Tag Archives: Challenges

Discoveries, Evaluation, Reflections

Dont cry because its over, smile because it happened

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“Don’t CRY because its over, SMILE because it happened!” (Unknown, n.d.)

I know what your thinking… doesn’t he normally start off with a Dr Seuss quote? Some of you may even be thinking ‘that is a Dr Seuss 77292741_ec5b47243b_oquote…’ but heres the thing, it’s not. In fact he never wrote this at all. It has simply been associated with him due to the fact it sounds like something he would write, an assumption. My old man used to tell me that you should never ‘assume’ anything. His reasoning for this was that ‘it makes an ass out of you and me‘ and in my experience these words have held true.

Assuming that you know how other people think, what they want, how they will react. That your plan is flawless or even the assumption that because you know all of these things.. nothing could go wrong. Your being an ass, and you are wrong, but we all do it.

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Evaluation

Do what you love, love what you do!

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As I’ve been nearing the end of my degree at university, I’ve been questioning myself, in terms of my readiness for the teaching profession. Am I happy with the level of knowledge that I have? Will my students really gain the experiences and passion for the outdoors that I have?

Outdoor Education in Singapore didn’t appear as those it could ignite this passion for the environment. To me, it seemed to revolve only around recreation, which I used to think meant students would only enjoy the activity, and not gain a deeper connection with the outdoors.

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Evaluation

Are we there yet?

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The reason as to why I have chosen this heading for this particular blog is because throughout the days in Singapore this question was running through my head at some points in the trip. It was a very jam packed, full on days that 23 individuals were involved in. There was a lot of ‘go go go!’ and it was sometimes hard to really soak up the place we were in, without feeling rushed.

During the preparation stage of the trip to Singapore, we were all randomly put into groups of about four members, which became our facilitation groups. I was lucky enough to work alongside Kelly, Georgie and Mooey. Upon reflecting my own experience of the day, I expressed in my facilitation blog that I learnt quite a lot about myself as an individual.

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Reflections

Who I Am…

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I have it inside, I know that I do, all that I am is gonna break through.
‘Who I am’
~ Natasha Bedingfield ~

There are many areas of learning that are encompassed within Outdoor Education, but the one area that I think is the least obvious is the learning about oneself. I feel that this is one of the most influential learning areas that Outdoor Education explores as it contributes to making us who we are.

Challenges, struggles, achievement and excitement are all part of being an outdoor edder. These experiences occur on a regular basis throughout the activities that we do and are instrumental in building and establishing ones’ sense of self. Singapore has been no different for me, there have been struggles with the heat, challenges in maintaining emotions and morale, achievement in completing a challenge ropes course for the first time and excitement at flying across a tree top canopy on a zip line.

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Reflections

‘Team work divides the task and multiplies the success’

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This heading best relates to how my facilitation group and I reflected about how successful we were during our facilitation day to the Singapore Botanical Gardens and the Night Safari.  P1030453-min

Planning

Right from the start we were a solid unit, the delegation of tasks were efficient and easy. However as the preparation time of the trip began to run out, it was evident that the end of semester work and commitments had caught up to us all.

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Reflections

F.A.C.I.L.I.T.A.T.I.O.N.

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The following is an acrostic poem relating to my learning from my facilitation day on day 7, Friday 3rd July through Singapore Botanical Gardens and Night Safari.

F.A.C.I.L.I.T.A.T.I.O.N.

Full Value Contract (FVC). This is what we agreed to as a team before we even set foot in Singapore. This was represented by a chicken we signed who affectionately became known as Chuck. We agreed to ‘Exploration’ ‘Team’ ‘Culture’ & ‘Respect’.

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Discoveries, Reflections

Two ears, one mouth

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“God gave us two ears & one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak.”

This is a quote I have heard and describes my time in Singapore travelling over the past two weeks. The world I have grown up in is different to what I have experienced here I Singapore. My upbringing, background and values impact on outlooks in life. Gaining an understanding of this different culture is imperative to the relationships I have built with Singaporeans whilst here.

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Thoughts and feelings

“…and then they surrendered.”

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This is not how the war story was meant to end. The whole time I listened to the war story in Singapore I was waiting for the hero to sweep in and save the day. “And then the soldiers fought back and repressed the Japanese….” “….then they had back up come in to fight….” But no. This story ends quite differently from any war story I have known growing up in Australia. Going on a war history tour of this small country it is amazing to hear the stories of survival and what actually happened that fateful week in Feb 1942 when Japan invaded Singapore and kept it under rule until 1946. Singapore has done well in presenting the facts and draws learning from it in a positive light. Growing up learning war history in Australia we are the victors. Japan tried to invade but we held them off, even in Gallipoli we emerged ‘Victors’ forged by our dogged determination and mateship. But here the story was different as the Japanese took hold on the ‘impregnable fort’ of Singapore, leading to the largest surrender of British-led forces in history.

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Reflections

Time poor in heavy traffic

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Having two half days of facilitation had its pros and cons. Pro we didn’t have to concentrate for a long period of time. Con we were rushed at times to make the second half of the day. During the second half of our facilitation it was very much about people management as the group was fatiguing from a long few weeks. The challenges we faced and elements we did well were:

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Discoveries, Reflections, Thoughts and feelings

Travel with Fin, a man tall and thin.

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Travel with Fin, a man tall and thin.
In a place full of buildings, he finds beauty within.
Surrounded by those who look different to him.
Fin begins to realise that they are his kin.

Fin’s travels started as he stepped off the plane
Ducking his head to avoid the pain.
His first thoughts were “wow this place just isn’t for me”
“Ducking and squeezing, too crowded you see”.

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