My first odac camp in school

The absence of new blog entries this past week was due to the fact that I was at my school's odac camp from last saturday to wednesday. I didn't do much really; the camp was planned before I came into the school, and so not being in charge of anything I basically just walked around and followed along with the activities.

I came out of the camp with a few beliefs reinforced, and also some ideals moderated. My belief in the ability of an outdoor activities club to mould young peoples' characters positively is reaffirmed, and I see a group that possesses the right attitudes and values, constantly attempting to lead with initiative and achieve group cooperation in tasks.

But I was somewhat disappointed with a seeming lack of purpose for participation in the camp. There might be some frontloading of the participants about the learning objectives of the camp, but overall short debriefs during the camp is only activity-specific, random in nature and not focussed in channelling reflection towards a certain fixed direction. An overall debrief for the entire camp is also absent at the end of it. The seniors and juniors should also have separate objectives in participating, but that was not really emphasised at all. Finally, there's too much physical punishment meted out during the camp, and too much time-wasting during transitional moments, two of the things that I never could tolerate.

It seems to me that the camp is just an annual affair without much thought given to the opportunities for development channels. The weekly meeting sessions for the club also seems to tend towards physical training rather than learning. I hope I can change the way things are eventually, but I can only be very patient and wait till I firmly establish my position as the club's in-charge.