I went to a talk by Dan Ralphs a few years ago at the TJEd forum (2010, I believe it was) called "Unveiling Genius: Mentoring in the Scholar Phase," where he described the power of being out of doors in the life and education of a young man.
Coming away from that, I envisioned for the Outdoor activities a true outdoor
adventure, particularly the end of the year hike. There is something inspiring and symbolic in a "quest" or
"adventure". Whether it is physical in a backpacking experience (which I
believe minimizes distractions as they are forced to carry the bare
minimum for survival--a humbling and equalizing experience) or in the
form of a series of activities that work towards an end, it carries with it a
sense of accomplishment at the end that is very satisfying.
However, I was concerned about the availability of
this adventure to youth with different physical needs. I would hate to think that
one of the youth would never be able to be a participant due to physical
restrictions or limitations. However, as one of the youth put it who didn't want it to be made so simple and easy that there was no challenge in it at all: "It's not that I want it to be something that
pushes me at my level exclusively...I just don't want it to be something so easy that it
is not challenging for any but a few." I think of the journeyman and master level classes that we have, and we can see the different levels of education--of course, this difference would have to be recognized in the outdoor/physical challenge arena as well.
As I pondered how we could make this "outdoor adventure" challenging, yet open (again, my idealism is kicking in), I couldn't help by reflect on my own experiences camping with my husband, Quinn.
As Quinn goes hiking with us as a
family, he normally always ends up having a physically challenging
experience as he reaches out to serve and help his family along, taking
on far more than what many would consider "his share." But even as I type that, with his
physical skill and prowess, perhaps his physical stewardship in such
activities is actually much greater, and he is merely stepping into
naturally, being the amazing man that he is :).
The first year Vanguard hike, I was pregnant, and therefore unable to carry
all of my belongings on my own back. Quinn took mine on for me, and I
carried what I was able in a daypack (although I did bring "Les Mis"
which brought a raised eyebrow from my pack-carrying husband ;)...). I
was pushed, inspired and satisfied, despite my different load. What if people approached those who felt that they couldn't come and
paired them up (just in a "share the load" sense) with people that could handle a little more of a challenge,
who could help shoulder some of their burden? Each youth could look at what
they could carry, and we could ask for volunteer "manly men" from our
youth (I am sure we would get some takers!) to help them pack it in. It
would be a physical challenge still for those with less physical
stamina--they would be reaching within themselves to rise up--and those
with more "physical stewardship" (like my husband Quinn :)...) can be challenged
more.
If you approach it in the right light with the youth that are planning the event, I
think they would rise up to it; say something like "we would like all who would
like to participate be able to come", point out the challenges they will
face at their own level, and ask what they thought of distributing the
load among the others,...like when the pioneers would help redistribute
fellow pioneer's loads when they needed to, and helped shoulder it.
Then, you could privately
approach those who were concerned with the physical demands of it, bring up the suggestion, and give it in the context: "we all just do what we can, and we want them to
be with us."
If you have a group like ours was, where the respect for differences is universal and all are accepted for where they are at, it is not a problem of self-esteem or worry about peer impressions for those who are not physically quite "up to it" on their own.
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