Since the seven year old member is my son, I will add my opinions to the discussion.
First and foremost I want to express my sad displeasure in reading this. Perhaps this being paraphrased ideas of a discussion many things are getting lost in translation. However the things I have issue with are listed as "problems" My seven year old lives 46 minutes driving distance from the space and does not currently drive himself places. If he was of driving age and as a parent I decided he was mature enough to go places by himself, or use shop tools, or as you put it "nice things" then I would let him go do those things. Perhaps sometimes I would go with him at times to check on how safe he is still being. Perhaps also I would put two gps tracking devices on his car so when he finds the first one I have redundancy. Also guaranteed I, or a close and not easily recognizable friend would tail him at times. The point I am trying to make here, is my son that is a member of syn/hak, is not autonomous yet, and when the time comes that he is, we will still parent him. The way "nice things" is worded I am taken back to my own childhood when my evil aunt had us over and I was confined to the kitchen, because she had a house full of collectable garbage (much like syn/hak,) and I was too much of "an animal" to go into the rest of the rooms in the house. If there are concerns about your members not being able to handle tool, machines, supplies, or members projects (again, I'm fuzzy on what is nice,) perhaps those concerns could be brought up to that member or the members guardian. My wife was at the meeting with our seven year old. Nothing was said. Robert W in in fact seven and is more responsible than myself at times. If you tell him a rule, good luck trying to change it after that, because it has already been programmed. He is excited to be part of this community. A community he and believe in and he absolutely belongs in. He is also excited to gain full 24/7 access to the space because of my unusual schedule. If entrusted with something and told how important it is he will follow through every time. Go shooting with him sometime and he will give you a lesson in gun safety and have better muzzle control than you do. My younger child is more haphazard as a matter of personality and he will not be going to the space for the foreseeable future because I can not trust him. I recognize this is a matter of policy and not an attack on my child. I struggle with it, but I recognize it. Perhaps it would have been more excellent to just say minor, then call out your only seven year old member. It makes us feel like he is unwanted or not trusted. Again things that should have been brought up at the meeting. He applied for membership at the suggestion of Torrie. He was vouched for by Torrie and Becca. His full membership was consented on by the members at this weeks meeting. He was not made an associate member, an honorary member, or a previsionary member. He was accepted by what appeared to be open arms. I realize syn/hak is not a daycare. Torrie expressed this concern to me the night Robert W turned in his application. I thought I made it clear then that he would never be at the space without myself or a close family member there. That said I agree that a mature person should be watching unknown or immature people. I have a problem with an age being just set at a magical number of 18. Poof your 18 now, you can handle all the nice things, go play and have fun. Here is my counter proposal if you will. If anyone has a problem with minors or in this case seven year olds don't make them members. Or perhaps since maturity is not a function of age it would be more appropriate to bring up concerns during the interview process, and then decide that some kids can or cannot be members because they and their guardians are not a good fit. If there are concerns with a member, or if the member is a minor, that minor and their guardians, then don't issue a key; keep age out of it. Age has nothing to do with anything in my opinion and it is more a matter of character. Perhaps their will come a day there is a teen or two that really need syn/hak in their life because the sports teams and the kids that play on them don't understand said teen. These decisions need to be made on a case by case basis as I was under the impression they already are. Making a policy against minors is foolish and not excellent. In closing, I am hurt. However, in a sick way I feel closer to syn/hak now. As if I went through a right-of-passage. Robert W and I got called out on discuss like I see others do to each other on a weekly basis. I am not the kind of personality to be nice to your face then get high and mighty behind the safety of a keyboard. I am not introverted and I prefer personal conflict resolution. If you have a problem with me or my family as a matter of excellence it will be addressed directly to me or my family before it gets thrown up on discuss. Thank you all for your time Robert S Rybicki Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 11, 2014, at 7:18 PM, Torrie Fischer <tdfisc...@hackerbots.net> wrote: > > Hi, all. > > We had a very good discussion at the space tonight about membership dues and > such. > > Here's a draft: > > https://synhak.org/wiki/Membership/Sandbox > > The notable things: > > * There is still a 10% discount for buying 3+ months in advance, but it > covers > the whole payment regardless of how many people you're paying for. > * Base membership is still $35/mo > * It is $15 per adult in a family instead of $35 > * Each minor under 18 years old is $5/mo in a family > * Keys may not be issued to those who are under 18 earth years of age > * Minors must have an adult supervising them at all times and the permission > of their legal parent/guardian > > This solves the following problems: > > * Many of us feel uncomfortable with letting a 7 year old have a key to our > Nice Things, which is a very big responsibility > * Families often aren't all using the space at the same time > * Many of us feel uncomfortable with letting a 7 year old roam around without > someone responsible watching them > > I'll be adding this to the agenda for next Tuesday for discussion. > > Feedback is welcome as always :) > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@synhak.org > https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@synhak.org https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
