Posted by andyb on July 22, 2009 at 19:19:48 user beardbiter.
In Reply to: Re: Thoughts on posted by John on July 22, 2009 at 17:42:12:
What do you mean too organised and naval? SW suggests that this doesn't mean limiting freedom. CW doesn't think twice before packing John and Susan off to be in charge of a four year whilst sailing a small boat in a tidal estuary. Seems to me that he is an arch exponent of AR's 'arms length' parenting.
His approach may not have been entirely fictional. Whilst I was in the Shetlands, I met a man who at the age of 10 had been encouraged by his school to paddle around Unst (the most northerly of the Shetlands)in a kayak, accompanied only by a friend of the same age. The sea around Unst can get pretty wild and the circumnavigation involves dealing with some major tide races as well, it's considered a serious undertaking even for well equipped and experienced adults. I got the impression that this guy attended a naval school, so chucking kids in the water to see if they'll float may be a well established naval educational philosophy.