My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
paul wheaton wrote:Our history with under-18-peeps is rich in variety. For every great experience we have three poor experiences. A 25% success rate. As we explore what has worked, and ideas on how edge cases might have worked better, we have come up with a possible framework ...
THISTLE-1: Gotta do the whole thing through the sepper program.
THISTLE-2: Under 18 peeps must be elbow-to-elbow with their parent for any time spent in the bootcamp.
THISTLE-3: minimum age in the bootcamp with a parent: 12 years old (possible exceptions for BB20)
Strict rules for people under 18 for every moment in the bootcamp:
THISTLE-4: strict and immediate obedience to the parent. At all times. We need constant reassurance that there will be a proper response time in an emergency. We also don't want to see or hear that disrespectful, whiney shit.
THISTLE-5: work hard and earn your beans
THISTLE-4: address adults with their appropriate honorific. Sirs, m'ams, Mr. _______, Miss ______, etc. (plus "commander choi" and "commander bolton")
I visited with a few of the current boots, and re-visited a few times with commander choi and commander bolton (Dez and Magdalene). We have lots and lots more to say - lots of concerns. But this is a healthy starting point.
Seppers don't have to participate in nest labor, but we feel it would be a large positive if all of the thistle participants did this. Not a requirement, but a nice-to-have. I think this would make it so the adult boots would feel a lot more comfortable with having under-18-folks as part of the bigger picture.
At the time of this writing, I guess we are open to starting the thistle program. At the same time, I would like to get feedback - maybe there are some other bits we should add here?
I like the idea that we have more good experiences. Without the sub-good experiences. And I think there are a lot of adults that are keen on permaculture experiences, but struggling to find a way to juggle family with their need for adventure. And I get the impression that there are some people under the age of 18 that very much want to do the stuff we do in the bootcamp PLUS get their parents to unplug for a bit. It just seems like there is probably a way to get this to work well for everybody involved - and if we start here, maybe something even better will grow out of it.
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
Beau Davidson wrote:I think one thing that might help, for both parties, would be a set "trial period," allowing feedback and possible termination or alteration after set periods of time. Maybe weekly for the first month.
It is also possible that some thistles would do well as a half-boot, meaning just mornings, just afternoons, or 2-3 days per week. Then 100% sepper the rest of the week.
All of this would require extra energy from all the facilitating folks at Wheaton Labs. Therefor I also think a more rigorous parental vetting protocol might be in order. Something along the lines of a questionnaire, with lots of written response items of various situations and contexts, to be evaluated on completely subjective terms by the WL party. In essence, ask the parent - if you truly think this will be a marvelous experience for your kid, yourself, and everyone at wheaton labs, please paint me a very clear picture of how it will look. What if this happens? What if your kids does this? What if someone else does this?
It could potentially also have a greater fee for accommodating the greater energy expense in hosting.
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
paul wheaton wrote:I really like the idea that some 16 year old kid is the powerhouse and somehow drags their parent into this. That would be kick ass.
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
paul wheaton wrote:I think entering into some agreement with people under 18 sounds like a breeding ground for trouble. I think the discussion needs to be with adults or things can get weird.
Beau Davidson wrote:
Maybe that is the thing then. The kid is treated like a boot - they must fill out their own survery, have their own interactions, etc.
When someone says "can my kid come too," the answer would be "If they want to, have them join the bootcamp waiting list."
Maybe that's already how you do it . . .
Beau Davidson wrote:Seems like it might be simpler to say everyone under 18 is permitted only as a sepper with a guardian. Then they can join the bootcamp when they want. But the guardian must feed and keep them safe whenever they bail. Then I guess if they prove they can hack it, they can join the bootcamp proper.
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
paul wheaton wrote:We just had two parents come through, each with one kid. And we tried this stuff out. Seems to have worked out fine.
So there is potential!
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
paul wheaton wrote:I think we can do kids under 12 if they have BB20.
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
Kathleen Nelson wrote:Paul, it looks like I’ll be there with my kids in 1-2 weeks (we’re doing some visiting on the way) what arrangements do I need to make with you or whoever is in charge of Thistle/Sepper before we get there?
My books, movies, videos, podcasts, events ... the big collection of paul wheaton stuff!
Katie Adelsberger wrote:We have an organic farm in Missouri and have been inspired by Paul after stumbling on his work following the likes of Sepp Holzer. We have built a hybrid batchbox/ J2 rocket mass heater that is currently doing a great job heating our greenhouse. Our oldest son who is 15 is currently unschooled and taking a few elective courses around town, he's eager to learn more about building, permaculture and being part something with purpose.
Would it be possible to get him involved in the boot program? He loves cooking and we could send him with meat, sourdough baking skills and morel cream sauce recipes.
THISTLE-1: Gotta do the whole thing through the sepper program.
THISTLE-2: Under 18 peeps must be elbow-to-elbow with their parent for any time spent in the bootcamp.
THISTLE-3: minimum age in the bootcamp with a parent: 12 years old (possible exceptions for BB20)
Strict rules for people under 18 for every moment in the bootcamp:
THISTLE-4: strict and immediate obedience to the parent. At all times. We need constant reassurance that there will be a proper response time in an emergency. We also don't want to see or hear that disrespectful, whiney shit.
THISTLE-5: work hard and earn your beans
THISTLE-4: address adults with their appropriate honorific. Sirs, m'ams, Mr. _______, Miss ______, etc. (plus "commander choi" and "commander bolton")
Anna Thomsen wrote:Questions:
Can BB be obtained out of order? Eg. needlefelt creature is a straw badge in textiles.
Anna Thomsen wrote:
Are there any other youth doing this?
Anna Thomsen wrote:As a newbie to this site and a mom of 3 I'm becoming increasingly amazed by everything that's being created and I'm inspired to try my own little experiment at home to get a quantitative measurement of my kids enthusiasm to join me on a bootcamp adventure (age 11-18). My idea is to facilitate a family program where every member of the family is required to achieve BB10 in order to show our commitment to making the world a better place. Once everyone has achieved that goal we will celebrate by planning an adventure as seppers, thistles or boots, TBD. Looking through the pep list, I am confident that each of us will be able to complete BB10 with encouragement and direction and it will be a fun thing for us as a family to work towards.
Questions:
Can BB be obtained out of order? Eg. needlefelt creature is a straw badge in textiles.
Are there any other youth doing this?
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