Gaetz Goes
5 hours ago
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Lack of survival skills
This article about millennials lack of survival skills caught my attention. Apparently vast numbers of them don't know how to tie a simple knot or how to kindle a fire.
I think these are really basic skills that everyone should know. Of course, I'm getting old so I must of needed those skills when I was younger and we were all living in caves.
Forget about catching and preparing food. I guess if you can't do it with a smart phone it's not going to happen. They all know how to use Google Maps, but are clueless when it comes to a map and compass.
Don't blame the millennials, blame there parents who should have been in charge of their education. It's easy to let a tablet babysit you kid. Taking them out in the woods and showing them how to survive takes work. Maybe the parents weren't very good at those skills either. Years ago a lot of kids who's parents were not outdoors people had the opportunity to learn survival skills in other ways. Back when I was a Boy Scout we learned basic survival skills and went camping a lot. Not camping at a KOA type place either, but camping where you carried your gear on your back and lived in a tent. Happy memories.
One thing that surprised me is that even people who do outdoor sports don't know how to tie knots. They use ratchet straps and bungee cords to tie down boats and ATVs. Judging from the number of straps and bungee cords I find in the road, they don't do a very good job of that either. It's not that hard to learn 3 or 4 useful knots that can take care of most of your fastening needs. Sure, there are specialized knots that might be better in come cases, but a few basic ones will do the job.
Basic survival skills are not that hard to learn. It does take some time and practice. Knowing how to take care of basic needs are always good to know. Sooner or later high technology is going to fail and needs have to be met in other ways.
-Sixbears
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you were allowed a tent?
ReplyDeleteluxury.....
Wildflower
That was with the Scouts. Snow cave camping came later.
DeleteCamping in the old way (hiking with pack to make camp away from roads / vehicles) is beyond the millenials thought. Like who would appreciate being away from electricity - all you could do at night is listen to the peace and watch the sky.
ReplyDeletePeace and quiet sounds pretty good to me.
DeleteMe too - just being sarcastic. My wife (rurally raised but not in wilderness) takes a radio with ear bud when she goes anywhere outside. I try to tell her that there is plenty to enjoy without electronic claptrap - but it doesn't compute.
DeleteShe doesn't know what she is missing.
Oh well. I've noticed a lot of people can't live without a soundtrack in the background.
DeleteMost could not drive a standard to save their lives either.
ReplyDeleteWe ran into that problem recently when someone needed to borrow a car. They couldn't drive it.
DeleteMost of European cars are still standard.
when i took driving lessons i asked for standard instruction but was told they did away with it because of lack of interest.
ReplyDeletethat was about 50 years ago!
still don't know how.
It's not that hard, but it takes some practice. I used to take the kids into big empty parking. Two out of three drive stick today, but the youngest hated it and never kept up with it. Oh well.
DeleteThe ones who'll survive are the plumbers, carpenters, electricians, hunters, fishermen. Being able to cook over a fire or in a fireplace comes in handy. A lot of skills are being lost, much to my dismay. I believe my kids could survive and they would teach their kids.
ReplyDeleteThese skills need to be passed on. They can be pretty fun too. What kid doesn't want to poke a fire with a stick?
Delete
ReplyDeleteLike you, I did the Boy Scout thing the old school way but I didn't really learn what I consider one of the most essential knots until I started working on a tug boat tending dredges after Mt. St. Helens blew.
The Bowline.
I learned it using 1 1/4 rope but soon sized it down.
As for trying to teach the younger generation pretty much anything, my experience has been that you can't teach those who don't want to learn.
If it doesn't have a screen and a battery in it they have zero interest.
The fire servcie kept in practice. I've a quick and dirty bowline method that I use all the time.
DeleteMost of the parents are clueless, too, and the Boy and Girl Scouts are more about social issues than anything else these days.
ReplyDeleteA buddy of mine was a Scoutmaster for years. He made sure all his boys knew the old skills. He also let them fail at things like cooking on a campfire. They only failed once before catching on.
DeleteHis big problem was getting the required number of adults to come along. I was drafted into service once so they could go camping. Good times had by all.