Wet and Wild

The joys and pitfalls of water based camps.
Plenty of school camps involve getting wet, probably because most
kids love a good splash down and it is far removed from the usual school
curriculum. In or on the water, opportunities for educational
experiences abound and as obvious as the physical benefits of these
types of activities are, there are many more subtle messages that can be
water borne.

The tall ship One and All, based in South Australia, is perhaps one
of the most dramatic water based experiences being offered to secondary
school students. According to Program Manager Ron Parker, their
activities are based on experiential learning through critical thinking,
collaboration and cooperation in packages ranging from half and full
day adventures to five or seven day voyages.

"We replicate a small community on board," explains Ron. "Students
are divided into three 'watches' and we usually require at least three
teachers, one for each watch, as a familiar face and point of reference
for the kids. Some are going to be seasick, so it is important that
there is someone familiar to comfort them."

He stresses that the One and All experience is not sail training,
although the students are taught how to rig and sail the ship. "It is
more about the process," he says. "There are no punishments on board. It
is quite different to other programs as they are not forced to do
anything – they find their place. We find students learn how to
appreciate others and start to acknowledge the different skills each of
them has and truly understand the meaning of multi-skilled."

The voyage starts with an hour and a half of motoring from the ship's
mooring place in the Port River to the open sea. This time is spent
inducting the new crew into the safety requirements of the voyage
including fire drills and man overboard drills. Once at sea, the sails
go up and students are involved in tacking and turning the ship. From a
safety perspective, Ron says the tall ship is covered by not just
national but international maritime law and carries the same level of
maritime survey as the major international passenger liners. "We are a
wolf in sheep's clothing," he says. "Although we keep it out of the view
of the students, we have top satellite navigation equipment available
on board and can have a chopper out to the boat within 30 minutes, no
matter where we are, if required, although in the eyes of the students,
they are on a genuine 18th Century sailing ship."

Ron says the program is based on working with students' strengths.
"We have gone right away from the 'break them down, build them up' idea.
We do lots of briefing and debriefing of each experience and keep them
busy and amused with things like ship Olympics and onboard opera. We
find being up at the crack of dawn, running the ship and doing night
watch, if they have any spare time, they sleep."

On longer voyages, the students are given an opportunity to take over
from the crew on day four. "We stop off at a deserted beach and clean
it up for Clean Up Australia and while we're onshore, they nominate a
captain. As soon as we re-board the ship, they are in control and
usually they do a great job. We have had the boat go around in circles
for a whole morning, but eventually they work it out and we only
intervene if there is a risk.  Then they sail the ship home."

Comments from teachers following experiences on One and All show that
the trip empowers students to take a greater leadership role in both
their school and the wider community. "They tell us kids return with a
greater sense of purpose," says Ron, who recommends a One and All voyage
for early high school students, as it is a time of critical transition,
and then again in year 10 or 11, when students need resolve to make key
decisions about their academic path.

Focussing more on getting kids into the water rather than on it, the
school program at the West Lakes Aquatic Centre in South Australia takes
primary aged students through an intensive experience of a range of
water sports in one and a half hour blocks, with a focus on water
safety. Ross Ogilvie, manager of the centre, has been taking kids
through the program for 30 years and says it is not really about
teaching them the skills but equipping them with the knowledge they will
need for safe water based recreation.

"The trick is to be teaching them when they don't realise it," he
says. "We're always asking them 'what do you do if...', teaching them to
think about things like the weather and how it will affect them in the
water, for example an offshore or an onshore breeze."

Ross says he is amazed how kids shine in the program. " It's not
always the big sporty types either," he adds. "For example, windsurfing
is 70 percent theory and 30 percent balance. We try to nurture kids
working together too. In one exercise the kids have to build a raft then
we get them to hold hands and pull all their rafts together then stand
up and see how stable they are as a group."

Considering that more than 80 percent of Australia's population live
within 20 kilometres of the water, teaching students about safety in the
water would appear a very logical choice and Ross says he is often
surprised at the lack of exposure some students have had to water sports
prior to attending the course. However, under the guise of a fun
experience with their peers, students leave, wet and weary but much
wiser about how to enjoy themselves safely in the water.