Appleby College - Argus Yearbook (Oakville, Ontario Canada)

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One memorable incident from my recent winter experience at Nor- thward Bound bears repeating because, more than anything else, it proved itself an in- teresting example of the behavioral patterns of young people, brought up in the Suburbia of the 1960 ' s and 70 ' s. To preface the story, it is necessary to mention one of the basic rules or philosophies of Northward Bound ' s camping and tripping programme: STAY TOGETHER AT ALL TIMES, SO THAT HELP MAY BE RENDERED QUICKLY TO ANYONE IN TROUBLE. This means, basically, that if you are canoeing in the autumn, when the temperature of lake-water may drop to 3 0, stay within a very short paddling distance of the other canoes so that you may either give or receive help quickly in the event of a capsize; if your group is snowshoe - trip- ping during the winter months, keep reasonably close, for safety ' s sake - it only makes sense! The build-up to this incident began at a campsite on the shore of Lake Temagami ' s north-west Arm, on the morning that we were due to return to Rabbitnose after a double overnight. While this two-day trip had been suc- -3

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Director ' s Report With the North ern programme entering its third year it is essen- tial to assess its success to this point. EDUCATION CANADA, in an article entitled Assessing Secondary School Programmes , states: in the past few years curriculum evaluation has received more attention in curriculum journals and text books than any other curriculum activity. One of the central problems facing evaluators derives from the absence of clear statement on what we want students to become. Essentially, the process of arriving at goals involves making value judgments on the basis of a philosophy of education - education is too often based on careless use of value judgments. There is no question that we are in a difficult time period and that young people are having trouble grasping a basic value system. Indeed teachers are having dif- ficulties assessing what norms to inculcate in these troubled times. However, certain basic precepts have not changed in that the nature of young people has not altered. Kurt Hahn, the famed German and British educator and founder of the Outward Bound philosophy has stated: I regard it as the foremost task of education to ensure the survival of these qualities: an en- terprising curiosity, an un- defeatable spirit, tenacity in pur- suit, readiness for sensible self- denial, and above all com- passion. In the text, THE FORMATIVE YEARS, (Ministry of Education,) the following appeared: If schools are to meet the societal demands of change for living in a society of the future, they must move towards a more innovative and open structure, while at the same time ensuring that the quality of our education will produce graduates who are both literate and numerate. I believe that by following Hahn ' s philosophy through the in- novative establishment of our Northern Campus and by further intelligent experimentation we can accomplish what we want students to become. Our aims are high and consequently we cannot expect to achieve everything overnight. There has been a definite improvement this year over last in regards to the quality of instructors and the positive effects among the Grade 10 students attending the Nor- thern Programme. With E.R. II functioning this year, a more competent instructor with definite ideals and skills will be available for the coming year ' s Northern Programme. A more organized programme for the Grade 9 ' s next year on the main campus should ensure a better qualified boy for the E. R. I programme in the North. It is essential in the future to develop greater co-ordination and un- derstanding between the two campuses. A major factor in the evaluation of the programme naturally has to be in the experiences shared by student and instructor and their ultimate opinion of the worth of these experiences. The Headmaster has assured me in his conversations with returning boys from the North that their reactions are very positive. The programme will continue to thrive only if the boys retain this attitude. Last year ' s article in the Argus stated our goals: Northward Bound is an experience in living, pure and simple. We want the in- dividual to develop inner resour- ces through a programme of physical and mental challenge involving the out-of-doors both as a member of a team and as an individual. The mastery of em- ployable skills is an adjunct to this process of heightened self- confidence. £ducatjon Canada, in an article entitled Human Values Education, dealing with the goals of students in in- creasing their capacity for ef- fective participation in society states two goals: to com- municate more effectively through understanding the value basis of all hu man transactions, and, two, to help students to per- ceive ' connections ' (i.e. values - decisions - actions - con- sequences) and to learn to ac- cept responsibility for their own values, feelings and actions. I believe in the Northern Programme that we are helping out in a major way to carry out the above goals and, at the same time, following a very important and positive trend in modern education. K.N.

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cessful in as much as we had ex- perienced mild sunny weather, had had a lovely campsite on the side of a hill and a good bit of ex- citement on our second day out I had noticed that all of the boys in my patrol were grinding rough edges on one another. While we were experimenting with an ancient, ten by fifteen foot canvas tarp (using it as a wind-break and as a means of reflecting heat) we were much surprised to find that it had sud- denly burst into flames, and con- sumed itself within fifteen seconds - what a sight! On this morning particularly I heard short-tempered comments being made right and left; subtle and sometimes not so subtle cuts were thrown in all direc- tions. I knew, right from the time that we awoke that morning that my little campers were not in one of their more charitable or co-operative moods. Ah, well. They ' ll get over it I thought, reassuring myself of their basic good-heartedness. We began to break camp at around 9:30 (that morning) - each individual had a job to do, be it rolling tents, packing food, cleaning up or whatever, and as things were going very slowly, I thought it necessary to provide them with a little incentive. Heh . . . you guys know, don ' t you . . . that Knobby won ' t give us : 5V ' ' J any lunch if we don ' t make it back to the Island by 12:30 ... Having suddenly been made aware of the possibility of their missing a meal, ( God forbid ) they got on with things at a quickened pace and soon, all but one of them was packed and ready to depart. That ONE - Richard W. came down from the campsite fifteen minutes after the others had assembled on the frozen lakeshore. Behind him he dragged what we all knew now, was the reason for his delay - a toboggan that he had jammed with tents and all kinds of other things. To top off this dishevelled heap, a cumbersome wood- burning stove made of tin was a delightful attraction. All this gear was held on to the flat sled with what looked like over a mile of butcher cord. As Richard came down to join the rest of us, his rig swayed noticeably back and forth, as it slid over wave- like snow drifts. It looked as though the whole load would top- ple at any moment - I made a mental note to remind myself to review knots with this fellow when we got back to Rab- bitnose. As it was, the load on the toboggan did not topple, and it might have been an uneventful