When the United World Colleges began almost 50 years ago, huge emphasis was placed on physical fitness. Indeed, the inspirational founder of the United World Colleges, Kurt Hahn believed that young people were exposed to what he termed “the six declines”: (1) the decline in fitness due to modern methods of locomotion; (2) the decline in initiative and enterprise due to the widespread disease of “spectatoritis”; (3) the decline in memory and imagination due to the confused restlessness of Western civilisation; (4) the decline in skill and care due to the weakened tradition of craftsmanship; (5) the decline in self-discipline due to the ever present availability of stimulants and tranquilisers; and (6) the decline in compassion due to the unseemly speed with which modern life is conducted.
To counter these social diseases, Hahn conceived a preventive cure that he called Erlebnistherapie (experience therapy) which offered listless and lawless adolescence the opportunity to discover healthy passions, like the zest for exploration and the love for art and music, that would absorb the young person completely. Hahn's experiential education program consisted of four elements:(1) physical fitness, exercising the body and keeping free from cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs; (2) expedition, exploring the world by sea and land under difficult conditions, alone or in groups; (3) project work, planning and executing an enterprise in research, art, or construction; and, (4) social service, helping the injured, sick, old, and handicapped in hospitals, homes, and rescue stations.
In the opinion of some people, aspects (1), (2) and (3) of Hahn’s Erlebnistherapie have become diluted as the importance of (4) has grown massively over the years. To some extent, this reflects the tougher regulatory environment within schools now operate, although the shift had started a long while before governments began laying down stringent health and safety requirements for outdoor activities. Some commentators would go further, and claim that the decline of physical activity in UWCs relative to service activities favours the interests of girls over boys, and this might explain the growing disparity between the proportion of boys applying to UWCs around the world compared to girls. Last year, for example, 62% of applications to enter UWCs world-wide came from girls compared with 38% from boys; in Europe 74% of applications were from girls and in North America the figure was 72%, and it was only in Africa and the Middle East that the proportion of male applicants was greater (53% in Africa and 55% in the Middle East).
One practical response to this dilemma at Li Po Chun UWC has been the introduction of ‘The Amazing Voyage’, an initiative of the Head of Languages, Mr Ronny Mintjens. In the words of the initiative’s Facebook page, “The Amazing Voyage is a virtual tour around the world, crossing all the countries that are represented by students and staff at Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong. We only travel through physical power : running, walking, cycling, swimming and kayaking are the only activities that we can record. We hope to travel from Hong Kong to Hong Kong between the first day of school and Graduation Day”.
Introduction of The Amazing Voyage has been a great incentive for students (and staff) to manage their time in a way that puts some balance back into their lives. A route has been plotted around the world joining all the countries for which we have students this year, a route that totals 82,878 kilometres. Since the start of the current academic year (in August 2007) the students and staff have already done sufficient distance to reach Egypt (just over 69,000 kilometres). We will soon will make a quick stop in Ethiopia, and then cross into Asia on our way back to Hong Kong. As a recent e-mail from the Amazing Voyage’s student leaders said, we have only a little more than 13,000 kilometres to complete to encircle the world, and we have two months left to do them - that is a very achievable target of about 210 kilometres per day, which is less than one kilometre per day per student/staff.
Specifically, the totals reached since August 2007 by this week were as follows:
Block 2 - 8,095 kilometres
Staff - 9,809 kilometres (with several unrecorded kilometres to be added)
Block 4 - 13,612 kilometres
Block 1 - 16,827 kilometres
Block 3 - 21,346 kilometres
For me personally, my favourite form of exercise is cycling; sadly my long distance running days ended several years ago after a few too many injuries that have now left me with a permanent limp. Fortunately, there is an excellent network of cycleways around the College, and my favourite of these is the 11 kilometre track from the College to the Heritage Museum at Sha Tin. I have managed to complete this 22 kilometre return trip on three occasions during the past week, and to share the sights and experiences I see when I ride, I have assembled a small gallery of 15 images that can be accessed by clicking HERE or by clicking on any of the images in this blog.
It is fortunate that bicycles are very cheap in Hong Kong. Shortly after we moved here almost four years ago, I bought a black Chinese-manufactured mountain bike with 18 gears (6 of which work) plus an optional energy-absorbing front shopping basket for crash protection, all for about US$40. The experience of cycling in Hong Kong is a brilliant way of becoming immersed in local society, mixing with joggers, literally thousands of other cyclists, young children learning to ride with their training wheels, roller bladers, old and young alike.
So far this year, my contribution to The Amazing Voyage is just over 800 kilometres. My personal target is to complete 1000 kilometres.
I hope you will join me on the bike track to Sha Tin (and back) one day!
Special Footnote: Special congratulations to our son, Phillip, and his wife, Michelle, on the birth of their daughter (Zoe) on Wednesday this week (26th March) in Sydney. As any reader of this blog would realise, and indeed most people in the whole world also understand, Di and I are far too young to be grandparents. And yet our gorgeous little granddaughter is already making the world a more beautiful place than it was at the start of the week.
I haven’t had the chance to see or hold Zoe yet, but I am hoping I can do so very soon. In the meantime, I have had to be content with just one mobile phone image, which I am happy to share with you here (simply because I am so thrilled and proud!). She was just one hour old when the photo was taken, and I am already in love with her.
The quality of the photo isn’t great, but if you click on the image, you can see a slightly larger version.