[RTTY] Re: Sad Comment on Operator Age

[Paul B. Peters, VE7AVV]

Don, AA5AU wrote:  
It's true, we are missing the youth element in Amateur Radio.. (snip) I'm
not sure what can be done about that.
***************************
Here is what I am doing about this situation in my area here on southern
Vancouver Island (IOTA NA-036):

To foster and interest in radio and hopefully amateur radio, I have started
a "Radio in Schools" program at three of my local schools; two elementary
and one high school. At each of schools I am fortunate to have either a
licensed amateur on staff or access to an operator who has taken on the role
of mentor for the school program. The entire program is rolled under the
wing of my local emergency preparedness program. All materials and equipment
have been donated and the program functions with the complete support of the
local school board. The initial step at the two elementary schools was the
creation of a shortwave listening club whereas at the high school they have
the option of going straight to amateur radio. In each case I have
implemented the program from a mechanical perspective and left the
educational side to the teachers.  

While the program has a host of objectives, the bottom line for me is to
convey the magic of radio to the young and influential minds. When I discuss
the program with teachers, I always talk to the notion that radio forces the
listener to translate the spoken word into a mental image or word picture.
Unlike television where the viewer sits and is mindlessly entertained, radio
forces the listener to constantly exercise their mind. When the shortwave
club listens to a foreign broadcast, they first find the country on their
world map and then begin to research that country. The schools designed
their own SWL QSL cards as a computer graphics project and will eventually
QSL each foreign broadcast they hear.  

This program is still in its infancy (and this is a very quick overview),
but it is very much underway in all three schools. Maybe this program will
spark an interest in radio as a career for some student or hopefully -- an
interest in becoming a licensed amateur radio operator. We all have a part
to play in growing the hobby -- or for many of us, our obsession. 

73 de Paul, VE7AVV
StoneyGround Station
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