Young People in the Hills

[china88]

I am seeing les young people (teens) on the hills these days and in recent years. In fact I only see them around outdoor centres and specific areas as part of Duke of Edinburgh's award schemes. It may be that I walk in the wrong places or they see me coming and walk the opposite way. I did a little research on this. Apparently by the time they enter their teens 9 out of 10 British children have their own phone etc, 1 in 3 spends at least 6 hours a day on line. Britain is only second to Chile in that regard.

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states that every inmate should have at least 1 hour a day in the open air. Only 1 in 6 British teenagers meets that standard. Hopefully the teens mature and see the need to get out and walk in later life

[Sgurr]

OMG. We see loads in The Lake District, but most are D of E. We met one group of ethnic Asians and Africans and they were doing D Of E on Catbells, we asked where they had done their silver "In Senegal" And Broneze "In the Desert somewhere." It turned out they came from the English School in Qatar, and all wanted to be engineers except for one solitary medic....which is not what you would hear an average UK group say.

[naefearjustbeer]

My daughter is going to be doing her bronze duke of Edinburgh this year and has expressed interest in hill walking so I am going to try and set aside plenty days to go exploring and walking in the fresh air. I am actually looking forward to the better weather to get her away from electronics and being inside.

[Border Reiver]

A lot depends on their upbringing at home. My parents were keen outdoor folk and we were often taken on family walks into the mountains, even when as young as pre-teens. My self and my brother have spent a lifetime of walking in the mountains of Scotland and England and my two sisters are both keen walkers too, even now in our 60's.
If children are never shown at an early age what is available to them, they will never be in a position to make the choice of whether it's for them or not. I have met younger groups in the hills (although rarely) and it's always evident which ones are loving the experience and which ones would rather be anywhere else.
Young people these days are presented with so many more challenges and choices than we were and unless they've been out in a family group and found out that they liked it, walking in the countryside will not be high on their list of priorities.

[fhaggis]

The duke of Edinburgh award is a joke now and not encouraging or empowering young people to get out on the hills sadly.

[Mal Grey]

My biggest concern is that young people are led to believe that you can only do outdoor activities under strict control overseen by trained "experts" in organised groups, and that just going out exploring and finding out for yourself is frowned upon. Yes, some learning from others is ideal at an early stage, but kids should be encouraged to learn for themselves too. They are so lucky that so much info is now free. I had to save for books about the hills, or wait to get them for Christmas/Birthdays.

Saying that, whilst I smile at the behaviour and competence of some D of E type groups I come across, I still see as many groups displaying good skills and with smiles on their faces in the pouring rain.

I'm actually a bit hopeful for the future; the idea of "the outdoors" being so good for health, physical and mental (like that's a new thing!!!), can only mean more kids being exposed to it.

[Mal Grey]

The duke of Edinburgh award is a joke now and not encouraging or empowering young people to get out on the hills sadly.

So much depends on the vision and attitude of those running the programme. I know folk who get their D of E students out to Scandinavia (not just well off ones either), and give them some fantastic adventures that they will remember for life.
I also have friends who's kids are doing such things here in Surrey and when it snowed slighlty they weren't allowed to walk through the countryside to their overnight stop (with a hall and full facilities), they had to change the route to being a one mile walk from the station along pavements.

[fhaggis]

Mal, you don’t even need to do a practice camp anymore for bronze. Turned into a money making scheme, you will see whole loads of kids from the same school out at the same time, most schools do it on the curriculum (taking away it should be voluntary) and the majority of the young people don’t finish, and if they do they don’t do it properly, but the Dofe don’t care as the get their sign up fee

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

I don't know a lot about DoE - neither my son or daughter did it.

My son is now aged 20, and, loves the hills. He regularly goes walking and camping, and he has also introduced his friends to the joys of the outdoors. For his friends, that has been a revelation.

He didn't do DoE bcause his school (which called itself an "Academy of Sport") didn't offer it. In fact, his school never offered a single outdoor activity of any kind, unless you count football. Hardly any schools in our area of the English Midlands do - except the King Edward VI schools who take the "talented" pupils.

