Educational Origami

Last year as I was trekking in Nepal I received the tragic news of the events that unfolded in the Mangatapopo Gorge. The event struck me from a variety of perspectives;

• as a parent imagining the loss of a child
• as a teacher thinking of the loss of a colleague and students
• as an outdoor educator trying to conceive the  impact of the injury and death of my students
• as a user of the outdoors and a frequent visitor to the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Center.

I was and still am deeply saddened by the loss of these young people and their teacher.

I have followed the court case and I believe that OPC’s actions in admitting fault was the right, ethical and moral thing to do. I believe it will help bring closure and improvement.

As one of the parents is quoted as saying in a NZ Herald article “No amount of reparation will ever bring back those who lost their lives in the Mangatepopo canyoning tragedy, a mother of one of the students says.” source http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10562791

Which makes me wonder if we are about to see another tragedy unfold. Not a tragedy like the gorge itself that has rented and torn families. Rather a slower one with ongoing consequences for all of us not just those directly effected.

The court has ordered almost half a million dollars in reparations and fines. “Judge Kiernan ordered the centre to pay a total of $480,000 – $60,000 to each of the seven families who lost loved ones and $5000 to each of the four survivors within 28 days.” source http://www.nzherald.co.nz/school-canyoning-tragedy/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501824&objectid=10562793

OPC is not a adventure for profit company, it survives by the generosity of donors and sponsors and the fees paid by course participants. It tries to keep its cost down to enable adventure, facilitate learning and development. I am left wondering how it will raise, within 28 days, in this economic environment, this vast amount of capital? And if they can’t?

If the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Center of New Zealand does raise this sum, how will it repay it? Charge clients more? Cut services? Make staff redundant?

There is a statements I have heard many times before – “Justice is blind” and I feel this is particularly true here. Not ignoring the magnitude of the tragedy that claimed these young people lives, I wonder if the judges decision is not going to have a impact on the future of New Zealand’s youth. Can OPC, a stalwart of youth development, survive this? Will it be able to offer the life changing experiences?

There MUST be accountability and there has been. Lessons have to be learnt, and I know first hand having been to OPC since the tragedy they are being learnt and will continue to be.

But can OPC survive the financial cost imposed on them? The judge did not levy the full might of the law against them in his fines, but I am left wondering if we are watching a second tragedy unfolding.

Do I begrudge the families of the victims one cent of their reparations? Absolutely not. The life of a person can not be and MUST NOT BE measured in dollars.

Do I wonder if the sentence passed down on OPC is actually a sentence applied to the whole of New Zealand? I think it could be.

This post is my opinion, not my schools or any organisation I am associated with.

Further reading:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/school-canyoning-tragedy/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501824&objectid=10562642

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/school-canyoning-tragedy/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501824&objectid=10562734

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/school-canyoning-tragedy/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501824&objectid=10562793