On Monday the 11th of October, the Outdoor Education students arrived at the Honeymoon Pool campsite to begin their 3-day camp. I was one of those students, and on that rainy, muddy, first day I couldn’t ever have imagined the future value of this experience, as it enabled us to strongly demonstrate and refine our skills in teamwork.
Our first activity was the Amazing Race, and I was nominated the leader of my team. I had no idea what this position would entail until blindfolds were given out to everyone, except the team leaders. My job would be to guide my team, all blindfolded through the game and find the clues, and every time a clue was found, a member could take their blindfold off. It was a struggle to guide 4 blindfolded people around a rocky and unfamiliar campsite, but I still believed this couldn’t be too difficult. Go left! I’d yell. Go right! I’d yell. But it wasn’t working! I was guiding my team in a clear and concise manner, so why were we still stumbling and going in circles?
Then it surprised me when my teammates started yelling out to the people behind them, Careful of this rock! Careful of this branch! Careful, we’re going downstairs! I was confused at first, since wasn’t I supposed to be leading them? Then I realised, they were experiencing things I wasn’t. From my perspective, if I were to see a rock, I would simply step over it, for me it is something not worth yelling back at my team to watch out for because I can see. From my perspective, I could not see the potential dangers of this rock to someone who could not see. So together, with me instructing directions and my teammates yelling out the potential dangers and after a lot of stumbling around and going in circles, we worked together to finally find our first clue, and take the blindfold off one of my teammates. This experience may have presented itself as a leadership activity at first but soon revealed itself to be more about teamwork than I could have imagined.
So together, with me giving out directions and my teammates yelling out the potential dangers, and after a lot of stumbling around and going in circles, we worked together to finally find our first clue, and take the blindfold off one of my teammates. This experience may have presented itself as a leadership activity at first but soon revealed itself to be more about teamwork than I could have imagined.