The Wilderness Debate Comes to a Head

[ZUKEYPR]

With that attitude it's too late to teach anyone anything. Granted, they may not pay attention or give a rats ass, but when do you do it? When they are in elementary, or pre teen ages, they don't care and it doesn't concern them so they won't pay attention unless you have a cute little furbee teaching the course. Besides, when they are that young, it's their parents influence taking them off the trails. When they get older, into their teenage years, they are starting to make their own decisions on where to travel and dad or mom is no longer riding the ohv with them.

Although I respect your opinion, having worked directly with the jr HS/Sr HS crowd over the last decade and a half I would completely disagree. They don't make any decisions without mommy and daddy, at least not in this state anyway. Heck, I don't know how many friends of my boys have absolutely infactually not wanted to serve a mission for the LDS church yet they get forced into it by their parents. That just a very small example. You're correct though on the elementary age to a certain extent. It would have to be tailored towards them, not sure about the furbee or Barney the purple dinosour for that matter but child pyschology would in fact prove over and over again that this is their most influential years and not the HS years. You would also be corret that their initial conduct on a trail would be driven by the parents, but as I said earlier if you teach the small kid and he (for lack of a better term) busts his/her parents out on proper trail etiquete your more than likely to not only have a kid that understands and follows the principles but a parent now as well. Lets face it, some folks are going to be bloody rednecks no matter what you do, but the masses can change, but you have to start young.

 

[waynehartwig]

Although I respect your opinion, having worked directly with the jr HS/Sr HS crowd over the last decade and a half I would completely disagree. They don't make any decisions without mommy and daddy, at least not in this state anyway. Heck, I don't know how many friends of my boys have absolutely infactually not wanted to serve a mission for the LDS church yet they get forced into it by their parents. That just a very small example. You're correct though on the elementary age to a certain extent. It would have to be tailored towards them, not sure about the furbee or Barney the purple dinosour for that matter but child pyschology would in fact prove over and over again that this is their most influential years and not the HS years. You would also be corret that their initial conduct on a trail would be driven by the parents, but as I said earlier if you teach the small kid and he (for lack of a better term) busts his/her parents out on proper trail etiquete your more than likely to not only have a kid that understands and follows the principles but a parent now as well. Lets face it, some folks are going to be bloody rednecks no matter what you do, but the masses can change, but you have to start young.

I agree with the principal completely. Young or old, gotta start somewhere, and I think the best place to do it is in driver education.

The bad part is not every state has a drivers education program in place, let alone a mandatory one (not sure if Utah is still mandatory or not, I know it was when I was in school - well, if you wanted to graduate anyway!).

I think driver education is the best place because it's more pertinent to the topic of discussion than say math or etc. And I seriously doubt the school(s) will allow a full class dedicated to trail etiquete.

 

[scoutabout]

Oh yeah, insult the masses; that will get them more involved!

Sorry, just a little joking. I thought most people on RME ARE serious wheelers.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

... As for the Jr High/ HS level, you're targeting the wrong peer group, it's to late. Take it from somone who has been directly involved with that group for the past 16.5 years.

Then come help us get a elementary age program rolling. We are all ears, but we need people to "walk the talk" . I'm not trying to be rude or sarcastic in any way, its just that we (I speak for Mike I assume) have had a TON of awesome ideas tossed at us, but unfortunetly those that suggest them, don't help make it happen. If we had a dollar for everytime someone said "The U4WDA ought to do this", we could buy Moab...

I remember showing up to a U4WDA BOD meeting a couple years ago with some new ideas and a fundraiser, thinking this would be the coolest, newest thing to do... Turns out they had done it many times in the past, and would do it again with a bit of help... We did it, it was a great effort, and I have stuck around to help out since!

GET INVOLVED!!!

We have a BOD meeting tomorrow, 6:30, Larry H. Miller Jeep in Sandy (upstairs conference room)