Comments on: Puerto Rican Training–Blame It On The Brits http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/10/03/outward/ John Coyne Babbles is a collection of comments, opinions, musings, and outrages from this RPCV who served with the first group (1962-64) in Ethiopia. Sat, 25 May 2013 14:17:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: padraickennedy@verizon.net http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/10/03/outward/comment-page-1/#comment-2476 padraickennedy@verizon.net Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:34:28 +0000 http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/?p=5971#comment-2476 The first Peace Corps training camp in Puerto Rico was in Rio Abajo up in the rain forest just beyond Arecibo. The camp's original director was William Sloane Coffin, the charismatic and activist Chaplain at Yale. If I'm not mistaken, the first Peace Corps Volunteers to train there was Tanganyika I. They had just completed eight weeks training at Texas Western University in El Paso. Shortly after I returned from taking the first Ghana I Volunteers to Africa Bill Coffin had to return to his duties t Yale. That left the Camp without a Peace Corps person in charge. So Shriver asked me to temporarily take Coffin's place until a new Director was appointed. Ellen and I went to Rio Abajo and stayed for three weeks until the Pakistan I Volunteers completed their training in Puerto Rico. Nominally, I was in charge of the Camp during those weeks. But the real leadership clearly came from the Outward Bound trainers you mentioned in your email, "Blame it on the Brits". One person you did not include was Freddy Lanue (sp). The swimming coach on loan from a leading university in either Georgia or Alabama, he ran the camp's notorious "drown proofing" program. I can't say I was ever enthusiastic about the camp's philosophy. But one thing was great. In those days passengers arriving at the San Juan airport were greeted with trays of frozen daiquiris - possibly a tourism promotion or a promotion for Puerto Rican rum. In any case, the training staff (including me,I must admit) eagerly accepted any request to meet a visiting staff member from Washington. The first Peace Corps training camp in Puerto Rico was in Rio Abajo up in the rain forest just beyond Arecibo. The camp’s original director was William Sloane Coffin, the charismatic and activist Chaplain at Yale. If I’m not mistaken, the first Peace Corps Volunteers to train there was Tanganyika I. They had just completed eight weeks training at Texas Western University in El Paso. Shortly after I returned from taking the first Ghana I Volunteers to Africa Bill Coffin had to return to his duties t Yale. That left the Camp without a Peace Corps person in charge. So Shriver asked me to temporarily take Coffin’s place until a new Director was appointed.
Ellen and I went to Rio Abajo and stayed for three weeks until the Pakistan I Volunteers completed their training in Puerto Rico. Nominally, I was in charge of the Camp during those weeks. But the real leadership clearly came from the Outward Bound trainers you mentioned in your email, “Blame it on the Brits”. One person you did not include was Freddy Lanue (sp). The swimming coach on loan from a leading university in either Georgia or Alabama, he ran the camp’s notorious “drown proofing” program.
I can’t say I was ever enthusiastic about the camp’s philosophy. But one thing was great. In those days passengers arriving at the San Juan airport were greeted with trays of frozen daiquiris - possibly a tourism promotion or a promotion for Puerto Rican rum. In any case, the training staff (including me,I must admit) eagerly accepted any request to meet a visiting staff member from Washington.

]]> By: Reilly Ridgell http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/10/03/outward/comment-page-1/#comment-2460 Reilly Ridgell Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:30:48 +0000 http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/?p=5971#comment-2460 For my training the Peace Corps had adopted a plan of throwing all kinds of negative things at the trainees in terms of what they would have to deal with as volunteers. Could you really last for two years on an outer island miles from anything resembling modern civilization? The idea was to chase away those who really couldn't make it, getting them to realize that and terminate themselves. A few years later the overall theme of training had changed. Show the volunteers only the good stuff. Get them committed to the positives of the experience so they won't terminate. I think both groups had about the same attrition. Another RPCV talking about this made the comment that the Peace Corps tended to throw out the baby with the bathwater when revamping training. He felt they needed to do a better job of realizing what works and what doesn't, keep the one and get rid of the other instead of getting rid of everything and starting over. For my training the Peace Corps had adopted a plan of throwing all kinds of negative things at the trainees in terms of what they would have to deal with as volunteers. Could you really last for two years on an outer island miles from anything resembling modern civilization? The idea was to chase away those who really couldn’t make it, getting them to realize that and terminate themselves.

A few years later the overall theme of training had changed. Show the volunteers only the good stuff. Get them committed to the positives of the experience so they won’t terminate.

I think both groups had about the same attrition. Another RPCV talking about this made the comment that the Peace Corps tended to throw out the baby with the bathwater when revamping training. He felt they needed to do a better job of realizing what works and what doesn’t, keep the one and get rid of the other instead of getting rid of everything and starting over.

]]> By: Joey http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/10/03/outward/comment-page-1/#comment-2459 Joey Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:29:08 +0000 http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/?p=5971#comment-2459 This is really fascinating history. Thank you. This is really fascinating history. Thank you.

]]>