Amateur Radio in the Classroom

It was my 8th grade science teacher who first exposed me to ham radio. It was a seed that took a long time (25 years) to grow, but I was able to find him via the database here and send him a thank you. He is still active.

I recently did a presentation about using ham radio in schools (home schools in particular, http://www.qsl.net/ab9fh) and one of the questions was, is this safe for kids? I pointed out that it was orders of magnitude safer than the internet, but I would never want a young child alone anywhere in this world anymore. The fact that you need a license helps keeps the number of idiots down, and also the fact that hams are mostly older men who remember the days when you stood up when a woman entered the room. They may not do that anymore .. but most of them remember their manners.

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KE3MD @ June 08 2003,07:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I am definitly in favor of ham radio in schools. I don't have any feeling about how young to start the kids, but it should certainly be an option in junior, middle and high school as at a minimum one of the extracurricular activities.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Which is how I feel. As an extracurricular activity, it is great to expose the kids to it. I do not feel it should be in a mandatory class activity, anymore than I would like to see stamp collecting taught to ten students, eight of whom have zero interest and will do poorly. It should not be any part of the graded activities in class.

Most of the concepts of ham radio in schools point to it as a teaching tool. In some aspects it can be, for it can introduce children to communication. But as a hobby, I do not envision amateur radio as being offered in a text book for classes. It is not a career, and though often in past decades it could lead to a career, it does so far less frequently today.

Perhaps the same sort of exposure to ham radio should be offered as is offered by visiting paramedics or police officers, who make a single class presentation, then disappear. Though those are careers, and ham radio is not, the exposure should cause some of the kids to ask the right questions, instead of saying "Oh, I can do that with my Palm Pilot."

As a hobby, extracurricular activity, one of the really neat things is to have a school club station that students may access during, for example, lunch, recess, study halls, or just prior to or after the school day. I had the good fortune to be in a high school with a club station and it certainly made my day more exciting to know I could go there during class breaks and get on the air. I'm sure the squeaks and squeals from that room, between the chemistry and physics rooms, drew some attention to would-be hams, though I was already one before I went to that school. And that is a good thing. Draw attention, then explain. But not as part of the lesson plan.

I do not agree, though, with the principle of trying to enlist every student in the school into ham radio, anymore than I believe every student should play football or collect stamps. We tend to get very enthused about our delicious hobby and we want to show it off. And to that, I agree and would have no reservations about doing my part.

So I'll be on the air, looking for the students in your class, provided I don't get waylaid somewhere. Good luck. And have fun!

Ed

 

This is great! It is good to see how so many of you have participated in demonstrations, or have benefited from demonstrations and clubs.

We hope to share such successes with those who attend the "Teachers Meeting" in Las Vegas on July 12. The outcome, I trust, will be good. I do not envision countless clubs popping up across the country (and beyond), nor do I anticipate a sudden influx of school-age hams. Rather, what I hope for is that someone walks away with an idea that will better enable a school near you to reach the children--our future as a nation, not just a hobby--and excite them about learning. I know it is working--I have seen it. We want to share it with all who want to make a difference.

By the way, one thing I personally believe all (not just children) need to learn is tolerance for the beliefs and affiliations of others. Life certainly would be boring if we all agreed on everything. One of my favorite quotes I use in a lecture on The Age of Enlightenment is from Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary. On tolerance he writes, "Tolerance is the natural attribute of humanity. We are all formed of weakness and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly. That is the first law of nature. It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster."