...but the comments that got my attention. I am aware that social media can be a brutal environment - an online court of public opinion where harsh judgment is passed down in the absence of testimony from the ‘accused’.
I read all 74 comments (at the time of my reading the ChannelNewsAsia FB post) and accompanying replies. I can say that there was not a single supportive comment and that is to be expected. Mistakes were made, a life was lost and there is justifiable outrage.
Reading the comments, I had a variety of feelings; mostly hurt and apprehension but there was also hope.
I felt hurt because:
- Since our industry is small, I am acquainted with many of the companies and organisations and many of the leaders and staff are friends. I can confidently say that I’ve not met an outdoor education professional who is cavalier about the burden of responsibility they carry when they are with participants. At numerous gatherings or conferences, the phrase “when one incident happens, the whole industry suffers” often pops up in conversation or workshop presentations about safety. To say that our industry is ‘unsafe’ is a gross mischaracterisation at best, a spurious allegation at worst.
- The young people who join the industry are energetic, enthusiastic and passionate. Many started their outdoor education careers as volunteers e.g. cadet inspectors in the National Police Cadet Corps, rover leaders in the Scouts, and the like. A fair number wanted to become an outdoor educator ‘because my Outward Bound instructor inspired me’. We risk killing our potential source of committed, dedicated outdoor education professionals if we allow the seed of fear to grow in them, making them wary of joining our industry - this will infect those who might be considering a career in the industry.
- I teach in the Diploma in Outdoor and Adventure Learning at Republic Polytechnic. We lecturers help our students understand that an outdoor educator is not just fun and games and working in the outdoors; they come to realise that they have an amazing opportunity to help others grow, just as they themselves have done on their own journey to graduate from the diploma. And this opportunity comes with a heavy burden of responsibility but oh, the potential rewards are priceless.
I felt apprehension because:
- Our industry has been damaged by this incident (and it has been before from past incidents). How can we come together and recognise that we face an existential threat? The fact that the Ministry of Education felt like it had to open its own outdoor education centres is one example. We say that we don’t need high-handed oversight or tedious rules and regulations, but clearly have some work to do in convincing the powers that be as well as the general public.
- It is acknowledged within (and more than likely, outside) the industry that it does not offer the most competitive remuneration to practitioners. It is a vicious cycle - the company cannot ask for reasonable (what is ‘reasonable’ is a discussion for another day) fees because of the unique nature of the market in Singapore, so it cannot afford to train or retain a viable pool of professionals, as a result many practitioners become freelancers, and freelancers don’t get paid ‘reasonable’ rates, and they often have to foot the bill for training or certification,...and so on and so forth.
- There is still a lot of ignorance and misunderstanding of what we do in our profession.
I feel hope because:
- In 2015, the Outdoor Learning and Adventure Education (OLAE) Association was formed. They have a Code of Conduct (a first attempt at some kind of ‘national’ code for outdoor education companies and practitioners) and a set of standards governing programmes and activities was freely circulated among the industry and outdoor education community.
- While the national Outdoor and Adventure Education (OAE) Council was formed under some challenging circumstances, it should be hailed as the first serious effort to bring together all the major stakeholders (government and private) in Singapore’s outdoor education domain. Some items on the council’s to-do list are: instituting national standards, formulating practitioner training and certification syllabi and promoting communication and cooperation among the stakeholders. These efforts will bring about welcome and positive developments for professionalism and safety in the industry. I am optimistic because I know many of the members currently sitting in the council.
But I am also mindful the journey can be long and arduous. - More than a few of the students I teach possess the attributes I consider important in an outdoor educator - enthusiasm, open-mindedness, authenticity, empathy, resilience among many others. When they join the industry, they (and others like them) will be excellent role models for the people they work with.
- If we can accept that we have a collective responsibility to rehabilitate and repair our damaged reputation, then we must use our collective voice to help educate the wider community and demonstrate that we are professional and perform an important social role. There will be always be bad apples in the basket - which industry doesn’t? But this can be managed with proper oversight, management, training and good mentoring.
Pretty much my entire professional life revolves around outdoor and adventure education and I love what it has done for me, and what it can do for others.
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