Trackers PDX Blog

Silent Wednesday: Dumb Idea (or Genius)?

7th

February

I realize much of this blog is spent crowing about Trackers. I freely admit my bias. Yet a wise man once wrote, “Show me a completely smooth operation and I'll show you someone who's covering mistakes. Real boats rock.”*

For those not in the know, last summer our entire summer camp went silent every Wednesday. Every group, every camper dropped into stealth mode. We believed this was an awesome and inspiring idea. The goal was to reach another level of communication with not only instructors and campers, but with the Wild Nature we learned and played in. Did it go perfectly? Absolutely not. Did we learn a lot from it? Absolutely, yes.

Silent Wednesday originated during my early years as an outdoor educator… long before Trackers, long before days spent musing at the computers, coaching staff, and overseeing budgets (grrr, argh).

In those days, my favorite thing to do was take the group of kids (or adults) I was charged to work with and, without explanation, remain silent. This was not about less discourse, this was actually about more communication. We talked in hand signals, moved down trails with the same rhythm as the red fox, lived by the profound subtlety in the chorus of the birds and let the whisper of the wind speak for itself.

No convincing or cajoling was necessary. Because most of my teens and early twenties were spent practicing and living survival in the wilderness, I had direct personal experience in this "language older than words". The kids (or adults) innately saw and trusted this. We often wrapped up our silent days learning all our skills in the same way: a fire built silently, wild tree tea brewed reverently and laughter upwelled from an almost intuitive and common understanding.

So, nearly twelve years later at Trackers, I thought this would be a great idea for our programs. But I forgot why Trackers has been so successful. Our only rules are about safety and respect. Anything else becomes "manufactured" camp.

We hire the best instructors and we give them the creative liberty and freedom essential for inspired relationships between teacher and student. While Silent Wednesday was always seen as "Kinda Silent Wednesday", meaning we respected the reality that kids, especially younger ones, would always end up talking with excitement by the end of the day, it still felt like a "rule". Some staff and campers relished Silent Wednesday, some felt called to explore other ways.

This does not mean that Silent Wednesday was a complete failure. The reality is we got even more evaluations from parents stating that it was their child's favorite part of camp. Yet we also heard from kids and families who justifiably felt it was "way too much like school" and "I hated having to be quiet." The truth is they're there for Summer Camp, not for School Camp.

It was the single most polarizing activity we have ever offered at Trackers.

Well, that's a little hyperbole. But you have to understand, at Trackers we are obsessed with excellence. We must do EVERYTHING we do very well. Too often people assume we're a gussied-up version of daycare. Yet our vision is to forge ahead into the sublime.

And there's the rub. In Silent Wednesday we were aiming for a sublime experience. The opportunity and edge kids don't get anywhere else. What we got was mixed results. Why? It was rule instead of a dream, a hope, or a truly compelling call to adventure.

There will likely not be a Silent Wednesday this summer. We weren't ready for it. It's time to reassess. Yet we learned (once again) that finding our deeper connection to nature is not a paint by numbers endeavor. Nor is it a pursuit where you shy away from radically new ideas. Instead, it is a personal, compassionate and grand collaboration between instructors, campers and the truly wilder world.

At least that's what listening to the Silence tells us:)

* Darwi Odrade, Dune: Chapterhouse (Frank Herbert)

Discounts

Summer Camp discounts end (drumroll) Feb 22
On this day, you the parents will no longer be able to take advantage of the awesome Early Bird Discount of 10% off our Summer Camps. Tell your friends. Spread the word. This 2012 it all ends February 22 at 11:59pm. View our schedule.

Featured Camp

Ages 11-14 Coast, Kayaks, Dunes and Tidepools July 29-Aug 3
Travel to the Oregon Coast. Explore the tidepools, track the dunes, fish by the water and visit small coastal towns. And oh yeah? Did we mention kayaking?

Not Summer Camps

Free Transported After School Trial Weeks March 12-16 or May 7-11
Try our Transported After School Outdoors (TAO) program free for a week. Love it, then sign up.

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