BUILDING A TOLERANCE FOR FAILURE By RJ Niewoehner Yukon Outdoor Educator ‘14
Courses in the wilderness give students time for moments of personal reflection. RJ Niewoehner
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fter four weeks, my course was coming to a close almost perfectly on the Pelly River in the Yukon, Canada. We spent the first ten days canoeing in, schlepping canoes and gear over fallen trees. Did you know that when you carry 28 days of food with you from the start, you end up with eight very heavy canoes? Then we ditched our canoes and spent ten beautiful, though somewhat rainy, days hiking in the mountains. Finally, our course concluded with eight days of running rapids, swamping canoes, and enjoying beautiful scenery along the way. The last day of the course was beautiful, with bright sunshine and warm temperatures, and everyone on my course was in a wonderful mood. This was not my first NOLS course so I knew what the final day would include: returning to the NOLS Yukon location, unpacking, and completing post-course paperwork. “Just great,” I thought to myself, “an opportunity to share more feedback.” My NOLS course was filled with opportunities to give feedback. This course even had a class on giving feedback a couple of days in where I honestly didn’t pay as much attention as I could’ve. These opportunities included switching cook groups mid-expedition.
28 | THE LEADER
Our group had a unique atmosphere and culture which encouraged constructive feedback in ways that made our teams stronger. All expeditions at NOLS end with completing paperwork about the course outcomes. I know it’s helpful, but I didn’t have to enjoy it. I believe if someone is asking for your feedback, it is because they want to know what you think and how to improve and so I tried to approach these evaluations with that mindset. After some thought, I compiled what I thought were a few helpful suggestions. I told one instructor that I thought they gave too much negative feedback. Another got a tidbit that I thought you should never, ever tell another student to leave behind liner gloves to save weight; they weigh only two ounces, okay? Just bring them. For the instructor team as a whole, I had thought that at the beginning of the course they really didn’t seem terribly excited about teaching in the Yukon. My suggestion: “Enthusiasm goes a long way with students.” To be honest, what I really wanted right then was a shower and some sleep. But I had waited four weeks for a shower; I knew it could wait another 30 minutes, even if it was after 10:00 p.m. The next morning, I woke well-rested and ready for a relaxing day that included cleaning gear, repacking, and eating good food. I just could not seem to ingest enough calories! When I sat down with my instructors for our final debrief, I was shocked at how upset they were. As we started reviewing my feedback, my heart instantly sank; I felt