April 15, 2004

• TOPIC: A FIRST STEP

  
  

  This is an e-mail I sent to a few faculty and administrators at my alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis.  This proposed course is open for anyone, so, preferrably anyone who finds this site and is still in college, or even recent college grads, please contact me for more information.

  
  

  The purpose of this e-mail is the proposal of a new
  course to be offered during winter break, Dec. of
  2004.  I have only put your 3 names in, because I
  don’t really know other faculty all that well, so,
  after reading this e-mail, I would hope that you could
  forward this to other faculty, especially those who
  would be responsible for deciding whether or not a new
  course can become a new course.
  The 3-week course is to be offered through Outward
  Bound South Africa, an outdoor education program that
  is connected with the larger Outward Bound
  International.  The specifics of the course are
  flexible and dependant on the student group, however,
  I can provide you now with a general outline stating
  the course goals and structure.
  
  Proposed course title: Exploring South Africa and
  Yourself, 101
  
  Dept: Possibly Any
  
  Description: This is a 3-week course that will take
  place in both wilderness and non-wilderness settings
  in South Africa.  Students will arrive in Cape Town
  for a 2-day orientation.  They will then be brought to
  the OBSA base camp located in Sedgefield on the Garden
  Route for 2-days or ropes course, team building, and
  leadership development skills.  The next 7-days will
  be wilderness based and may include backpacking,
  sailing, canoeing, kayaking, rapelling, rock climbing,
  and various campcraft related activities. 
  There will be a one-day community service project.
  The course will then include 7-days of non-wilderness
  activities that may include visiting a game park,
  township, bungy jumping, hiking table mountain, and
  opportunities to learn information about South African
  history and culture through interacting with locals.
  The course will ned with a 2-dya conclusion and action
  plan for continued learning and development.
  
  After completing the 21-day course, students must
  complete a final project of their choosing which
  demonstrates what the student is taking away from the
  experience.  Examples include, but are not limited to:
  Fiction, non-fiction, research, or poetry writing
  Artwork
  Video documentary
  Photography porfolio
  
  Some of the major objectives of the course are as
  follows:
  
  1) Increased direction and purpose for students
  2) Developing proactive learning skills
  3) Developing relations to foreign cultures
  4) Develop compassion, especially towards the
  disadvantaged
  5) Develop a tool box of life skills
  6) Explore the history, culture, and geography of
  South Africa
  7) Develop critical thinking/lateral thinking skills
  8) Increased sense of adventure
  9) Develop diverse inter-student relationships
  
  This proposed course is both affordable to students at
  $1500, plus approximately $1000 for airfare.  The
  course has the potential to be a truly life changing
  experience.  It has the potential to greatly
  supplement studetns’ 4 years of college by enhancing
  their personal horizons and motivations.
  
  My role: I graduated Wash U. in the summer of 2003
  with a BA in political science.  In the fall of 2003,
  I participated on a 45-day Outdoor Leader Course
  through the North Carolina Outward Bound School.  In
  Jan. of 2004, I began work as an instructor for
  Outward Bound South Africa, where I have been leading
  courses for the last 3 months. 
  The idea for this course comes with approval and
  support from the executive direcotr of OBSA, Craig
  Wilkinson.  His e-mail is craig@outwardbound.co.za
  Phone # is (044)382-7412.
  I am also in the process of writing a book titled,
  “Dan’s Journal,” which, among many subjects, discusses
  enhancing the college experience through adding
  experiential education componants. (Unedited excerpts
  can be found at www.xanga.com/dansjournal).  I have
  aims to market this course to several universities,
  however, my own 4-year experience at Wash. U., as well
  as those of my peers, suggests that there would be an
  interest in attending a course such as this one.
  
  I understand that there will probably be issues or
  objections about putting this course into Wash U.’s
  course catalog.  I ask that this e-mail be circulated,
  and that any initial thoughts about the potential of
  this course, as well as the hurdles, be shared with
  me.  Since I am only in South Africa for 6 more weeks,
  the more feedback I can get, and the quicker I can get
  it, the more discussion I can do on this end of the
  world.
  
  I do believe, with support from administration,
  faculty, and students, this course could be a
  wonderful and powerful academic and personal
  experience.  From the side of OBSA, everything is in
  place to run the course.  About a month ago, a similar
  course was run called OB global, which brought high
  school students from Boston to OBSA for a course,
  which was highly successful. 
  
  Looking forward to hearing back from your end.
  
  -Dan Lilienthal
  

  • 7:50 am
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