Mentoring, or "Elmering", is currently in a shabby state all across the hobby. There are some efforts at formalised mentoring, in terms of classes to prepare for exams, which is better than nothing. But, even if every current licensee would become a Extra Class, the hobby would still be in trouble. The problem isn't a lack of technical knowledge. There's a lack of hands-on experience for many, to be sure, and that won't be solved by exams. And the whole "advancement" track inevitably leads to HF, which isn't a practical option for a whole lot of people. It also feeds a destructive mentality that FM is "radio on training wheels" and not worthwhile or "serious".
The hobby is too serious already, and it's too mired in the idea that any ham is just "fooling around" unless they drop a grand or two on equipment. It's a hobby, and "fooling around" is kind of the point.
I remember the excitement I felt when I first got on the air. It was a thrill, with a whole world of new people to talk to about a myriad of things. Less than two full days into it, however, I began to run into people that looked down their nose at my new Chinese HT, and offered unsolicited advice on which $300-$500 radio or $150 antenna I should invest in...if I wanted to "do it right". I was on the repeaters with a decent signal, and I'd cleverly got around my HOA's antenna restrictions to accomplish that. I was licensed like all of the other people on the air -- one of them.
Only I wasn't "one of them". To many, I was just some bozo who had taken the cheap way out and was somehow 'cheating'. I was somehow supposed to feel ashamed and apologise for my rig, even though it worked just fine. I had a whole new world opened to me, but that new world seemed to be inhabited by people who 'knew' that the radio that you talked on was more important than what you actually said while using it.
This, then, was my first exposure to what passes as informal "mentoring" in the amateur radio community: Spend a lot of money. No matter what the issue, there was a price tag that would solve it...if you were "serious". There was no clever solution, no work-around, and no satisfaction with what you already had. Your job was to spend a lot of money, and the only discussion was over which particular items you should spend a lot of money on.
I soon found myself besieged by 'helpful' mentors who were not the least bit interested in what I wanted out of the hobby or what was practical for my situation. There was virtually no listening done by these shabby 'mentors' whatsoever. I would explain that I lived in a condo, and that antennae weren't allowed. Well, then, I should just settle for a G5RV or some 80 foot dipole that would cover bands that a Tech isn't even allowed to use.Huh? Likewise with my non-existent "attic", which would supposedly house a dipole that I could tune. After repeating three or four times that these were not practical options, my putative 'mentor' would get exasperated and ask why I even became a ham in the first place. Okay. Yeah. It's my fault. Thanks for the 'help', wise mentor.
Of course, the underlying issue was, "Why would I want to spend a ton of money to get deeper in to this hobby?". So that I could talk to people that seemed to measure my worth by the price tag on my radio? Most had very poor conversational skills. Talking about their radio, or the next radio that they planned to buy, seemed to be the extent of allowable topics.
The next lame mentoring phenomenon that I encountered was, "Be like me". The 'mentor', who had no interest in what I was interested in, would graciously offer me endless advice on exactly how I could be just like him. How nice of him. Stacked Yagis for two metres, which I couldn't possibly put up at my condo, were exactly what I needed if I was "serious" about weak signal VHF work...like my putative 'mentor' was. Had I considered moving? You know, if you're "serious". As it turned out, I was always deemed "not serious" by these amazing mentors.
It was months before I began to meet people who actually seemed content with what they had, didn't want to make me over in their image, and who genuinely enjoyed talking to people. Those were the people that were the real mentors, and they kept me from shoving my HT in a drawer to gather dust and be dismissed as a relatively inexpensive mistake.
The truly discouraging thing that all of the failed 'mentors' had in common was an arrogant condescension and a thinly-veiled belief that, while I was a failure and possibly dim, I could be redeemed by them. In exchange, I should show a great deal of gratitude for this noble effort on their part.
Sadly, this is what "mentoring" has become in the hands of our Elders. People like me enter this hobby on a monthly basis, and abandon it some months later without ever being made to feel welcome. We are chewing up those few that have even a passing interest in two-way radio in a bizarre and misguided effort to find the few that are willing to do what it takes to be "serious" about the hobby.
My best advice to those encountering a new ham is to give them an idea of what the local scene is like. Who hangs out on which repeaters and why? Encourage them to explore and find their niche. Ask what they like about ham radio so far, and possibly steer them to more of that. Treat them like an equal, even if -- for whatever reason -- you don't feel that they are. You're likely to be fondly remembered as one of the "good ones", even when they meet less-than-helpful hams on the air.
Amateur radio is attracting new people, and about half (49%) of all licences are Technician Class. The problem is that we are not holding on to them in large numbers. These people were obviously interested enough in two-way radio to take an exam, and it's reasonable to assume that most had devoted some time to listening to the FM repeaters before setting aside time to be tested. You don't take an exam on a capricious whim, regardless of how difficult or easy it may be. Yet, these same people don't seem to stick around and become part of the community. The actual experience of getting on the air is not what they had anticipated from listening to others. FM isn't that complicated, and using a basic HT with a "stock duck" is often good enough to get on several repeaters. Why, then, are we losing so many so soon after getting their licences?
You don't need to be an Extra Class 'mentor' to connect the dots for this puzzle. These new hams simply aren't feeling welcome, and they aren't sticking around long enough to find their niche in the hobby or in the community. It's one thing entirely to help new hams 'advance' when they express an interest. It's another to convey the impression that, until they do 'advance', they will be considered to be wasting their time and "fooling around".
These people got into ham radio for some reason. Those reasons probably weren't that they had a bundle of cash that they didn't know what to do with, nor that they really wanted to gratefully follow in your footsteps in hopes of getting a pat on the head. If your 'help' consists of addressing those two 'reasons', then you aren't really helping at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment