Kids and common sense20thFebruary
When I worked at the Audubon Society of Portland the education director Steve Robertson frequently quoted, "Common sense is not common." Then he would proceed to help youth, both kids and teens, develop a practical awareness for the world around them. From snorkeling the ocean for lobster to learning how to build a campfire, Steve was like having Indiana Jones as a summer camp director.
We need to take a look at how childhood has changed. We may feel we are making a safer world for children by limiting where they roam, but at what cost? What did the freedom of walking creeks and catching frogs give them? What epic journeys did children truly embark on when they once roamed the neighborhoods with in a pack of bikes? Did they have a destination? Were they learning anything? At Trackers we firmly believe they were learning everything.
In those seemingly precarious moments of childhood we discover our own accountability for the safety of ourselves and our peers. I recall judiciously measuring the results of my actions when I desperately tried to catch carp with my bare hands. I recall falling and reevaluating if I was going to climb that tree the same way. Self accountability forced me to take the simple lessons I learned and quickly apply them to other challenges: from finding my own way home at dusk to growing a garden that helped feed my family.
Today I mostly work with adults and the number one thing I see missing is accountability for their own learning and connection to community. People want things prepackaged, they want to be encapsulated from real experience, they need to hold others hostage with their fears and they want us to filter the interpretation for them. When in reality, the real secret to learning is simple, "Every experience carries its own lesson." Until grown ups get that, they are not ready to work with Trackers.
But most kids are. Children readily accept their own competence to learn, even when they may initially approach an experience with trepidation. They revel in surprises and arduous tasks holding real meaning. All they really need is some initial encouragement and intelligent boundaries, after that, what you find is an unspoiled willingness to participate in adventure. This is true team spirit and fidelity where every success and failure becomes a celebration of being "out there."
At Trackers we continually thank the parents who trust us to find adventure with their children. Who understand that we keep them safe while still pushing their boundaries of experience. We value the relationships that ask us for rites of passage every day, through every age. We are on a journey to make common sense skills common again. And we show Indiana Steve our appreciation and gratitude.
