Re: Skate Park

[TEX <tex@kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu>]

Actually, if Kacey is not an adult, I didn't realize it.  I may have
missed the first of the thread.  I am certainly not trying to tell him his
opinion is wrong.  Opinions, by definition, aren't fact, so it's hard for
them to be wrong anyway.  Actions taken to support or further certain
opinions may be deemed "wrong."

Anyway, I would suggest, instead of trying to find things to do, focus on
finding a group to do them with first.  What I mean is, there is bound to
be an organized group of kids your age in the area, whether it be a
church/community group.  Find them, and they will have things for you to
do.  Just a thought.

           Clint "Tex" Payton
       email: tex@kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu

On Mon, 16 Apr 2001, Lois Melina wrote:

> I'm unclear as to why people are trying to convince Kacey to go to the
> skate park if he feels it's not a suitable environment for him. He came to
> this forum, largely made up of adults, not to debate the merits of the
> skate park, but to ask for assistance in finding places where teens could
> go in Moscow that felt safe and fun. Are we being supportive of him and
> providing him with some answers to his question, or are we saying in a
> variety of ways, "Your opinion is wrong, Kacey." Isn't this why teens
> seldom turn to adults as resources--because we frequently respond with our
> own agenda rather than responding to the teens' and then tell them they're
> wrong because they don't think like we do?
>
> How about we just take in the information Kacey is giving us about the
> skate park, add it to information we have from other sources, and let him
> know our ideas about other places to go:
>
> --ice rink
> --UI pool
> --Hamilton-Lowe pool in the summer
> --a video or board game at your house or the house of a friend with a
> responsible adult supervising
> --a bike ride on the Chipman Trail or on Moscow Mountain
> --frisbee at the park
>
> --It's also fun to be in service to others. This Saturday there will be a
> clean-up of Paradise Creek--a good opportunity to get wet, stomp in the
> mud, and make your community a better place. Teens are welcome. Check at
> Good Samaritan and Latah Care Center--sometimes they have people there who
> just want someone to work a puzzle with them or play checkers.
>
> Lois Melina
>