Greetings Friends and Partners, and welcome back to another year of opportunity in youth development work! This is the time of year I naturally think about possibilities. Fall is upon us and we feel the energy increasing with the start of a new school year. Our out-of-school-time programs are kicking off, and the thought of what is possible for our youth and young adults is truly exciting to me. Now, more than ever, it is obvious that our young people must be prepared for an unpredictable future. Natural disasters, racial divisiveness, economic challenges, technological advances and community relations create great uncertainty. One certainty, however, are the youth themselves--
they are creative, intelligent, strong and ethical. These young people have potential and they need our collective support. Today's youth need our encouragement to actualize their strengths. They need role models, and opportunities for leadership. They need practice that shapes their ideals and experience that develops their skills to help them determine how they want to make a difference as they step into their future. This is where we, the adults in their lives, come in. We all have a responsibility to support youth as they step into possibility. Kurt Hahn once said,
"I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial, and above all, compassion."
Hahn's words challenge us to step into each day and
embark on this new academic and program year with conviction: You are needed! Will you, as educators, accept Hahn's challenge to encourage and support youth? On behalf of the Voyageur Outward Bound School Staff and Board, thank you for your work in support of tomorrow’s leaders. I am humbled to stand shoulder to shoulder with you to provide opportunities for young people and prepare them for the future with challenge and discovery. I look forward to witnessing learning on the trail, water, rock face and in the classroom! Sincerely, Poppy
Poppy Potter, Director of Group Programs and Twin Cities Center P.S.Stay tuned for information about Outward Bound’s new endeavor in Character Education and Social Emotional Learning:The Outward Bound Professional Learning Lab.
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
