Outward Bound USA: Crew Not Passengers

by Joshua L. Miner, Joseph R. Boldt

Outdoor learning leader Outward Bound USA (OB USA) will be celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2002. As part of their celebration they are releasing an updated edition of OB USA, originally published in 1981. Outward Bound is well-known for their courses in outdoor learning but few people understand the philosophy behind these programs. This book explains how OB USA founder Joshua T. Minor came to understand the teachings of Kurt Hahn considered a progressive educator in World War II Europe, and shows how the foundation of growing through experiencing the unfamiliar, the difficult and the adventurous, has created a company that has grown to embrace five separate wilderness schools, two urban centers, and several other sites in the United States. This new edition will cover the same ground as the original book, plus two new chapters will be added that describe OB programs based on expeditionary learning (learning by doing) and where OB is headed for the new millennium. Outward Bound programs can be found in the Peace corps training program, schools across the country, activities in colleges, programs in disadvantaged communities, and juvenile delinquency programs. An Outward Bound course Wilderness Skills Training; Expeditionary Learning; Working in Small Groups; Environmental Stewardship; Solo experiences; High-Performance Team Dynamics; and Service. OB has developed many of their courses for use in public schools and have a thriving program. OB also has Outward Bound Professional programs to create positive and lasting change in the workplace by improving individual group and organizational effectiveness.

425 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Geoff]

“I was suddenly aware of how ignorant I was, alive with curiosity, doing academic work at a level I would not have thought possible a few years before. I did not know it yet, but I was learning the basic educational fact of life: the answers are meaningless until the questions are asked.” (17)

This quote pretty much sums up my review of this book and my beliefs in the need to be challenged in education and the push/drive for excellence. Not only was I pleasantly surprised by this book, I learned a lot more about the history of Outward Bound USA and its intricate ties to experiential education in the United States. Now this might seem like a bit of a contradiction with a title like Outward Bound USA: Crew Not Passengers, but I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. The book sat on the bookshelf in my cubicle the entire time I’ve been at my current position and one day I decided I should read it and not only did it reaffirm my decisions to work where I work, but it also further informed my belief that classroom learning is important, but it’s what you do outside of the classroom in relation that’s just as important.

Click here to continue reading on my blog The Oddness of Moving Things.