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  • Young people need adventure as well as exam results!

    Monday 20 September 2010

    Categories: Education, Extra curricular, Letting go, Personal Safety

    Education isn’t just about academic achievement. Of course it is important but, in an increasingly competitive world, it is often the other aspects of a young person’s CV that will set them apart and give them extra appeal – either as a potential employee or as a student.

    Every pupil has to study the three Rs at school but not everyone chooses to engage in extra curricula activities like learning to play an instrument, taking to the stage, being part of a sports team or doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Those are the sorts of things that can build self-esteem, grow confidence and develop leadership potential, marking someone out as a candidate with a wider range of skills than the norm.

    I have recently led my fifty third overseas school trip so it will come as no surprise that I am a firm believer in the benefits that young people reap from travel and getting experience of different societies and cultures. Sadly, our current obsession with health and safety means that many are denied the opportunity of going abroad with their teachers in case something goes wrong. Litigation has become the watchword for those preferring to err on the side of caution and simply keep pupils at home.

    I take a different view. Life is a dangerous business and trying to wrap our offspring up in cotton wool does them no favours. Quite the reverse. With little knowledge of how to look after themselves properly, they will grow up relying on others to look after them and not cultivate that sense of personal responsibility and self-reliance that is so critical to survival.

    My latest trip was to the foothills of the Himalayas with twenty girls. Needless to say, we were in an area of the world that does not enjoy all the modern day facilities that we are used to having on tap, so picking up the mobile and making a quick call home was not an option. Everyone had to learn how to get on with each other and how to behave appropriately in a culture very different to our own. If a problem arose, we had to sort it out – either as a group or as individuals.

    In terms of risk, there is no better way of preparing for danger than confronting its reality. We had a continual dialogue about what could happen, what to look out for and how to avoid possible injury. We walked along narrow mountain paths and helped each other negotiate and surmount any difficulties. The girls also had to think about equipment needed to ensure personal safety – like a first aid kit, a penknife and even spare boot laces.

    Taking young people out of their comfort zone and giving them the chance to prove themselves in radically different, sometimes hostile environments is a life-affirming experience. Twenty relatively naive teenagers went out to India and twenty much more mature, confident young adults came back. School trips are as important an extra curricula activity as any other and we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be put off them for fear of accidents. It’s natural for every parent to want the best for their children – but sometimes that means letting them go off and have adventures of their own.

    Read a related blog post: Inside the Ivory Towers

    Posted by Caroline Pascoe

Your comments

As a mother of a Yr.9 girl who has just started her studies in the U.K., I totally agree with Caroline that adventure will increase the girls’ self confidence and opportunities to grow up. My daughter shared with me that she enjoyed rock climbing and was excited to stay in total darkness in a cave – something she had never experienced before in Hong Kong. She had a wonderful time on her first outing at Badminton School!

By hkmama on Monday 20 September 2010

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