Hmmm, I believe that life should be lived to the fullest; happiness is often attained by leading a meaningful life with simple needs. Look for the good in people and try to be helpful to others whenever possible. At work, I'm inspired by the following tenet from Lao Tzu - an ancient Chinese philosopher: A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.

Ha! Ha! No, definitely not the movie! I watched the movie and I certainly don't want to be travelling to and fro endlessly in time!

For me, OE is any form of organised learning that takes place in the outdoors with the aim of social-emotional and outdoors-related learning outcomes. Through OE, people may learn valuable social interaction skills and acquire a deeper understanding of nature and the outdoors, our environment and sustainability.

I would say that OE has a much greater need and relevance in today's urbanised societies. Compared with previous generations, advances in technology has enabled people to interact virtually from a young age and in the process, their social-emotional development occurs quite differently. As you're aware, virtual learning alone cannot replace or address the assimilation of critical life-skills which occurs inherently with physical and social contact. In schools, OE has been found to complement what cannot be easily learnt within the confines of a classroom. Studies have shown that a well-designed and facilitated OE programme can have transformative results that are long-lasting both for the facilitator and participants.

By definition, an adventure experience is an undertaking involving some level of uncertainty and sensible risk-taking. A positive adventure experience can realise greater self-confidence, resilience and a sense of achievement in what was previously thought unattainable.

I recall a training attachment I attended in New Zealand as a budding instructor learning white-water kayaking skills. As my instructor shared a metaphor for running a river; he said, "there are 3 kinds of people on the river i.e. those who make things happen, those who wait for things to happen and those who don't know what's going on." He was conveying that life was akin to running a river where you can decide on the path you chose whilst making best use of the water conditions or, you can be led aimlessly by the water flow. The flow of water in the river can be pressurising and may create a false sense of urgency say, in decision-making. I learnt that by back-paddling, I could hold my position against the river flow and think through my options to pick an optimal route. So, in life I can do likewise to take stock of where I am, re-evaluate what's urgent and important to better manage what I do. If there is uncertainty in the path ahead, I can scout ahead on land along the river bank and set up checkpoints where help is available to support me (in running the river, we'd position our buddy with throwbags to assist us if we encounter difficulties). To me, this was a real example of life-skills we can pick up through OE.

First and foremost, an outdoor educator must be passionate about the outdoors and have a strong motivation for developing people. Often, the people development skills and experience in applying the outdoors as a learning environment takes more time to master than the technical skills themselves i.e. one can be a competent sailor but it takes more skills for one to harness sailing as a means to develop social competencies. One can start by striving for mastery in one technical discipline as the meta-skills i.e. group management, methods of instruction and risk assessment are eventually transferable to other field disciplines. Most importantly, one must have fun in the process.

I believe there is no single pedagogy which holistically encapsulates the developmental practices needed for people of all ages, learning styles and outcomes. Each approach has its strengths and the challenge is for the programme developer to determine the appropriate pedagogy in line with the training needs assessment. The other aspect is also how the various pedagogies may be adapted and refreshed to continue its relevance to emerging needs of the community.

Certainly, one can learn through other mediums; it's just that OE is about learning within and through the use of the outdoors as a classroom. One can also experience learning in a virtual or augmented reality environment and in some applications, this may be optimal. So, probably what's critical is the level of self-discovery (experiential vs rote learning) required for effectively achieving the learning outcomes desired.

OE by definition emphasises learning in the outdoors so this is what sets it apart from other pedagogies; experiential learning is also integral in other pedagogies e.g. Montesorri so it's not limited in use to OE. From what I've read, pedagogy refers to the theory and practice of teaching and there are broadly, four approaches i.e. behaviourism, constructivism, social constructivism, and liberationist. OE seems to be categorised under constructivism which postulates that people learn through experiences and reflection.

Let me share with you this other link that talks about what educators should know about pedagogy.

Anecdotally, I would say most students found their experience at OBS enriching and rewarding; some would have found the going tough during their course but they realised a sense of achievement at the end. Since we launched the MOE-OBS Challenge Programme in 2017, 83% of the students who participated agreed that the programme should be a shared experience for all students. This feedback affirms our aim of bringing youths from all walks of life to share an OBS experience i.e. a rite of passage for all students. About 76% agreed that if the opportunity arose, they would opt to attend another Outward Bound programme. Probably, most of the remaining 24% opted otherwise cos it's too tiring and attending OBS once in a lifetime is enough. That's ok too! - smile-

Perhaps, some lessons are best learnt in the outdoors. Let me share two examples of reflections shared by our participants:

I think it would be presumptuous to attribute positive lasting behaviour changes in the students solely from their five-day OBS experience. We conceptualised the National Outdoor Adventure Education Masterplan with MOE to introduce the benefits of outdoor learning to all students over a progression of three cohort camps from upper primary to Sec 3. In between these camps, schools reinforce the learning of critical skills through their PE and other outdoor activities. So, it is really the combined efforts of all the outdoor educators involved who contribute to the change.

What I can say is that parents and teachers have told us that when the students attend OBS with their peers from other schools, they make new friends and develop a deeper understanding of working with students from other walks of life. For many students, this experience is humbling and they develop empathy for the less privileged or disabled; for others who are less confident, they learnt that they have strengths and abilities which can contribute to the team too.

Let me show you this letter from one of the parent too

At an early age, children need the space and opportunity to experience and try many new activities helpful in their holistic development. The innate skills that come from exploration and experimentation is indeed valuable as kids acquire critical learning skills i.e. how to learn-by-doing, learning through failure and learning how to excel. Where opportunity allows, I make it a point to highlight a learning moment e.g. when we're on vacation overseas, watching a movie or even in physical activities. I'm also conscious of continuously learning myself e.g. in playing a musical instrument as I hope this sets an example to my children that it's never too late for one to pick up new skills.

I enjoy both being in the water and in the mountain; however, my strength is more oriented towards the sea as my early experiences in the outdoors started there.

I always have a small pocket knife; it's a handy tool useful in many situations. Having said that, I'm mindful to also be sensible in where I carry one so as not to get in trouble with local authorities.

It was my pleasure.