For one week of every year, Rob and I go back to Queen's- back into the PEC, the JDUC, the Ghetto- back to our old program and back to being "Physeddies". Since graduating, we have been leading annual 'Camp School' trips for the Phys Ed program. Camp school, or PHED 338 as it is officially known, is arguably the best course at Queen's.
One week of canoe tripping and outdoor experiential learning yeilds a half-credit and some of the most memorable events of most 'physeddies' university experience. Not to mention the aquisition of numerous life skills, promotion of physical activity, development of environmental awareness, introduction of new career paths and opportunity to push physical and emotional barriers. Throughout the course students are encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones, communicate, cooperate and coordinate with new people, work as a team, accomplish tasks necessary to provide food and shelter for the group and in doing so, really, truly learn something about themselves. They develop skills that can be immediately applied to their lives, which is more than can be said for many university courses.
This may sound slightly biased coming from someone who went through the program, took the course and now helps to teach the program...but really, it's true!
Seeing the impact that a week like that has on students just verifies the importance of outdoor education and experiential learning for me.
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