Let's Be Careful Out There

Could the changes in society caused by higher gasoline, a less than optimal reputation in the world, and a budding realization that the mass media controls us in irrational ways actually be having an impact on our behavior, this time for the good?

Check out this blog, Free Range Kids, that actually asks:

Do you ever.....let your kid ride a bike to the library? Walk alone to school? Take a bus, solo? Or are you thinking about it? If so, you are raising a Free Range Kid! At Free Range, we believe in safe kids. We believe in helmets, car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school age children go outside, they need a security detail.

More on this from the Christian Science Monitor.

Free Range Kids is a great resource for those who are tired of the daily drumbeat from both local TV news and cable news that will jump on a stranger danger story every time there's an opportunity. As the blog points out, your kid is 40 times more likely to be killed in a car accident than be abducted...

We recently let our 15 year old fly to a friends home down the east coast alone. It was tough, but the right thing to do, and everything was fine.

Three cheers for Free Range Kids.

Judgement, Technology, and Wild Places

The Thought Kitchen has an interesting post on the Oregon Legislature considering a bill that would require parties on Mt. Hood to carry electronic signaling devices during parts of the year.

Bad idea. Having worked in the Presidential Range of NH and the North Woods of Maine for several years, I have lugged injured hikers off the mountain, patch up injured canoeists and had friends that almost paid, or did pay, the ultimate price while in the wild. Forcing a load of people to carry electronic communication devices (yes, I know a lot probably use them now) makes it more likely that someone without the necessary judgment or experience will rely on that phone or GPS transmitter rather than their own wits. That ends up with a lot more rescue trips, many unnecessary, and that puts everyone at a greater risk.

So, do we need to compel folks to use technology to be safe in wild places?

Not unless you want to use it.

Good judgment, experience, a compatible group, and a willingness to turn back will always trump carrying an electronic device. In this age of 24 hour news cycles, where shrill stories of stranger danger, lyme disease, and hour by hour coverage of lost mountaineers, it's easy for dumb, reactive responses like compulsory carrying of GPS tracking units, to come into focus. These news stories are usually written by folks who haven't stepped foot out of their backyards in years.

All the more reason for people to reconnect with nature.

Those who wish to rely on this type of technology should be able to carry them (but not use them as a crutch for real judgment). But for the government to compel folks to bring a transmitter into the woods or up on the mountain simply negates the reasons that many of us go to wild places.

Addendum:

When I looked at The Thought Kitchen post the other day, I noticed the May 23, but not the 2007 date...anyways, even though this is really an outdated issue, it still is worth considering. I don't know what happened with the Oregon bill. It should be noted to that the
Thought Kitchen is part of Nau, who have regretfully for all of us, announced that they are shutting down their business. Check out their website quick, and buy some of their remaining stock, it's great stuff. Hopefully their fine blog will remain viable.

Schools, Playgrounds, and Budgets

So, the studies have said things like this for years now.

And this is how some school systems react.

Of course, I'm not telling the whole story.

Playgrounds that are allowed to deteriorate do pose a safety hazard. Administrators must act.

But why not consider playground infrastructure for kids as important as other curricular budget lines? Often times the answer to that is budget. So communities try to come together, like the one in the article, to raise funds so their children can play.

Tick this issue off as one more that illustrates the crisis our public schools face today. We need to invest in the future they tell us. Our kids are our future, right?

More blog posts

See here.

Above the wooden "No Swimming" sign, a bright red sign warns: "Violators subject to $100 fine. And/Or 15 days in Jail." That sign has been there, at the side of Pretty Colour Lake for as long as I can remember. We've always treated it as a joke.

Column

Long day today. Here's a column to allow some focus on what really counts.

I went to the woods because I felt free. There were no restrictions on what I did. There wasn’t anybody to tell me no. There were no signs ordering me to stay on the path, keep off the grass. There was no path, just trails made by cows in places. There were fences, extending to the river bank. But they were no limits. I climbed each fence when I came to it, then went on.