Chris -- Excellent email. I can't agree more, and I base this off of my own experience as well as my longtime experience in Scouting, both as a youth and now as an adult. And now as a brand new parent. To an extent parents are largely to blame for this issue that you raise. Drawing from my involvement in Scouting, I'm surprised every week when I see parents boot their boy out of the car (with a DVD playing in the backseat or the kid riding along with his I-Pod surgically implanted in his ears) at a Scout meeting before it stops rolling and tear out of the parking lot for a few hours of whatever it is that the parents do each week. "Baby Sitters of America (BSA)" we must be, to them. They haven't the "time" to give to their growing son, not even to enjoy the vast array of adventures and activities offered to their son by BSA. They haven't the "time" to attent Courts of Honor to witness their sons being presented rank or other achievement (in exchange for the "talent" they've demonstrated). They haven't the "time" to hike the Grand Canyon or camp with their son on the Troop's annual family campout to learn of the "tools" he uses to survive and enjoy his outings. Yet when that son gets into some kind of discliplinary trouble in the Troop, guess who's the first to arrive at the meeting? And guess who's he first to blame everybody else but their own son? The parent who's MIA otherwise. I hope (then again I don't, so it doesn't hit them like a ton of bricks) they one day realize what an opportunity they wasted when their son gets older. I'm taking a big leap here, but it's not hard for me to wonder how much else (in the way of activities, perhaps school, and other means of development) the parent is missing out either because of their careers, or perhaps the parent is simply not interested like those certain parents who have sons in my Troop. Parenting is not only instilling manners and discipline (which seems to have taken a back seat because many parents find it easier to be their kids' "best friend" and cave in rather than appear "mean" and put a foot down on occasion), but also to provide involvement and encouragement for development, at least the "tools" and "talent" aspects. Raising the child to be a better, more capable person than the parent him/herself when the child grows up, everything else still important but a lesser priority. My opinion based on my own observations and philosophy, especially now that I've joined the ranks of parenthood in our present day society. Off my soap box, as I'm speaking to the choir big time I'm sure! Speaking about Ham Radio now, kids lacking the "three T's" is one impediment to getting them into our hobby, but another -- again, my opinion -- is our present Ham community itself. Many of our own are unwilling to offer the "three T's" to aspiring hams, new hams or kids. Perhaps they themselves don't possess the "three T's" to become elmers. Susan Swiderski, Georgia's section manager, offered some food for thought in one of her section columns: "Sure, it's always easier to lament that ham radio can't compete with everything that is going on in our children's lives; it is much harder to do something about it. So how do you compete? Try a little magic. The same "magic" that got you interested in ham radio is still magic; the only difference is that now it is your turn to be the magician." Part of the problem may be the kids' lack of time, talent and tools. The lion's share is our willingness as a Ham community to provide our time, talent and tools if we are truly interested in recruiting our future. Maybe easier said than done, but that's what it comes down to. 73, Brian, N5ZGT On Mon, 1 Jan 2007 w3kd@aol.com wrote:
Some reflections on a New Years' Day (and I realize that I am outside my job description here):
Before I was a ham, I was a "car guy" and still am, to some extent. My two favorite monthly publications are QST and Road and Track, in that order. In Road and Track, I like Peter Egan's column. He writes a folksy column every month, from his home in Wisconsin. He restored an E-type Jaguar, my favorite car ever, so I think very highly of him.
I got back from Christmas vacation and found the attached article in my new Road & Track. I haven't any copyright authority to reprint this, so PLEASE don't send it anywhere, but I thought you would be interested in reading it; it has some strong parallels to Amateur Radio today. It is about soap box derby cars, and how there isn't enough of the three T's in kids today to build them the way they used to. The three Ts are "Time, Tools and Talent".
This article really hit me. Two months ago, when I drove my son Ashton and his two friends home from a soccer game, one of the boys had an old BMW in the school parking lot. It was a real wreck, and when we got back, he realized that he had left the lights on in his car. I had jumper cables in my Tahoe, as I always do, so I knew this would be no problem at all, but I didn't say anything, because I wanted to see how the three boys, all smart prep school kids, would solve the problem, working together. They failed miserably. And I realized at that moment that I had failed as a parent, also, because all three boys, including my own, had no idea how to jump a battery, much less jump start a car! I had to explain the entire process to them, because their best plan was to call a tow truck. Since then, I have given Ashton a crash course (no pun intended) in auto mechanics.
A few weeks ago, I was in Delaware at the Punkin Chunkin' competition, with the Sandy Spring Friends' School team. They had a trebouchet which launched a 5 pound pumpkin about 480 feet. The year before, the team (mostly different students) had built a very competitive one that launched the pumpkin about 690 feet. The students designed and built it. I talked to the Physics teacher most of the day, and he lamented that none of the kids knew how to use tools. They were OK at designing the device and calculating thrust, etc. using computers and formulas, but they couldn't build the darn thing because they didn't know how to use tools anymore. He had to coach them in the use of the tools. This was an extracurricular activity, but the "time" limitations were dealt with for this team by incorporating the design of the trebouchet in the applied physics class curriculum.
Anyway, I am beginning to think that the problem that Amateur Radio has with growth, at least among young people, is due to the missing three Ts. Note that, in the attached article, the solution that the Soap Box Derby arrived at was to offer a car kit that can be assembled in 4 1/2 hours or less, because kids now don't have time for hobbies anymore, or a "slow, evolving craft project", and because suburban garages no longer have tools in them, or people who know how to use them. This seems their equivalent to our concern about "dumbing down" Amateur Radio. But it works for them, because it is a matter of survival, and they don't seem to have any other solutions.
Perhaps there are other solutions for us, less drastic.
73, Chris W3KD ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
ARRL Vice-Director, Rocky Mountain Division