I have voiced numerous times at multiple SLAS venues from General and Board meetings to Advanced training that we need to try to include young kids in our club, it has always come to a dead end. I think our dependable core group is often overwhelmed with what we do already and any additional long term project that requires a size able effort to perform adequately is just too much to handle.There are a great many worthy endeavors we could involve ourselves in, and many have been enthusiastically proposed over the years, most dissolve in short order due to lack of support from or members.Not I think because of apathy but rather too many things to do and not enough manpower.We as individuals often have only so many hours we can dedicate to astronomy in a given month. I'm guilty of signing up to support proposed endeavors only to find that life steps in and requires me to re prioritize and withdraw from the event or project.Another problem I've seen personally more than once is when a kid gets inspired the parent often isn't inspired enough to sacrifice the time to chauffeur the kids to the events and hang about to chaperon. Being among some of the most active Astronomy clubs in the nation requires a lot of dedication as it is, we need to be certain that we have a sustainable support staff for any additional big endeavors. Initial enthusiasm and sustained support for are not the same thing as we've seen multiple times.Maybe we could get a committee of two or three of us to take a few months and take an in-depth look at other clubs successful efforts in having a sustainable youth group or outreach program within their clubs or similar projects directed at youth, and then try and focus in one direction and see how we do. I dint know, Ive always really felt we should be putting in a more focused effort towards the youth, But you know what, I don't have the time either, something else would have to give. A worthy cause any way.Roger --- On Wed, 4/15/09, erikhansen@TheBlueZone.net <erikhansen@TheBlueZone.net> wrote: From: erikhansen@TheBlueZone.net <erikhansen@TheBlueZone.net> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] member loaner scope vs school subsidy To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 12:51 PM
Perhaps, too much has been read into many of the posts. I am very interested in ideas from teachers that are on our list. My basic idea is with University launching their Astronomy Degree, I just wonder if we can aide the public school system in getting students interested in it. The problem will always be finding volunteers to take the time and effort. I should be discussed by the board, there has been good support for school star parties, but often demand out weighs supply. Some way of schools conducting their own astronomy activities seems needed.
To me it seems a lot of our emphasis is on introducing kids to astronomy, I wonder if we could do more for kids that have a genuine interest. I think SLAS would benefit from this. It is beyond my understanding what the school system needs or is interested in, we will need input from educators. Erik I withdraw my post, way too much has been read into it, or more likely,
too little of it was clearly understood, my mistake. I'm not a good communicator. I just tossed out some ideas, never suggested pursuit of any particular strategy. I wondered why members who are teachers didn't seem to take advantage of the loaner scope program. As has been posted already, a member who borrows a scope can take it wherever they want while in their custody. Public relations is actually about the lowest priority on my personal astronomy list, anyway. I'll happily show-off the sky and mentor someone if they seek me out, but I will not go out of my my way to find them. I leave that up to folks with time on their hands. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
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