Teaching

"Teaching is my passion" is permanently stated at the bottom of all my e mails. There is just something about the challenge of making something understandable in the classroom and doable on the water that brings out the best in me. Students (I teach medical sciences as well as kayaking) keep me sharp and creative. Unlike the classroom, kayak classes have a certain positive energy and excitement about them. Above is Jeff, one of the original owners of Rutabaga, who is now finding joy in teaching.

I was fortunate enough this season to start out with the two day class that sees students go from never having been in a kayak to having a full set of basic skills. We cover the usual strokes, escapes and rescues. As things went well with this last group, we had time for basic towing and (as pictured above) some advanced combination rescue-towing techniques.

The pay off for me was seeing a group that had begun with no ability to control or steer a kayak go on to complete their lessons with a pretty tightly executed game of follow the leader where they put it all together. Tomorrow, another beginning class. The passion continues.

Paddle safe...
DS