Journal #1

When I signed up for this course I expected to be spending some time outdoors and learning about how to teach people outdoor knowledge.  So far, this is exactly what we've gone over during class.  Chapter 2 of our readings discussed the qualities outdoor educators must posses in order to properly teach outdoor education.  Only the semester project caught me off guard when reading the class syllabus.  However, the discussion on creating successful outdoor recreation lesson plans is something that I expected and look forward to learning.  I've never been completely sure of what career field I want to be in eventually, but I do know teaching people about being outdoors is very possible.  It's hard to pick just two specific things I want to learn from taking this course.  Refining my canoeing skills from over the past few years would definitely benefit me in the future.  I canoed over 60 miles in Minnesota a few years ago for a Boy Scout high-adventure outing.  However, my ultimate goal for this class is to discover an area of outdoor education that I might one day be interested in teaching for a living.  Learning more about outdoor education would benefit me greatly because of my passions and childhood background.  I've been an Eagle Scout since I was 16 and have spent hundreds of days camping, hiking and learning other outdoor skills.  It would be in my best interests to further my knowledge and teach these skills to younger generations and keep the outdoor environment popular among youth.