It's The Little Things

It is the first night of a big summer trip and we are going over all of the upcoming details during the “Expectations for Tomorrow” portion of our B.A.S.E. Camp meeting.  I have asked the kids to hold any questions until after we are done, but I already know what the first question will be.  After years of taking students around the world to explore, climb, camp, paddle, etc, the first question is usually the same one…”How do we wake up on time tomorrow?”.  A valid question!  My normal routines and support structure are not with me and I likely have never had to figure out how to get up on time and be sure I don’t delay the greater group.  It seems like such a trivial thing, but it is the little things that tend to grow the most during these adventures.

When parents sign up their kids for an XL trip at SAS, many do it because the itinerary, location and activities are amazing.  And while these things are definitely the anchors of our trips, what we seem to find is that all of the tiny details that we take for granted on a normal day is where the most personal growth occurs.  This is Experiential Learning at its core.  Giving space for our students to experiment with navigating the world around them while in a stressful and fatiguing new environment while also engaged in a larger group can be very powerful.

I am a parent, too, and totally understand that to efficiently move my family through the world, my wife and I end up solving a ton of the little things because it makes the entire process easier for everyone.  And that is why sending your students with us can be an incredible experience for them.  We intentionally leave large spaces for the students to fill in the details and have to solve the issues we face.  They don’t have to see the safety guardrails we have hidden all around them but instead we hope they are slightly uncomfortable as we ask them to come up with good solutions.

How do I get up on time in the morning?  Should I take my jacket with me?  Do I need my daypack?  Should I hit the restroom now?  How do I get another towel for my room?  I forgot my ______, what should I do?  Should we leave a tip?  If so, how much and how? I ran out of money, now what? What are we doing next?  

The questions are endless!

Many times I answer these questions with the same responses.  Either, “What do you think you should do?”, which can lead to a great discussion about options and consequences.  Or, “Have you watched the adult leaders to see how they are handling that?”, which pushes them to pay more attention as they proceed with the trip.

We don’t choose to solve these tiny little issues for our kids during our everyday lives because we hope to cheat them of the chance to learn.  We do it because it is in our nature to look after our kids.  We want our kids to be happy and stress free.  And let’s be honest, it’s way more efficient too!  But XL trips are designed to give autonomy and agency to our students.  We want them to come home not just with wild pictures of amazing places, but with a maturity and growth that can be taught when their normal infrastructure is not present.  The learning really sticks when you are forced to be more responsible.

There was a great moment during our Taiwan trip last March when we had been on public transportation all day exploring the bustling city of Taipei.  The kids were great, but they were tired.  They had followed us and our in-country guide through many train changes, tons of new locations and even navigated an insane rush hour.  We told them when and where to go and they kept up with the pace perfectly.  Once we had completed our final stop and found ourselves quite a long way from our hotel we brought the group together and told them it was time to finally head back, but they were in charge of leading us.  

The adults had secretly agreed that morning to let the student’s lead us home later that night to see if they had been paying attention and also evaluate if they had acquired the necessary skills to successfully navigate public transportation in a foreign country on their own.  We had agreed that no matter how bad they did we would quietly follow them until we made it home!  The group immediately jumped into action.  Everyone perked up and they led us to the large route and schedule board.  They engaged with each other about possible connections and train lines and then suddenly we were off.  

There was a point where half of the group eagerly sped up and disappeared down an escalator and I started making eye contact with my fellow adult leaders as we each silently wondered how this was going to go.  As we descended a level we noticed the group had stopped, a few were counting heads and they didn’t allow us to move on until they were happy we were all accounted for.  Success!  They were learning to take care of themselves and each other in a very clear way.

This is the power of student travel.  They are forced to own the process and be accountable to the greater group.  They feel the pressure in a positive way to be on time, look after the details and solve the little things in order for the group to have a successful day.  They see first hand how their individual actions can affect the rest of their peers in profound ways.

So, when I hear that first question on the first night, I start to get excited.  The trip has officially started and learning from our experience has begun.  “So what are some options we have at our disposal to be sure we wake up on time?”, I ask.  Answers and solutions start bubbling up and we discuss those, while encouraging students with some experience to share more.  They start to understand they are going to have to step up and pay attention in a different way, because the lessons on this trip, like in life, will many times be found in the little things.