ABSTRACT
Outdoor and experiential education professionals are a diverse group, but most of them share some common childhood experiences. If one were to survey 100 educators of outdoor adventure and experiential learning, chances are quite good that a very high percentage of them had experiences between the ages of 8 and 18 with summer camps, 4-H programs, Campfi re Girls, or scouting. Th ose early experiences of individual accomplishment and small group adventure are typically remembered quite fondly and vividly. Camp counselors and scouting leaders are mainly practitioners, and not known as theorists; yet their emphasis on learning by experience can certainly be seen as supporting and enriching experiential educational theory.
