Recreation Vexations

It really hit me this week as I worked on yet another proposal. I am just so tired of having to explain and justify the field in which I’ve spent most of my career - recreation and parks. 

Yes, it is a field and a profession. To prove it, I have a degree in recreation and leisure studies from Brock University, and a resume that includes recreation jobs at a Boys and Girls Club, the city of Niagara Falls, a provincial non-profit association, self-employed consulting work, and teaching the subject at Niagara College.

Most of us in the… More Posted on 08-29-10

Kid Wrangling Involves Planning for Play

Our typically quiet household was turned somewhat upside down this week as the result of a visit from my sister, her husband, and my eleven and nine year old nephews. This was compounded by three days of additional visits from their eight and twelve year old cousins and friends of ours who visited with their eleven year old. All in all it made for a noisy, joyful, busy, and sometimes chaotic environment.

Undaunted, we put our collective kid-wrangling experience to work and managed to keep everyone busy with activities that included visits to a museum, wave pool, concert, and the… More Posted on 08-22-10

We are enough…just the way we are

My father recently found and gave me a photo I had thought long lost. As per our high school practice at the time, a professional portrait was taken when an athlete or team won a provincial championship. The photo was then framed and hung on the school wall of recognition. Since my gold medal was the result of being a 400 metre runner, the photographer had posed the 17 year old me in my track uniform - very brief shorts and a tank top -  crouching in a starting block. 

While one would think the photo would have surfaced… More Posted on 08-16-10

Simplifying Learning and Growth

Debra is part of a conference planning committee but is concerned because there doesn’t seem to be any way to prioritize the many potential sessions that have been submitted for consideration.
 
Susan is keen to continue her self-directed learning and growth but isn’t sure where she should be directing her efforts.

Tom’s organization has been contracted to develop training materials for a specific list of topics but he doesn’t have a clue as to where he should begin.

Sound familiar? My guess is the above scenarios might be fairly common given that every one of… More Posted on 08-02-10