BringingPhonesTo

Camp
By: Lar a, Cier a, an d Qu an

OCTOBER7,2016
Wh y sh ou ld w e br in g
ph on es t o cam p?
Ph on es h ave alw ays been
a r at h er f or bidden su bject
w h en it com es t o OELP,
also k n ow n as Ou t door
En vir on m en t al Lear n in g
Pr ogr am . Ph on es
con t r adict ever yt h in g t h at
OELP is bu ilt t o do, get in
con t act w it h n at u r e,
con ver se w it h you r
f r ien ds, in depen den cy,
h avin g a good t im e an d
lear n in g su r vival sk ills yet m an y st u den t s st ill
desir e t h e appr oval an d
allow an ce of t h e abilit y t o
br in g t h e t ech n ology, in
gen er al, t o cam p. Wh y is
t h is?
Fir st of all, h ow w e?r e
goin g t o be t r avellin g?last
year , w e?ve h ad
exper ien ce on bu s r ides.
Th e len gt h of h eadin g t o
ou r dest in at ion w as f ou r
h ou r s, an d w e h ad
n ot h in g t o do except t o

exch an ge a f ew w or ds w it h
ou r peer s an d t o gaze ou t at
t h e r at h er du ll en vir on m en t .
M aybe t h e t each er s can t ak e
a st ep in t o ou r sh oes an d
exper ien ce t h e bor edom w e
do. St at ist ics also say t h at
ch ildr en t ypically h ave a
sh or t er at t en t ion span t h an
adu lt s. If t h e adu lt s st ar t
f eelin g bor ed, im agin e h ow
it ?ll be f or t h e you n ger
h u m an s su ch as u s.
Secon dly, isn?t it sym bolic of
t h e t each er s?t r u st in t h eir
st u den t s? Us st u den t s k n ow
t h at br in gin g ou r t ech in t o
cam p can pr ovide a cer t ain
r isk f act or ?t h in k of all t h e
dif f er en t t h in gs t h at ou r
ph on e can be pr on e t o. If
t h is is con don ed of , t h e
st u den t s w ill k n ow t h at t h e
t each er s t r u st t h em . It is ou r
ow n r espon sibilit y. A
solu t ion t o t h is can be a
f or m t h at t h e st u den t s t ak e
bef or e goin g on t h e t r ip,

som et h in g lik e a
con t r act .
?We t ak e f u ll
r espon sibilit y of ou r
t ech n ology.?
St u den t s w ill be
r espon sible f or bu yin g
t h e equ ipm en t t h ey
n eed, f or exam ple, t h e
w at er pr oof bags t h at
t ech n ology can be k ept
in . Even if t h e t ech n ology
does get dam aged
(w h ich w ill be u n lik ely,
con sider in g h ow
addict ed t oday ?s you t h is
t o t ech n ology), t each er s
can ju st sh r u g it of f , an d
say, ?It w as you r
pr oblem , you sign ed t h e
con t r act .?
Last ly, it can be an
am azin g f or m of
com m u n icat ion .
Com par ed t o t h e
an cest or s of t h e iPh on e,
t h is is m u ch m or e

con ven ien t . Th er e w ill be

m an y m or e w ays t o
com m u n icat e, f or exam ple,
callin g. If t h er e is n o ser vice,
w e can u se m essage apps,
su ch as ?Wh at sapp? an d
?M essen ger ?. If t h er e is n o
w if i, t h er e is t h e basic
m essen ger app t h at doesn?t
r equ ir e w if i. Wh en w e get lost
in t h e f or est , w h en w e get
in ju r ed or lef t beh in d w e can
sen d h elp an d aler t ou r
f r ien ds. It w ill be t oo lat e if
som et h in g h appen s. In st ead
of n ot br in gin g t ech n ology,
w e can h ave r u les t h at
in dicat e t h at w e can on ly u se
ou r t ech n ology w h en
n ecessar y in st ead of
com plet ely ban n in g t h em .
Th ese ar e ju st som e of t h e
poin t s as t o w h y w e sh ou ld
br in g t ech n ology t o cam p.
Th is on ly br u sh es t h e edges
as of w h y.