When Hutchins School boys climb the steep face of a cliff or spend time entirely alone in a self-built wilderness shelter, or cook their own food over a campfire, they are building essential qualities of maturity: resilience, independence, self-reliance and flexibility. “The boys love anything outdoors and hands-on, and certainly having challenge-based activities, especially when we get to middle and senior school, are really important,” says Ken Kingston, deputy principal and head of the Hutchins senior school in Hobart, Tasmania.
“Balancing the risk largely comes through having a large outdoor education department with really experienced instructors. We have complete confidence that whilst might do rock-climbing or extended overnight walks, it’s always really well risk-managed.”
This “risky play”, or safe risk-taking, gives children and adolescents the opportunity to test the limits of their potential and builds their mental strength, according to body of international research.
It is widely thought that parents in general are now more protective of their children than they once were, often taking the default position that ultimate safety is always essential. The years of early adolescence and childhood, once spent largely outdoors, are now spent mostly indoors, with entertainment provided by screens – videos and electronic games. This increasingly sedentary life not only reduces the fitness of children and adolescents, it trammels their growing independence and sense of self-reliance.
Many independent boarding schools now provide a program of outdoor activities that include some carefully monitored and calibrated risk-taking: from hiking to expeditions to overnight camping.
Derek McCormack, director of the government-funded Raising Children Network, says research has shown that safe risk-taking benefits younger children and it is particularly important for adolescents. “It builds this sense of mastery, and it’s really important for a young mind to feel they have some independence,” he says. “It’s a real shot in the arm for a young person who wants to tackle the world.”
Most teenagers have a thirst for thrill-seeking and risk-taking which can be channelled into “positive activities” that can be managed quite safely, McCormack says, listing rock climbing, martial arts, canoeing, and mountain biking.
In terms of everyday life, he notes the proliferation of mobile phones ensures children and adolescents rarely get lost in urban settings these days, and maintaining communication with children and adolescents is easier than it has ever been. “In some ways,” McCormack says, “the world is safer now than it has ever been.”
It’s important to assess the development of children and adolescents and the levels of their social and navigational skills, he adds, and to monitor the sorts of activities and outings most appropriate for young individuals and how much free rein they should be permitted, while taking into account the need to allow them to develop a certain amount of independence.
“It’s a really important message,” he says. “Taking risks is part of growing up: exploring limits and testing abilities. That is the function of risk-taking, as long as there is a real consideration about what is a safe context for that risk-taking.”
Children and adolescents learn coping strategies when they are faced with dilemmas, McCormack says. “It is true to say that having new opportunities to try things, to take risks, to be allowed to try something and fail is really important for developing skills and independence as a young adult.”
Australian Boarding Schools Association executive director Richard Stokes says Australian boarding schools are always on the alert for potentially dangerous behaviour, while also understanding that adolescents need some managed risk in their lives.
The risk of concussion in tackle sports has warranted consideration for some time, he adds. Now head-gear is commonly worn in rugby union and league games and soccer has become an increasingly popular option. “It’s a strong part of discussion at principal level – what can we do to make our sports safer,” he says, adding that it’s also important to ensure school students still have fun.
“The whole concept of risk mitigation has become huge in our society and enormous in our schools,” he says. “But the one thing you don’t want to do is stop kids having a good time. You have to come up with a balance.”
With 1080 boys, including 34 boarders, the Hutchins School has a comprehensive outdoor activities program built into the school year. The program challenges all boys to take “responsible risks”, says deputy principal Ken Kingston, and an outdoor education experience is scheduled for each year group from kindergarten to year 12.
Outdoor camps are not optional. “They are a part of what we offer,” he adds. As the boys mature, they are challenged to take responsible risks, to “push the boundaries a little bit”, he adds. Sometimes, he adds, the challenges might be making decisions in front of a group or stepping up and showing leadership: “it’s not always hanging off a cliff”.
Electronic devices are left behind to ensure total focus on the experience. There has never been a major accident in any of the Hutchins’ programs, “just scrapes and bumps” Kingston says. “While we do want them to take risks, we want it to be safe.”
“There is a perceived risk, but the real risk is pretty low,” he adds. “The biggest safety mitigation is having really good staff.” The school has a large outdoors department, so there’s no need to rely on contractors, and the staff know the students and know their capabilities.
Year 9 students are a particular focus for these managed-risk activities at Hutchins because at about that stage adolescents can sometimes begin to disengage with school and develop some behavioural difficulties.
The school offers a whole term of “experiential learning” in year 9, and students can choose from a number of outdoor challenges. These include a cultural immersion trip to Fiji, where students live in a highland village; a sailing trip on the Southern Ocean which includes a bushwalk along the South Coast track, a trip to help out at an indigenous school in Alice Springs, an extended stay in the Tasmanian wilderness with an element of overnight solo camping, and a cultural Aboriginal heritage journey.
“For that age group, it’s a bit of a rite of passage,” Hutchins says, adding the school encourages families to get involved in the year 9 program and celebrate the students’ achievements. “We really see a lift in that time. The students are being independent, making decisions for themselves, and taking responsible risks: we see that empowering them.”
The Australian