Through this post I’m going to be exploring the link between learning and adventure. To do that, I think it’s important to look at both the key words in detail. So what do they mean?

The Oxford English dictionary describes learning as

Knowledge or skills acquired through study or by being taught.

Adventure is described in the Cambridge dictionary as.
An unusual, exciting and possibly dangerous activity such as a journey or experience, or the excitement produced by such an activity.

Ok, great, so far off to a good start. I’m going to focus on adventure for the time being and see where that takes us. Let’s take apart the dictionary definition then.

 Unusual. Something that is not usual. Straight away this throws up problems. What is usual for one person is not for another. It is usual for a rock climbing instructor, to go climbing, to abseil, to tie knots. However a young person from an inner city environment, who has never left their own post code, would find climbing, abseiling and tying knots a very different proposition.

Exciting. We have the same problem again. What one person finds exciting another could find completely dull. A student, who has just finished uni, wants to get into alpine mountaineering, heads off to Chamonix for a few weeks, hires himself a guide and they both set off to tackle Mont blanc. What is the biggest exciting, experience of the student’s life, is just another trudge up the same old route for the guide.

Possibly dangerous activity. Now there has been a lot written over the years about risk! The balance, relationship and management of the actual risk combined with that of the risk that is perceived. High ropes courses have been going up all over forestry commission land, throughout the Uk, over the last five years. The attraction of these is the adrenalin or “buzz” factor. It is the feeling we get from the perceived risk that gives us that “buzz”.  People are just let loose, high up in the tree tops, with nothing but rope bridges, cargo nets and zip wires to move around. If that were true the risk would be high. The risk is managed, participants receive a safety brief, prior to being let loose! They are clipped in to wire cables as soon as they leave the floor and remain clipped in until they complete the set routes or courses! There are regular safety checks carried out on all fixed equipment, procedures for replacing personal protective equipment (PPE) are in place and staff trained and assessed before delivering safety briefs. In short the actual risk is low, but the perceived risk is high! That’s what makes it feel adventurous.

Journey. Scott, Cook, Fiennes, Whymper, Columbus, Macarther, Oates, Livingston, Hillary. All people who braved the un-known, planned and executed various expeditions into the unknown. There is no denying that these people will always be remembered as adventurers. Taking a journey into the unknown can be a daunting experience. It is easy to stay where we are, never leave, never experience new cultures, new sights, sounds, tastes and never meet new people. But why would one choose to do this? By taking part in new journeys, we expand our horizons, we have new experiences and above all, we learn more.

Experience. Every one of us has hundreds of experiences every single day. You could say that every day was an adventure, but that would sound far too cheesy! But not all that far fetched. What ever we do day by day, we are doing something, we are having an experience. But what are the benefits of those normal day by day experiences. What do we learn from doing the same thing over and over again? How to do it better, how to be more productive? Great! But is there not more going on in the world than that which we have already done. To experience new experiences is to progress, to develop and to expand our minds.

Its all relative! From looking at the definition in more detail like this we can realise that one mans adventure, is another mans walk home. Every one of us has a different starting point and therefore a different adventure threshold. This is what makes running an adventure course such a challenge. Finding a way to ensure that all participants have an equal level of adventure and challenge.

On to learning then. We have all been learning since the day we were born and we continue to learn until the day we die. We learn about ourselves, each other, our environment, our history and so much more. The internet is full of things that have been learnt and things that are being passed on!

So pulling the dictionary definition apart again we start with,

Knowledge. That which has been learnt. Or that which we are aware of. To have knowledge implies either that we have studied or that we are aware of a certain subject. So is it important to increase our knowledge? Absolutely! If we stopped doing this then what does that mean for the future? The acquisition of knowledge is what has got the human race to where it is today. If that is a good thing or not, is a whole different conversation.

Skills. Having a skill implies that we can do and activity or job to a good standard. Practicing a canoe stroke over and over again, gives us a good level of skill in a particular stroke. However, if we have been taught that canoe stroke incorrectly, we end up being very skilled in performing an ineffective stroke. So why do we need skills and what skills do we need? Do we need to know how to paddle a canoe as effectively as is possible? Do we need to climb the hardest climbs? No! But pushing ourselves to achieve those things, gives us both a great feeling of satisfaction and achievement!

Study. The word study probably conjures up all manner of images for every one us. But why and how we study is not just black and white. It’s certainly not just for exams, for tests and for academic reasons! It is to acquire knowledge, so that this can be passed on. For example an instructor who learns what plants can and can’t be eaten. This is not obvious and has to be researched (studied)! Once this study has taken place however, the instructor is then in a position to pass on this information, therefore increasing the knowledge of others.

Being taught. The chance to learn! But where do we learn best?  How do we learn best? Inside? Outside? Everyone of us has a preferred way of learning, of being taught. But does being taught mean that learning has taken place? No! If that were the case, teachers would have it easy! If being taught is to achieve its out come of learning, then that teaching needs to be inspirational, life changing. It needs to be the most exciting thing going on!

Learning through adventure. Exciting teaching, knowledge acquisition, the building and development of useful skills. Combining a journey, with teaching, fun, learning, risk, reward and adventure is no easy task. But it is vital that we continue to find innovative ways to achieve this.