Q&A – Moss Memories 22 – Colorado 1968

         Have you noticed if you fail to attend a meeting, or you leave early, you invariable end up with a dirty job? This happened to me when we were attending Summer School at the Colorado State University at Fort Collins.

         Fort Collins was situated at 5,000 feet above sea level and in June 32degres C was the normal temperature. We were attending the Post-Graduate National Extension Summer School for three weeks of hard work. We were up for an early breakfast at 5am.

         My first class “Supervision of Extension Programmes” started at 7;30 sharp and finished at 11: 30. My next class “Communications” started at 12:30 and went through to 2:30. The rest of the time was spent carrying out masses of assignments. My wife Joyce attended a class on human relations.

         About 400 people attended the Summer School. In my subject classes, about 30 people attended.

         When the school finished there was to be a large fish fry and concert held high up in the Rockies. A competition would be held between classes to put on an entertaining event. I was selected, in my absence, to organize this class event.  But I will come back to that later on.

         I learned much during those three weeks, especially from Dr. Van Dersal, an expert on teaching methods from the US Department of Agriculture Graduate School in Washington D.C.

         At one stage in his career Dr. Van, as he was affectionately called,  was asked to identify the best managers in the department at the USDA and to find out why they were successful.

          After identifying the main elements in their replies, he incorporated them into a series of lectures and into a book titled “The Successful Supervisor”

         Seven basic principles emerged. They were.

• People must always understand what is expected of them.
• People must have guidance in doing their work.
• Good work should always be recognized.
• Poor work deserves constructive criticism.
• People should have opportunities to show they can accept greater responsibilities.
• People should be encouraged to improve themselves.
• People should work in a safe and healthy environment.

         These seven points seem so obvious today, and if fully practiced, wouldn’t work be more effective and fun?

         Dr. Van had been a consultant to the New Zealand Government on conservation matters and was a friend of one of my colleagues  Doug Campbell, who pioneered soil conservation in New Zealand.

         He insisted I teach the class a Maori haka. I was not keen on this idea as I did not think was the correct thing to do. He had made up his mind and insisted.

         The only one I knew was a challenge haka.  I learned this when I played rugby for the Hawera High School first XV.

         I wrote this out in phonetics on the blackboard and each day we had practice after class. Our noisy practices caused a lot of attention and concerns about a lack of discipline.

         When all our lectures had finished we were treated to the grand finale, the fish fry in the mountains in the Roosevelt National Park.   The logistics of feeding 400 in the mountains was no mean feat. The fish was rolled in corn meal, cooked in oil over an open fire, and served with bacon, beans, and a salad.

         After the meal, a huge campfire was lit and the entertainment began.

         Imagine the scene in the heart of the Rockies, beside a mountain stream, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and by the light from the fire. With the aid of an amplifier, the music and the songs echoed around the mountain peaks.

         Suddenly the Taranaki haka shattered the peace- we caused a sensation!

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)