BLOG 48. GRAY BEARDS
by
Cliff Jacobson
A few years ago, I presented a program for the Minnesota
Canoe Association. About 150 people attended. With the exception of six teenage girls—who were there to
show slides of their trip in the Boundary Waters—everyone (including me) had
gray hair. Murmurs of “look at all
the gray beards” bounced around the room.
Gray is now largely the hair color of those who enjoy the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area each summer. When, in 1968, at the age of 28, I made
my first trip into this region, most of the paddlers were not much older than
me. Now, the average age is close
to fifty. Where have all the young people gone?
 |
| Where have all the young people gone? Cr. Mike Rapatz |
To technology, mostly. Today’s kids would rather play on
their computer than go outside. Few have ever gone canoeing, fewer still have
camped out-of-sight of an RV. They have no use for wilderness. Richard Louve,
addresses this concern in his book, Last
Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Louv
makes the case that kids are so consumed by TV and video games that they have
lost their connection to the natural world—they see no value in wild places and
therefore, no reason to preserve them. I taught eighth grade environmental
science for 30 years and I can say he is right on target.
 |
| Cr. Mike Rapatz |
What isn’t, is society’s view that kids must be flooded with
(mostly useless) information and tested frequently to ascertain their knowledge
of it. The result is that teachers have no time for social or environmental
concerns. They must teach to tests that are designed by those who don’t hike,
camp or canoe or give a wit about wilderness. Teachers who do take their
students outdoors without meeting the “approved government objective”, are
asking for trouble. If it’s not in the state-approved curriculum—or more accurately,
“not on the test”—it’s not acceptable. Even nature centers are not immune from
regulation. Where once, they could present a variety of interesting topics,
they, like teachers, must now key into the “approved curriculum”.
 |
| Cr. Zoe Kesselring |
Field trips?
What are they? Or rather,
what were they? Schools no longer have money for away-from-school
activities. Field trips now are largely self-funded, meaning the kids—not the
school--pays for the bus ride. Admittedly, a few (very few) teachers defy the
odds and meticulously collect bus fare—usually two to five dollars per
head. Some kids pay, some
don’t. Caring administrators often
look the other way. Ultimately, teachers tire of the extra work and the field
trips just go away.
Then, there's the matter of party size in the BWCA. In the 1970's, when I began to take kids "up north", the party size was 10 and there was no limit on the number of canoes in the group. Our groups were all co-ed, nine kids and one teacher. Now, two adult leaders are required for every teen group, and the maximum party size is nine. This translates into seven paying teens, not nine as in the past. And with two leaders, expenses double. No wonder school groups are largely a thing of the past. Nine people and four canoes are the rule in the Boundary Waters, which means someone has to ride "dead weight"--hardly a good time for a teenager who wants to paddle. Frankly, I think that this rule should be re-visited.
There's also the matter of "fun", or possibly the lack of it. Get a group of kids together and they'll naturally make noise--singing, dancing on logs and yelling at their friends are part of the growing up game. And so is congregating with their friends. Yes, kids must learn to respect the quiet and sanctity of the wilderness, and it's our job to teach them. Still, when they do forget the rules, we--and those around them--need to be compassionate.
When I taught environmental science at Hastings Middle
School (I retired in 2001), I offered free after school canoe trips on the
nearby Mississippi River. We went twice a week when the weather was good, and
always had a full house. But now,
with today’s ludicrous demands on teachers, I’d have no time for it.
 |
| Cr. Robyn Keyport |
When snow covered the ground I took each of my classes on a
half-day snowshoe hike. The kids
would ask: “Mr. J, what do we have to write down?”
“Nothing!”.
“But
what do we have to know for the test?”
“Won’t
be on a test!”
“Yeah,
great, but then, why we goin’?”
“Just
for fun and to learn to love wild places.
Is that okay?”
“Yeah,
man, way cool!”
Get the point?
Too bad our politicians don’t.
The result is that we’re raising a generation of youngsters
who love malls more than trees.
And unless we change our educational expectations, and quickly, I fear
that we will continue to lose more wilderness and more of our sanity.
www.cliff-jacobson.com
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