Pyrofest Reflection

Congratulations to those of you who accomplished your goal of boiling one pint of water within one hour. Some of you did not achieve your goal, and I want us all to take a little time to consider this fact. The Pyrofest activity has (as all experiences do, I believe) given rise to an opportunity to reflect and learn. Whether you experienced success or "failure" I would like you to visit the following link, read the article posted there, and then consider and address the following questions regarding our experience:

http://lifecoachesblog.com/2006/06/07/nlp-101-there-is-no-failure-only-learning-experience/


1. What was the objective of the Pyrofest activity?
2. Was it accomplished?
3. What are three factors that prevented you from completing (or allowed you to complete) the task?
4. After reading the article, would you call not achieving your goal a "failure"? Why or Why not?
5. Explain your feelings about accomplishing or not accomplishing the goal of the assignment.
6. Were you ready for this task?
7. Was it too difficult? Explain.
8. While the objective of Pyrofest may have been to complete a specific objective, what is the primary goal of the entire program?
9. If you now consider the overriding goal of the program, was Pyrofest a "failure"? Why or why not?
10. Is it possible to actually complete an assigned task, but still fail? Explain.
11. Is it possible to not complete a task, but consider the effort worthwhile? Explain.
12. If you were to do this task over again, what would you do differently?
13. Identify another task in your life you have left unfinished.

This is due at the beginning of class (9:00) on Friday morning, Nov. 7. Please also remember that your take-home quiz on Chapters 2&3 is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Pyrofest and EB

I have enjoyed reading your posts about the sailing expedition. The quality of the responses is much better, although some still leave room for more detail in addressing the questions. Please continue to strive for excellence in your blog entries as you adress the following topics:

Part I:
I hope you have been making the time to practice and prepare for Pyrofest. As I mentioned, practice will most likely separate those who succeed and those who do not. As you do your research as part of the project, provide a link to three (3) web sites that you used to find information about starting a cooking fire with either one match or no match.


Part II:
As we prepare to head out on the Appalachian Trail, I would like you to consider the term "expedition behavior" or "EB" for short. Visit the following web site and read how John Gookin defines EB:

http://www.nols.edu/alumni/leader/06summer/expedition_behavior.shtml

A. Please list five (5) things that you could do (or not do) while on our backpacking trip that could contribute to (or detract from) good EB.

B. Explain how you think you've been able to contribute to good EB while on our expeditions (and in class) so far.

This post is due before class starts (that's 9:00 am) on Friday morning, Oct. 31 (yep, Halloween!). You may find that trying to complete this on Friday morning is cutting it much too close. As I mentioned before, I recommend completing this by Thursday evening at the latest. Remember to check your schedule to see when your current events assignment is due. This Friday, we'll have Robin and Ben present theirs, as we've missed them the past couple of weeks. See you for Pyrofest!

Sailing Expedition Reflection

I hope you enjoyed your sailing experience as much as I did, and that your experience aboard has provided you with some insight into what the schooner and windjammer industry is like in Maine.For this expedition, your formal focus for ADV110 was your menu and food preparation for a group. This was one of three group cooking experiences you will have this year. For this blog, please review the goals we listed (see below) and spend some time thinking about the following questions before writing. As I mentioned to you earlier, I am expecting to see evidence of quality time reflecting and writing about your experience.

Goals:

• nutritious
• withstand limited refrigeration
• tastes good
• easy to prepare
• sanitary preparation
• offers variety
• $8 pppd
• theme
• presentation

In this blog, please address the following questions:

Planning

• How well did your recipes address your goals? Identify those goals accomplished, and those that could be better addressed next time.
• How well did your shopping list reflect what you actually purchased?

Preparation

• Comment on the quality of your meals.
• How could you prepare the meals differently in the future that might better achieve your goals? Consider everything from purchasing ingredients and repackaging to packing and cooking.
• Did both members of your group have equal responsibility in the preparation? Why or why not?

Presentation

• Were your meals well presented?
• What extra steps did you take to provide an appealing presentation?
• How did you incorporate your theme into your presentation?

And finally, reflect upon your sailing experience on the Haley and Matthew. Address the following:

• How did this experience live up to the expectations you identified last week?
• What were the high points of the trip? What were the low points?
• How do you feel about your nautical navigation skills after this experience?
• Compare sailing the Haley and Matthew to sailing the Flying Junior dinghies.
• What is your impression of the schooner and windjammer tourism industry here in Maine?
• How do you think you performed individually on the expedition? How do you think you performed as a group?

