European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 22, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Saturday october 22, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 9 Iii teachers moan groan through operation life Story photos by Floyd Harrington Kaiser Lautem Bureau chief Camp Dahn Germany is regardless of what some students May think not All teachers spend their weekends thinking up insidious monday morning tests or planning voluminous Homework  62 Dodd eur teachers from schools throughout Germany travelled Here to take part in operation life. Life an acronym for living and learn ing in a free environment is a program developed several years ago by teachers in the Rheinland Pfalz school District to pro Mote outdoor environmental education according to Terry Emerson the District s drug and health coordinator and organizer of this year s program. Emerson said the weekend program was offered to give teachers first hand experience in various aspects of outdoor Educa Tion. Hopefully this will whet their appetite so they la go Back and pursue something like it for the students at their own school he  Camp Dahn located in the Rocky Hills South of Pir Masens Germany the teach ers weekend began Friday evening with classes on How to tie knots and use a com pass. Saturday morning they were split into four groups and challenged with a rope course initiatives course and an orienteering course. Test of individual skills the rope course was designed to test individual skills such As balance strength agility and durability. It consisted of a complicated set of rope Bridge obstacles All connected together. Each teacher had to negotiate the entire course without touching the ground. Safety was stressed in that each teacher had to Wear a protective helmet and fellow teach ers acted As spotters to catch anyone who  group spent two hours attempting to conquer the rope course As individuals and then went to the initiatives course to learn How to work As a team. Their first task was to unravel themselves from what their instructor called the gordian  with hands clasped the teachers were put into a huge knot of arms legs and bodies and then left to sort themselves out without a clasping their hands. When they did manage to get untangled they were sent to the  Wall was about 12 feet High constructed of smooth Pine boards tied be tween two Trees. The group had to get itself Over the Wall using Only brains and brawn. To make it More difficult once a teacher made it Over the Wall he or she could t return to the front of the Wall to help get the rest of the group Over. Hard work for some some scaled the Wall in a matter of min utes others took nearly two hours usually trying to figure out How to get the last member of the group Over the Wall. The final initiative was called the  a log was tied Between two Trees about eight feet above the ground. The object was the same As with the Wall get the group Over the beam without touching either tree or using any outside Aid. A Short orienteering course was the final exercise of the Day. With the Aid of a com pass each teacher had to find several Points located within the Camp. At each Point the teacher had to answer a question on nature  sunday the teachers finished their weekend with a longer orienteering course and a class in Basic climbing and Rappel Ling techniques. They also were taught How to construct a course similar to the one at Dahn for use at their own schools. Of the 62 teachers who volunteered for operation life 48 went As students the rest As staff members. Not All of them had the same reason for As one teacher said subjecting our bodies to this  Lander an elementary school teacher at Rhein main a was one of the students. She said her reason for going to Dahn was because i love doing outdoor things. I be had similar workshops when i was in England but this in the first time i be been to one Here in  the next operation life is scheduled for sometime in May. Emerson Hopes that More teachers will take advantage of what the program has to offer and that More schools will add outdoor education to their curriculum. Debbie Shaw above inches her Way across a two rope Bridge. Below right Robert Stewart swings across the Stair Way to heaven. Clara Lander loses her balance while attempting to get through the Tough King s Cross part of the rope course