OE Symposium

I sacrificed my weekend attending the OE Symposium, and come away with ambivalent feelings. I do have a clear sense that symposiums ain't lectures and one don't 'learn' things from it as if it's a classroom, and with this mindset, I think I gained a lot more from it.

For one thing, I made a conscious effort to do some networking with the people there. It was a small group and thus pretty informal, making it easy to find chances to talk to people. It's this interaction that I learnt much from, knowing about how people do things within their own sphere of influence. And I also wrote down the names of the people I met, so that I can call them at the next such event!

Most importantly, the symposium made me imagine possibilities of how I can push OE into the school, and spread it to students beyond my ODAC. Contentious questions raised also helped me to reflect and consider my own opinions on them -

• Should one explore within 'our own backyard', or is 'the further, the better'?
• Is facilitation a bad word? Should we let the mountain speak to the students instead?
• Specialised programs for the selected few, or exposure to OE for the masses?
• What exactly is our sphere of influence and power, when trying to push OE to schools?

For one thing, it has helped me made decisions about the way I want to run this year's RITE expedition, and I can't wait to share the outdoors with the kids.