We will discuss some of these in class on Friday.

Sailing Trip Leaving Monday

Hi All,

We are still scheduled to leave tomorrow (Monday) on our sailing trip. I apologize for the late post - I just returned from Eastport meeting with the captains. We will meet at Room 12 in the Residence Halls (Adventure Center) at 10:00 am to load up gear and head to Eastport. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns by emailing me at sfraser@wccc.me.edu.

See you at 10.

Scott

Sailing Update and Backcountry Food Prep and Disease

Hi Gang,

I have received word from the boat captains that the earliest we will be leaving would be this Saturday. The lead captain is flying in on Thursday evening and would like a day to review the boat. If everything on the boat meets his approval, we could be leaving as early as Saturday morning. If, however, there are things on the boat that need to be improved, we would need to wait until after those improvements are made. So… Let’s plan on leaving Saturday morning, and then we will be all set if it ends up being a couple of days after that.

This means that the rest of your week will be as scheduled: we will be having sailing class on Wednesday starting at 10:00 in Eastport, and then will have Nautical Navigation class Wednesday evening in Calais at 5:30. However, we will need most of the day on Friday to prepare for our trip, so plan on meeting at 9:00 in the classroom and be prepared to spend all of the morning and most of the afternoon shopping, prepping, and packing for the sailing trip. Please bring your menus and all materials associated with the menu assignment with you and completed on Friday morning – you will not have time during class to work on it. You can also download a list of equipment you will need for this trip by clicking here.


Backcountry Food Prep and Disease

As you have learned of various potential health hazards related to food preparation in the backcountry, hopefully you have become aware of the importance of hygene while working and preparing food in the field. As we finish our backcountry disease presentations and begin focusing on food preparation, I would like you to comment on the following:

1. Identify three strategies you will include in your planning for our sailing expedition to reduce the potential for transferrence of disease while on our trip.

2. What was (or what do you think will be, if you haven't yet presented) the most difficult part of presenting your lesson? How will you overcome this challenge the next time you present? (Oooh, yes, that's right - there will be a next time!)

3. As we begin preparing for our sailing expedition, think about a meal that you would describe as an excellent experience.
a. Describe this meal.
b. Identify what made this meal exceptional (i.e. the atmosphere, the company, the food, the presentation, the situation, etc.)
c. Explain how you could incorporate aspects of your exceptional dining experience into your meal preparation while on our sailing expedition.

4. What expectations do you have of this sailing expedition? Describe what you think it will be like during a typical day on board, and identify what aspects of the experience you are looking foward to, and what aspects you are concerned about.


Again, be sure to use spell and grammar check, and use complete sentences and paragraph structure. Also remember to STUDY for your backcountry disease quiz(zes) on Friday morning.

Sea Kayaking Expedition Reflection

I very much enjoyed working with you all this past weekend on our first expedition. Judging from your comments and reactions, It appeared as you all enjoyed it as well. As I mentioned at the end of the experience, I am pleased with how you are all progressing as a group.

I would like you to reflect upon your expedition this past weekend and write a blog entry that summarizes your experiences. As you reflect, comment on specifics such as:

• food
• teamwork/comradery
• LNT
• night paddling
• student leadership
• safety
• Reversing Falls
• planned activities/initiatives
• your own goals
• your favorite and least favorite parts of the expedition
• things you would like to have been done differently

Finally, in his book "Outdoor Leadership," John Graham writes:

“Leadership is not a science to be picked up in one book or course, but an art to be learned over time.”

Consider and answer the following questions:

1. What do you think John Graham means by this quote, and
2. How do you think this applies to your experiences of this past weekend?

Please remember that your blog entries should be of considerable length and depth. It is highly recommended that you type your responses in a word processor, use spell check, and then copy and paste into this blog. Refer to the blog evaluation rubric for further information on how you will be evaluated. Your responses are due to be posted by the beginning of class on Friday, September 26, 2008

Personal Equipment Need List

This past week, you have been given an equipment list identifying several pieces of clothing and equipment you will need for your coursework. Using this equipment list, your book, and the discussions we have had in class, please respond to this post (by clicking on the "comments" link below and to the right) and list out the pieces of clothing and gear you already own, and then identify each piece you will need in the next few weeks as we prepare for your expeditions. Also identify where you will research and look for each piece of gear you need. This is due before class on Friday, September 12, 2008.