I sometimes worry that too few NZers have the skills to get into the backblocks and enjoy our country’s remote and beautiful places. I know Graeme Dingle takes some in-trouble youth and exposes them to the challenges of the outdoors, but this is only for a relatively small number of our youth.
A generation ago a much higher proportion of NZers had the skills. Most had a parent or uncle who served in WW2 or did compulsory military training and learnt some outdoor skills. Many knew farmers and stayed on a farm sometimes. Still more went camping at Christmas.
This loss of skills means fewer enjoy the splendour of our backcountry. This leaves them poorer in spirit and our outdoors with fewer advocates for its continued protection. The folklore of speights and Toyota hilux adverts is not enough.
Is it too much to expect of our urban schools to include more outdoor recreation in secondary schooling? Can it be too hard to give every secondary school pupil this experience? I am one who does not favour school pupils going overseas for language or cultural tours (I’m not a grinch – just don’t like the pressure put on parents and teachers to raise the dough, when in many cases the parents have not travelled themselves).
Far better that we put a lesser resource into outdoor ed. We have some of the world’s wonders on our backdoor, but should use them more. Being at one with nature is good for us as a community.
Went to lake Crucible today. Beautiful. Lake iced over – can walk on it at this time of year. the sun shined. the flowers were blooming on the trail up. Idyllic.
I think it’s great for people who want to go and explore the beauty of our country.
I disgree about school kids not travelling overseas for language tours, it really helps the language learning if a person can be in the country.
Can’t say I agree with you about kids not travelling internationally, but I do agree that not enough of our kids are learning about the outdoors.
Since I was at secondary school I have been involved with a Trust that runs a 50 bed lodge in Tongariro National Park. It was built as a memorial to two teachers from the school who died. They loved taking kids into the outdoors so it was a fitting tribute to them. Ironically the school has long since closed but the Lodge is still there.
I still have some involvement with the Trust, but we do find it harder to get school groups to use the lodge these days (even though we keep it really cheap). When schools do organise education outside the classroom they tend to want to go with package deals (eg. outdoor pursuits centre). I think concern about safety liability if things go wrong has probably been a key driver behind that.
Another problem is teachers seem to have less time to organise extra-curricular stuff now. More assessment throughout the year has taken time away from some of the things that used to happen outside the classroom (I’d be interested in the comments of any teachers reading this…)
Of course, moving towards a system where learning at more junior levels of schooling is more narrowly focused (national testing) creates yet another barrier to more ‘experential’ learning.
Hi Chris .. teacher view here…Some schools are doing a great job of outdoor ed. From what I have seen it is the very small or area schools where kids are very outdoorsy and organisation is easy & the very big schools that have dedicated out-ed depts, and the trad schools that never caved in to cotton wool, and the rich schools that have $$$ & expectations. But I do agree with you and David that a good 50% are missing out. It is definitely worth the effort as a teacher but it is hard to organise and run and chase kids for money and forms etc esp fitted around all your other jobs. Plus there are lots of namby pambys in Ed. I sat in yet another meeting where the talk was about teaching resilience (new buzzword) in the classroom. FFS ..resilience is gained by climbing back on the horse/rope swing/ canoe. Perhaps outdoor ed and the mining debate could work in tandem.. if we are allowed the debate that is… from a pro-mining teacher
So far as travelling overseas in a school group – all speaking English among themselves, to pick up a foreign language – dosent work. The only way is to be dumped on one’s own in a non-English speaking country, where the locals are hostile if you venture to speak English – unfortunately such places are harder and harder to find in this world – all you seem to get are foreign language speakers wanting to try their English on you…
An expensive, wasted exercise for parents, pupils and teachers.
Would be all for compulsory bush training – except that I don’t know how much the environment can put up with school after school of pupils trying out their bushcraft on it. Some places are best left undisturbed. Mr Brownlee, take note.
I disagree the people I know who did high school trips to other countries all have great pronouncition / accents and can speak better for it.
LOL I meant pronunciation.
I am so old that I remember the days when schools educated children and their parents took them on outdoors stuff.
It is like we have got to the other side of the circle.