffy, touristy, distraction, relaxation,
thrill-a-minute, and sometimes a fleeting sense of the range of human
possibilities. Until more programs are constructed by those with
psychological insight or by those who understand the history, theory and
practices of outdoor education, no genuinely profound impact of outdoor
education on society will occur.
Dewey’s theory of experience (1938/1997) and/or some other
well-constructed theory consistent with a particular goal (such as
McClelland’s theory of enhancing achievement motivation, 1963), should be
used as a basis for building outdoor education programs. Alternatively,
personal and spiritual development practices, such as those developed by
indigenous societies, could be used. Newly designed forms of outdoor
education are popping up everywhere; it is vital that they develop a
theoretical basis and are instructed by individuals with inner maturity.
Programs should also be subject to systematic research and evaluation.
Otherwise what guarantee is there for consistently good effects for
participants and for well-guided refinement of program quality? This is
analogous to the development of pharmaceuticals. Unless there is
systematic testing of a programs effects, the causal mechanisms involved,
and the side effects, a program should not be marketed to the public.
Part III:
The Underestimated Role of Nature
The more I read and experience and the more I learn about other people and
their experiences, the more I believe in that there is considerable
untapped power in nature-induced or nature-facilitated experiences.
In particular, indigenous knowledge,
spirituality, and ceremonial practices offer a major gateway into the
possibilities of human growth. Encounters with nature have a potent
capacity to alter consciousness and to create vivid, intense, memorable
experiences.
Direct experiencing of nature, especially the elements, cold, heat, etc.,
but also nature symbols and stories, over time can crafts the body and
mind into a more finely tuned instrument which, in turn, alters inner
chemistry and consciousness. Eating of simple, wholesome food over
time, with physical exercise, and so on, can combine to holistically bring
the human animal into a state of greater potential relationship with
nature.
This does not happen as easily or as simply as most people think,
particularly as mainstream Western society becomes increasingly divorced
from non-human nature. Even the hardiest human from modern society
recoils to familiar ways when faced with the trials of natural life.
It is only via quality experience over lengths of time that eventually
this ‘civilization threshold’ in consciousness can be broken down. I
believe the "true adventurers" visit this frontier e.g.,
Willi Unsoeld,
Chris McCandless, etc.
Eventually as we set about this new way of "harder" living, life becomes,
curiously "easier", "richer" and "more interesting". The natural
endorphins return. The individual can relax and take a new attitude
to the challenges of nature and life, and run with new, unfettered
conceptions of his/her self. What we are after, is creating an
"ideal environment" for the human to flourish. That ideal
environment includes harmony with nature (see wilderness & education), as much as it also includes
harmony with other people (go to peace
& experiential education).
Eventually, there can be a new "capability of thriving", a natural
well-spring "joie de vivre". This emerges from the person developing
core existential know-how, experience and coping resources, and having
reaching "threshold harmony". This does not mean the person
lives in paradise per se, but there is an optimal proportion of "hardness"
and "easiness" to life and a sustainable cycle of activity. In Western society the knob is
tuned too far to "easiness" whilst in many places, the knob is tuned too far
to "hardiness" in life.
For the soft Westerner, letting go of comforts does not happen easily
and there will be considerable resistance and fear. But there are
enough searchers (about 1 in 20) who will break through the "threshold of
culture" and seek a genuinely different route.
Colin Wilson famously
referred to these types as "outsiders" (1956). If you're reading
this, there's a good chance you are one of them - or potentially.
Perhaps slightly eccentric, at odds with the world, and seeking
alternatives and solution. (As well as Colin Wilson's "The
Outsider", I recommend Ira Levin's "This Perfect Day" which
illustrates this "breaking through").
Part IV:
Community as a Target Through the Individual
Modern manifestations of outdoor education programs have a history of
about 50 years. It is a pauper's history, without much
sophistication in theory and program design. There has been
little integration of psychological theory, deep ecology, psychotherapy,
and so on.
What's more, many dangerous elements have crept in, particularly the
capitalistic plunge that has taken run rife and turned a sacred field into
the sale of cheap, safe thrills.
But there are also the sneakier evils of the fear of litigation limiting
much creativity in programming and driving overemphasis on accreditation
and qualification of physical skills, ignoring the fundamental requirement
for inner maturity. This is the "too easy" <------> "too hard"
threshold. We could also call this the "challenge knob" (go to
Risk, Challenge & Safety in Outdoor Education).
