[kids] Eight Year Old Earns Extra With Parents
dr
kg0us@swbell.net
Fri, 02 Jan 1998 19:13:39 -0600
Hello Everyone,
I want to share the story with everyone about my then eight year old
daughter Rebecca KB0VVT studying for her Extra Class License. None of
the major ham publications were interested in publishing it but I hope
you find something in it that will help you or your loved one earn their
license. There is a nice write up about Rebecca in December, 1997 73
magazine on page 6.
Good Luck on CQ Kids Day, Happy New Year and Good Luck,
Dave Rich KG0US
*****************************************************************************
Eight Year Old Rebecca KB0VVT Takes Extra Step With Parents.
Family shares tips and experiences while studying for Extra Class
License.
By David Rich KG0US.
Rebecca (KB0VVT) became interested in amateur radio while her mother,
Barbara (KG0UT), was studying for her licenses. I developed a software
application using Visual Basic for Windows to use for studying the
amateur radio theory. There are many good computer programs available to
assist amateur radio study. Rebecca would pretend that she was studying
like her mom. She was seven when she earned the Technician Class
License on March 23, 1996. Six months later, on September 28, 1996,
she earned the Advanced Class License. Now, the pressure was on mom
and dad to join their daughter in studying for their Extra Class
licenses. I hope the readers find the following information useful and
inspiring. The tips presented can be used for any class license one
seeks.
I have been an amateur radio operator for twenty years. I have seen
many people pass the Extra Class written only to fail the 20 wpm code
test repeatedly. To ensure that we would all pass our Extra Class
License on the same day, I decided that we would not take the written
until we all passed the 20 wpm code requirement. I developed a plan
using Gordon West tapes and the Morse Academy computer program. Please
keep in mind that there are other fine products on the market. Learning
Morse code requires you to practice on a regular basis! Unless you have
a natural gift, studying once or twice a week will not get you
anywhere. Do not be discouraged by listening to people complaining
about how hard the code is or that it is obsolete. If you want the
higher class license, ignore them and give it your honest effort.
Morse Academy has a unique feature that supports different student names
with completely different profiles. I wrote for each of us a similar
batch file as shown:
d:\ rem batch file becky.bat for code study.
cd d:\code rem directory where morse academy is located.
call ma becky one rem FirstName becky LastName one.
call ma becky two
call ma becky three
Each batch call would run Morse Academy with different students' names
to emphasis different character sets while using Morse Academy's
Receiving Game. I would periodically edit the profile of each student
name increasing the speed and group size as we progressed. We were all
using a group size of 5 at the time we passed the test. This, along
with the tape study, worked out well. Barbara seemed to have the most
trouble getting to 20 wpm while Rebecca began to outdo dad once we got
to 25 wpm study using Morse Academy's receiving game. We all studied
code for 20 minutes almost every day as the day of the test drew closer.
Barbara was struggling, but I decided that since Rebecca was doing so
well that we should try a 20 wpm code test session offered on February
22, 1997. On the day we took the code test there were two other people
taking the test in the room along with several volunteer examiners. One
of the adults taking the test asked "Why is this kid in the room?" It
was explained that Rebecca held an Advanced Class License and would like
to take the 20 wpm code test. The individual was, let us say, amazed!
We all managed to pass our code test that day including Barbara who had
been struggling. Examiners told us that there would be a test session
in about a month at a local Hamfest. This was the same event where
Rebecca had earned the Technician Class License a year earlier. They
asked if we could be ready to take the Extra Class written. I said we
would give it a try but it might be tough because Rebecca had not seen
the material.
Barbara and I have each earned our BSEE so the theory would not be
terribly difficult for us; but, how were we to teach eight year old
Rebecca in 27 days? We immediately developed a plan for us to follow to
learn the material inside our allotted time. The following table shows
the plan Rebecca used to study element 4b:
Date Section Introduced # of problems
2/23/97 1 93
2/26/97 2 44
3/1/97 5 66
3/4/97 4 46
3/6/97 3 22
3/7/97 6 45
3/9/97 7 46
3/13/97 8 41
3/15/97 9 44
All too often, I hear about hams giving learning materials to their
spouse, children, or friends without any other form of assistance or
plan. Work with the potential student to develop a realistic time frame
and method of study. Choose a realistic time frame to complete the study
of a particular element. Each written element has 9 basic sections.
Determine the number of problems in each section. Pick and chose
sections to average the amount of new material you study over the time
frame you chose. Study only one or two new sections at a given
setting. Do not go on to new sections until you are getting 80% or
higher of the problems correct. Review sections previously mastered
often to ensure retention of the material.
After reviewing the questions and answer selections, we were able to
find several areas where we could simplify the theory so Rebecca could
understand. In the section with RC time constant calculations, at
first glance it appeared as though series and parallel resistors and
capacitors would first have to be combined to obtain a solution. A
closer look however, revealed that a simple multiplication was all that
was needed. In problems requiring the impedance solution be in
rectangular form, we showed Rebecca that the resistor value would
always be on the left and an impedance dominated by inductive reactance
would be positive on the right whereas an impedance dominated by
capacitive reactance would be negative. We showed that on polar form
that when the resistance and the reactance were equal that the phase
angle was 45 degrees. As a result of the tips and tricks we came up
with, none of us needed to use a calculator during the test. Rebecca
worked very hard and was scoring very high on each of the nine written
test study sections using my windows program. Teachers and students
should remember the primary goal is to pass the test not to become
masters of theory. Keep it as simple as possible! If a person is
interested in theory, by all means encourage them but do not lose track
of the primary objective. Learning the theory may take years of study
and experience. The ARRL has many fine reference books to assist the
student in this endeavor.
By Saturday, March 22, 1997, I was very confident that we would all be
able to pass the written test at the Hamfest. Before our arrival I
asked Rebecca to give me a "thumbs up" during the test if everything was
all right, or "thumbs down" if things were not so good. She invented a
"thumbs sideways" for a not so bad condition. Upon our arrival, we
were all separated to our various seating assignments. Barbara and
Rebecca were a full conference table length apart while I was in a
completely different room. This disturbed me, because even though I
knew my little girl was ready, I could not see her face to know that
she was all right. I finished my test very quickly so that I could
learn of my daughter's fate. I think this was worse because after I
finished they would not let me in the other room where my daughter was
taking her test. I paced out in the hall and eventually learned that I
had passed with a perfect score. Once when someone was leaving the room,
I was able to peek in and make eye contact with Rebecca showing her a
"thumbs sideways." I knew everything was all right when she returned a
great big "thumbs up"! Indeed it was because we found out later that
she only missed one problem. Barbara passed her test to complete this
family of Extra Class. Rebecca is presently the youngest Extra Class in
the United States. As a final note, studying for an amateur radio
license is not for every child. It takes work, discipline and
determination along with a plan and assistance from adults. At a
minimum, I would recommend that the child be able to read at least most
of the words. If your young person shows an honest interest and is
willing to cut back on the video games and television, then by all
means go for it!
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