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 My son seems to blame everyone around him for everything. How will Open Sky help him learn to take more responsibility?
As researcher Dr. Keith Russell writes, “the natural consequences experienced in wilderness living allow staff to step back from traditional positions of authority to which the client is accustomed.” In other words, the forces of nature – rain, cold, wind - become the teacher. This shift in focus can be profound for students who are accustomed to being in power struggles with authority figures. It can be hard for a student to be angry at a field guide for the maddening wind gusts when the field guide is standing in the wind next to him. These experiences create windows of understanding for students that shed light on the other dynamics experienced in their lives.
Russell, K. C. (2001). What is Wilderness Therapy? The Journal of Experiential Education. Fall 2001, Volume 24, No. 2. pp. 70-79.
Surely the weather can’t teach all the lessons that my child needs to learn. What then?
When consequences are not naturally occurring, field guides facilitate the process of setting up what we call “logical consequences.” An example of a logical consequence is hiking back to a lunch spot to find a misplaced glove. This is a logical consequence because the glove is needed to stay warm and the only way to get it is to go back to where it was lost. This active experience tends to make the consequences of given actions very clear. Another example of a logical consequence is giving students the opportunity to earn free time to play a game like “hacky-sac” by finishing their packing or chores on time. Guides are always cognizant of the need to highlight both positive and negative consequences. |
