Facilitation

Some outdoor educators have no clue as to what facilitation means; others have heard of the term, have a sketchy idea of it, and then bandied the term around when talking to other people in the outdoors as a show of their expertise in the field.

I recall a certain incident - at a camp where I was employed as a kayaking instructor to run the kayaking segment of the itinerary, I was asked by an official, whose position formally placed him as an expert in the field of outdoor education, to "do some facilitation" to the kids after the end of the session. Now, what's wrong with that?

Plenty. First, I was employed in the capacity of a technical instructor, and therefore am not obliged to engage in the facilitation process. Second, obligations aside, what business have I to effect facilitation processes with the children when no organising member of the camp asks of that from me, and therefore I have no idea about the objective/theme of the camp, and the intended outcome of the kayaking activity? Thirdly, facilitation is not feedback - feedback is a direct response to the activity. I can do the latter, but not the former, going back to reason number two.

Forth, facilitation needs to be planned, and the process should not be conjured up spontaneously. Fifth, After the activity, the children were restless, excited, tired etc, and that is not a time when you will want facilitation to be done - it will be more appropriate to apply facilitation processes to the students at the end of the day probably.

So. I did a cursory feedback as is appropriate and mandatory for every kayaking session, and left it as it is - the children will benefit no more from any more talk from me. To wannabe outdoor educators out there: please know your stuff before speaking out loud. Read this entry if you want to know what will happen otherwise.