Outward Bound Inside the Classroom: Using the Five Pillars to Create a Culture of Learning
As I embark on making my classroom gradeless this year, I have been thinking about ways to create an effective class structure where students can collaborate and challenge themselves. I know full well that by going gradeless, many students will initially feel exposed by the lack of numbers and grades, so I want to use the five pillars of Outward Bound to help create a culture of learning in my class. By doing so I think that students will have the structure and focus to help them achieve more in terms of their learning. I was first introduced to the five pillars of Outward Bound as a seventeen-year-old student on an alpine mountaineering course in the Holy Cross Range of Colorado in 1986. Since then, both as an Outward Bound Instructor, and as a learner, the pillars have been instrumental in my growth. They will serve well in my class to frame the learning and create an environment where students are safe to stretch their comfort zones.
Outward Bound is a sailing term that describes the moment a ship leaves the safety of harbor. It is a fitting name for a school that helps students develop their character in a lasting way. Kurt Hahn, a German educator forced to leave Germany in the 30’s, started Outward Bound during WWII, in Aberdovey, England. The merchant marine was noticing that young and seemingly able sailors were dying in large numbers compared to the “old salts” as ships were torpedoed in the battle of the Atlantic. Hahn started a month long training course for merchant marine sailors that trained them to go beyond their perceived limits — he called it Outward Bound. According to Hahn, the school was, “less training for the sea, than training through the sea.” After the war, Hahn took the ideas from his initial school and brought them back to a boys boarding school in Scotland. He emphasized character development, physical fitness and service as much as academics. In 1961 the Outward Bound concept was brought to the United States, but instead of a boarding school, Colorado Outward Bound School, used a more mobile model where students would complete rigorous mountaineering courses in Colorado. Today, Outward Bound is worldwide with many different schools, and has courses in almost every wilderness environment on the planet. And as in the original Outward Bound, the schools teach through the wilderness, not for the wilderness. The five pillars are instrumental to Colorado Outward Bound School’s mission and they stem from this quote from Kurt Hahn in the 40’s: “I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an indefatigable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion.” Indeed, these five ideals serve to frame the challenge and learning on Outward Bound courses and will be valuable as I create the culture in my class this year. Let’s take a closer look at the pillars and see how they can be valuable in creating a culture of learning.
Enterprising Curiosity:
Words that spring to mind when I hear this include openness, creativity, critical thinking, and resourcefulness. To have an enterprising curiosity means that students are open to learn new things and to ask the question, “why?” I think that one of the most important antidotes to apathy is curiosity. Indeed, to have students come to class and ask wonderful questions is always invigorating. I know that I strive to learn something new each day, and it is like breathing for me. My grade-school-aged son and daughter both exemplify enterprising curiosity. They always challenge me with the “whys” of the world and they are open to learning new information. Unfortunately, it seems that modern education doesn’t encourage this curiosity past elementary school. I want to create a culture of curiosity and critical thinking in my classes, that encourages the “whys” of the world and seeks to find connections between the different disciplines in high school. Yet, simply asking the questions is only part of the equation. Students need to follow their questions beyond simple answers to a place where authentic learning can happen. To paraphrase Thomas Friedman, we have to go beyond Google and have students apply and connect knowledge. It really isn’t about discrete facts — students need to ask questions, that lead to more questions, and even more after that. To have an enterprising curiosity means you are engaged in learning.
Indefatigable Spirit:
Yes, this is a strange word, but it is very valuable to develop as an independent learner. It literally means unable to be fatigued. Kurt Hahn, understood full well that as learners things do not always go as planned. When one experiences failure or disappointment there is a need to take stock and try again. This pillar really gets to the heart of what resilience is. Learning how not to internalize failure is a skill that has to be taught, and is imperative if I am to help my students become lifelong learners.
Too often, I see students give up if things get hard, or they don’t feel like they can do something. Rather than engage and process their feelings, they simply shut down. They lack the skills to regulate their emotions and to see the forest for the trees — that they are so much more valuable than what a grade says. By going gradeless, I want to help students see that learning is about growth and not numbers and letters. I think the antidote to giving up and shutting down, is to help students overcome emotional setbacks and create optimism and a sense of purpose. By focusing on self-reflection in my classes, I hope to help students cultivate and nurture their indefatigable spirit. In 20 years of teaching, the chilling effect of grades on student learning is one of the most damaging things I have seen. In most cases, it is why many students do not even try, they are beaten down even before they get started. After all, if a student doesn’t attempt a task, then they can’t fail, right? Without grades, there is the opportunity to teach students how to keep their struggles and failures in perspective because there is always the opportunity to improve and grow. There is no final judgment in red pen to fear. Instead, each student’s effort and reflection are valued as part of their growth.
