Activities for Why Openness in Education?

Think back to a time when you learned something you really value from someone. Write a blog post in which you tell the story of that learning experience using the language of sharing instead of the language of education. What did the other person share with you? What did you share back with them? How many times did you iterate through this cycle of sharing? How was your relationship with the other person transformed (if at all) as you shared with them?

I was teaching in an alternative school program in Sechelt BC.  Most of my students were aboriginal.  I got to know the youth worker employed by the band, a fellow of Scottish extraction who grew up in England then moved to Canada in the 70′s.  He was an outdoor enthusiast who volunteered with search and rescue.

We decided that to connect with many of my students, we needed to get them outdoors.  We began with wilderness survival skills.  Over two years, we took groups of students into the woods.  We built fires with them, did tracking exercises, engaged in first aid scenarios and other survival situations.  We discussed where to set up camp, how to keep warm, how to send signals, when to move and stay put.

After a couple of years, I asked him when I would be ready to do this without him. He said, “You are ready now.”

Still, I didn’t quite feel it. Although he retired, I asked my school if I could hire him to work with students, which we did.  I just liked to continue deepening my knowledge.  He got some income, and built a resume around doing freelance youth work.

I had him and his wife for dinner.  I met him at his sail boat, bringing beer, cider, wine to suit the occasion.

He is still around but I don’t see him often enough.  I have now been sharing wilderness survival skills for years without him, though I work with a different educator.  We have expanded our reach to include water and snow survival.  I have taken wilderness first aid training.

Here is a picture of my son and I on a hike.  It makes me think of sharing skills and experiences, passing them down.