Thus, outdoor education exists in a cultural community that challenges
much of its core philosophy. Unless outdoor education becomes
socially responsible, even political, and directly addresses the challenge
of transforming culture, it risks irrelevancy and extinction. The
changing attitudes and conceptions of "risk" have eaten away at the
average Westerner's tendency to "get out there and mix it with the
elements".
Thus, outdoor education programming must move beyond short time-frame
experiences and move in to live more completely into people’s lives; it
must become a lifestyle. What is meant here by outdoor education as
lifestyle, is the living of a brave, sustainable, mature life day in and
day out. Whilst, in the ideal world, that might be a hut in the
wilderness, the reality is that it might be a brave attempt at having a
permaculture garden in a rented house in the suburbs while bringing up two
kids on no money with an incapacitated partner (yep - that's me! :).
There are possible connections here between outdoor education and permaculture (Mollison, n.d.), which is a
form of sustainable living and gardening which integrates human life, the
landscape, natural elements, and the local community. Outdoor education
needs to move away from artificial challenges, such as ropes challenge
courses, and towards natural living challenges, such as the establishment
of community gardens and sustainable culture.
If you ever get a chance, visit an ecovillage community or some sort of
commune. Some of them "work", all of them "struggle". But they
are places experimenting with what might be possible forms of eco and
social sustainability. I have a fascination also with "stories of
utopia" (e.g., B. F. Skinner's "Walden Two") and with alternative
lifestyles, for example, having spent several time fruit picking, sailing,
Outward Bound instructor, etc., as well doing the more "responsible" role
of "university lecturer" and "researcher".
The full manifestation of a
well-run outdoor education programs would be to contribute in a longitudinal and
systemic way to the evolution of human society towards sustainability.
Part V:
Summary of my Philosophy of Outdoor Education
In
summary, my philosophy of outdoor education considers as critical, the
quality of experience of each individual in an outdoor education program.
This quality is a function of the past experience of an individual and the
dynamics of the moment. Everything in a program, from the instructor’s
attitude, to the natural environment, to the social fabric, to the food
being eaten, interacts in a vital way with a participant’s past experience
to create the present nature of his/her reality. Management of this
reality is the responsibility of an instructor who needs to be clear about
the goals and his/her limitations and capabilities. Any detriment in an
instructor's level of self-understanding is a substantial risk for the
participant.
Ideally, outdoor education should aim at nothing less than providing
life-enhancing experiences of the highest order. This will usually mean
helping individuals, who have lived in modern, civilized environments, to
understand themselves in new, altered contexts, to come to know themselves
as individuals with far greater capabilities. This necessarily involves
the individual risking failure at discovering new capacities. The essence
of the instructor's role is in designing and guiding experiences which
open up a future of possibility for participants.
Ideally, there would be no need for outdoor education. Outdoor education
didn't exist during the first 1.5 million years of
human evolution. It
evolved recently because of the extreme divorce of human societies from
nature, and of the human from his/her inner possibilities. Ultimately,
outdoor education should be striving not towards minor thrill, nor towards
a return to Eden, but rather to create communities and lifestyles where
outdoor education is no longer needed (e.g.,
ecovillages). This means infusing individuals
and communities with a level of self-, social-, and
environmental-understanding which manifests in sustainable living.
References
Dewey, J. (1938/1997).
Experience and Education. New York: Simon and
Schuster. Summary. Full text.
Frumkin, H. S. (2001).
Beyond toxicity: Human health and the natural
environment. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 20, 234-240.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journals
Hahn, K. (1930's-1970's). Various writings. See
www.kurthahn.org
Hattie, J. A., Marsh, H. W., Neill, J. T., & Richards, G. E. (1997).
Adventure education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make
a lasting difference. Review of Educational Research, 67, 43-87.
McClelland, D.C. (1963). Toward a theory of motive acquisition. In R. E.
Ripple (Ed.). Readings in learning and human abilities: Educational
psychology (2nd edition). New York: Harper & Row.
Mollison, B. (n. d.).
Introduction to permaculture. http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/yankee_intro.html
Neill, J. T. (2002).
Is Outward Bound becoming too safe?
Outward Bound
International Newsletter, July.
|
|