Tenacity in Pursuit:
If indefatigable spirit is resilience and deals with the emotional side of learning, then tenacity in pursuit is the grit it takes to follow through to complete a task — even if the task is difficult. Again, grit is all the rage in terms of mindset today. Yet it is more than simply sticking with a task. It also encompasses inner strength, and integrity. Too often, educators congratulate students on effort alone. Simply saying a student worked hard, is not grit. Being diligent and digging deep to make work the best it can be entails much more than effort. It means students have developed complex processes to overcome challenges, and ways to self-evaluate their journey. This is different than effort alone for it shows iteration, problem solving and critical thinking. The tenacity a student shows is more for themselves than for me as the teacher — true self-confidence does not come from outside compliments or rewards (like grades or treats), but is internal and comes from doing difficult tasks despite setbacks and struggles. Learning to overcome obstacles is key in creating independent learners.
Readiness for Sensible Self-denial:
In an age of social media and self-promotion I think this is one of the most important pillars. It conveys the idea that there are times we need to put our own self-interest or immediate gratification behind the needs of a team or in order to complete a task. On Outward Bound we always spoke of expedition behavior — that we relied upon each other to take care of ourselves and each other to be safe in the mountains. Likewise, we need to be aware of our needs and the group needs of our classroom. Teaching students to work well in teams is hard to do and it takes a lot of energy, but in the end it is wonderful to see student teams function effectively to accomplish a task or project. Communication is the key to this pillar — teaching students effective ways to communicate their needs as individuals, and as part of a community, can lead to deeper and more rewarding learning. By looking at the big picture and understanding each member’s connection to it can help in creating trust and accountability.
In order to develop sensible self-denial, students need to know each other beyond the normal level of classroom familiarity and I need to start on day one to break down the barriers to interaction. I plan to do Outward Bound initiatives that focus the students on how groups rely on one another to succeed. All students have strengths they can bring to the party, and it is my job to help students see, and capitalize, on each class member’s strengths. It is also important to teach students how to effectively deal with conflict. While I was an instructor with Outward Bound we used Bruce Tuckman’s, model of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing as our way to process team creation. All teams seem to go through the same four stages to become effective teams and it is a process that can repeat over and over. That is why I think it is important to have long term teams in my class. Teams take time to become effective and it is a disservice to students to constantly bounce them around. That said, it is important that teams do not become exclusive and that there is inter-team collaboration. We are a class after all, and we rely on one another to make the time together valuable.
Beyond putting the needs of a team first, I think teaching kids to regulate their need for instant gratification is key to developing independent learners. Students by nature are distractible, and with social media, streaming music and endless opportunities to watch videos or socialize, it is hard to keep on task. Teaching students to self regulate these distractions in exchange for longer term goals is a very important life skill. I always try to help my students see the value of “being here now,” and self-reflection is important in this regard. By having students set and keep track of their goals is important to develop self-awareness and regulation that serves as the antidote for the need of immediate gratification.
Above all Compassion:
Compassion is the final, and most important pillar in my opinion. To put oneself in the shoes of another is the antidote to self-centeredness, indifference, and judgment. When one can look upon others with kindness and see commonality instead of differences, true understanding can result. My students all come from different backgrounds — some are poor while others are wealthy; some students have to battle racism and discrimination on a daily basis, while others lead privileged lives. Others go hungry or have abusive relationships while others lead stable and safe lives. Teaching compassion and kindness can enable us to value one another in authentic ways. Connection helps to create compassion and I hope to foster connection by breaking down the traditional roles in classrooms. Giving students opportunities to engage in conversation and debate. Having students read and analyze pieces that are challenging and controversial as a way to challenge their perceptions and examine different points of view will help them to become more empathetic toward each other and the peoples of the world. Again, the key is to create trust through shared experience and self-reflection.
Compassion is at once the easiest and also the hardest pillar to teach. Students are able to see others with compassion fairly easily, but having compassion for themselves is harder to accomplish. We live in a society that is focused on self-doubt and self-criticism more than self-acceptance. To allow students the opportunity to examine their own process, and to see their growth will hopefully lead to students seeing more of their own worth, beyond the dictates of society.
The five pillars have helped me to become the person I am over the past 31 years. I know they will help me focus on the students becoming self-directed learners with curiosity, resilience, grit, self-regulation and, above all compassion. I do not have all of the answers as to how this will play out over the next year, but I have no doubt, that whatever the path looks like, if I approach my own learning through the lens of the five pillars, then I have a fighting chance to create a culture of learning and connection in my classes where students feel safe to stretch and grow.
