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Published in Outside of the Box: The UNH Outdoor Education Community
Newsletter, 3(1), 2001, 1, 2, 4
barn's burnt
down...
now i can see the moon
- Masahide
I was asked by the
students' Outdoor Education Community to write some reflections about my
first semester at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) as a faculty member. To me this request illustrates
one of the richest aspects of the UNH outdoor education learning
environment, that students get the faculty to reflect on what they are doing, just as much as faculty are asking students to reflect on their
learning.
Just a few months ago I lived with Jackie and our one year old son, Tom, in
a small cottage called "Booroomba" on a hill in the Australian bush, with no
houses for miles around, surrounded by farm and wilderness. My road bike lay
disused in the shed, because mountain bike was the only way to go, and we
had a four wheel drive to access the three miles of dirt road into our
place. When we went for our daily walks along the river or through the bush
we'd come across wallabies and kangaroos, sheep, cows, rabbits, echidnas,
snakes, tortoises and foxes. We had an organic vegie garden and lost count
of the chickens and ducks we'd bred to keep us company. Our summers were
spent swimming in a magical waterfall just a few hundred yards away and
watching the exquisite sunsets, whilst in the winters we enjoyed cracking
through the frost and collecting wood to keep us warm. As much as possible
we would cook on our wood stove and live by candlelight. To keep bread on
the table I taught psychology at the local university.
So, why on earth would we want to move to America? For us, the choice was
simple. Life is an adventure and it is to be lived that way. So when
opportunity comes knocking, we say yes! Even more importantly, as idyllic as
our lifestyle was, it was a kind of fantasy. For most people on earth, life
is much tougher and it is a fundamental responsibility of those of us who
have more resources to dedicate our energies towards furthering human
equality and looking after nature. For me, outdoor education has a vast
potential to become a revolutionary educational movement which helps to
transform the way people relate to themselves, society and the environment.
So, the chance to start a new adventure and a new outdoor education career
(we had both previously worked at Outward Bound Australia) was one to be
grasped with both hands and all our heart!
Fast forward to September 11th - we can all replay scenes of that day in New
York, at the Pentagon, and somewhere in Pennsylvania. Several people asked
whether we were sorry that we'd come to America. Our reply? Absolutely not! The Sept. 11 incidents highlighted some major problems in the world and for
me only served to increase my resolve to work hard helping students
interested in studying a profession which can make a difference. Many people
seem to have forgotten that the very subject we are studying, outdoor
education, emerged in its modern form during the last major world conflict -
World War II. Outward Bound was invented as a result of
Kurt Hahn and
Lawrence Holt's intense thinking around the issue of how to help merchant
seaman who were ill-prepared for surviving new challenges. And Kurt Hahn saw
that youth overindulged in modern comforts were going to have problems
coping with adult life. Without being satisfied with having diagnosed the
problems, Hahn acted passionately and boldly, which is what I believe
anybody who is serious about outdoor education today should also be
demanding of themselves. This is clearly not a time for sitting and
watching, keeping silent, feeling powerless, or indulging in self-pity.
Every outdoor education student has the potential to make a valuable
contribution via their personal life and through outdoor education in the
local community, but also now it is very important to move our consciousness
and action beyond the shores of America. When you leave the comfort of your
culture, 'the barn burns down' and you can see many fundamental issues more
clearly. After Sept. 11, I found students in my classes were suddenly more
interested in organizations like "Play for Peace" than they were in
NOLS or
Outward Bound. The little every day things, such as the football scores and
the local weather ('the walls of the barn') faded away and happily the needs
of humanity ('the moon') become much more clear. We need to nurture this
fresh new focus with care. For many people, when the walls of World Trade
Center 'burnt down', it was easy to stay stuck in focusing on the 'tragedy'
and not see the moon. The braver path is to lift up one's heart from the
ashes and to take up new opportunities to embrace the needs of humanity and
passionately work towards expanding the rich possibilities for outdoor
education making a difference in this new world.
I am proud and excited to have become a new part of a community which is
trying to make a difference. I've received many appreciative and helpful
notes and comments from students and faculty during this first semester and
am sincerely appreciative of the support our family has received in being
welcomed into this community of outdoor educators. Thank you and I very much
look forward to sharing the adventurous times ahead with you.
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