My daughter's school did a single one-day trip, to the Cardingmill Valley in Shropshire, for GCSE Geography. In conversation with friends on the trip, my daughter found out that several of them had never seen a river.

We live in Sandwell, one of the worst areas in the UK for social and educational problems. At the other end of the scale, my nephew, who went to a grammar school, had walking and camping trips every year to the Lake District, and spent one summer in Mexico on a school trip.

So I think it is the usual story. If there is money in a family, the children will have opportunities and experiences.

But, what they gain from those experiences will vary according to the child. For many of them, the outdoors is just a cold, wet place with no wifi.

On the other hand, if there isn't money and opportunities, then some of the kids with a passion for something will battle through. But there are probably huge numbers who won't.

tim

[Lightfoot2017]

Nice thread.

I certainly didn't come from an outdoorsy family. Smokers, drinkers, gamblers, bookies etc. I wasnt introduced to the hills til I was late teens...with mates from work (oil industry, geologists).

My two boys are 13 and 11. They've done about a dozen Munros. We try and do a couple every year. Next up is Mayar and Dreish.

They were so taken with my constant chat and updates about my bagging exploits that they wanted to try it themselves. Initially they hated it...too much hard physical exercise, and they weren't used to being away from their tech.

But once they're up there... at the summit.... they love it. The sense of achievement for youngsters is amazing. I always stress to them that every time they bag a Munro, they've done something that (almost certainly) NO ONE else in their school has done.

[mmill]

I guess d of e varies a lot depending on those leading it. We as a family have very positive experience of it, all 3 of our children going right through to gold over the last 10 years. As parents we are really grateful to the teachers and other adults who give their time that makes it possible.

[naefearjustbeer]

My daughter is going to be doing with the her school it is an extra curricular activity and only a few kids are doing it, She attends an excellent small school on the north coast, From what she has told me so far I think they are being taught at the moment how to use a map and compass, being discouraged from using technology and their expedition is going to be across pathless open countryside up here. I never did it as a kid myself but have been researching it and have seen some rather interestingly bad videos on youtube of school groups doing what I would call urban walks on paved pathways which is not really what I thought it should be about,

I am going to take her out and let her map read and see how she gets on. Ticking off a couple of overnight camps and possibly bothy stays in the summer prior to her actual expedition. She is also signed up for a trip to Malawi next year to do a community project along with a bit of hiking kayaking and a safari. I am hoping this will ignite a lifelong love of nature and the outdoors. I still fondly remember my teenage hikes up Ben Loyal And Klibreck with my youth club leaders.

[Border Reiver]

Just imagine what the Health and Safety police of today would have said if they had been around when Hamish Brown took groups of youngsters into the hills. They would have wanted him jailed for life. Because of Hamish, as a teacher and his very enlightened head of school, many young people spend days on end planning expeditions, navigating and living in the mountains and surviving by their own means in all seasons. This was genuine adventure in real life situations, not contrived on the school playing fields by teachers who had probably never been in the countryside. H & S has a lot to answer for.

[madprof]

Just imagine what the Health and Safety police of today would have said if they had been around when Hamish Brown took groups of youngsters into the hills. They would have wanted him jailed for life. Because of Hamish, as a teacher and his very enlightened head of school, many young people spend days on end planning expeditions, navigating and living in the mountains and surviving by their own means in all seasons. This was genuine adventure in real life situations, not contrived on the school playing fields by teachers who had probably never been in the countryside. H & S has a lot to answer for.

Yeah H&S is just a total impediment to our enjoyment of the outdoors.

[geocaching]

Just imagine what the Health and Safety police of today would have said if they had been around when Hamish Brown took groups of youngsters into the hills. They would have wanted him jailed for life. Because of Hamish, as a teacher and his very enlightened head of school, many young people spend days on end planning expeditions, navigating and living in the mountains and surviving by their own means in all seasons. This was genuine adventure in real life situations, not contrived on the school playing fields by teachers who had probably never been in the countryside. H & S has a lot to answer for.

Yeah H&S is just a total impediment to our enjoyment of the outdoors.

50 years ago! H and S has hit the roof nowadays.