I just read this article about Zach Sunderland who just became youngest person to sail around the world. I love this quote of his,
The young sailor
“It’s kind of crazy to have it done now because, I mean, for the past year I’ve been just fighting for the next ocean, fighting to get back. And now I’m back so it’s amazing.”
Fighting. He needed to find a foe worthy of a good fight, and he found one in the ocean. Our sons need such a foe, too. First, of course, that foe will be themselves, their appetites and wills and bodily weakness. They will need to battle well with themselves and gain self-mastery, in order to take on bigger forces outside themselves. And, when they are ready, they will fight.
Devin and I often wonder who they will become and how we can encourage them in becoming such brave men. I dream about them participating in NOLS and traveling to foreign countries to do missionary work. I hope they learn how to build with their hands and ride a horse and speak Latin and ballroom dance. I want them to learn about the great battles of history and memorize the speeches of great men–Socrates, Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln. And, Jesus, of course. There is so much that we can give them and so much that they can become.
Katie,
I’m heavily biased, but I think there are few better opportunities for a young man to learn about himself and his world (and his God) than at sea on ships (or boats). It can be a morally difficult environment, but there are some profound and wise minds at sea — you have time to reflect when you work on the ocean. I’m just not sure I want my boys to do it.
Peace in Christ,
Tom
Sounds good to me, Tom. You teach them how to sail, and I’ll allow them to go around the world. Provided that they carry a satellite-based GPS and phone with them at all times.
On a different note, I wanted to add to my above post that this young man is homeschooled. This seems to me just one more advertisement for homeschooling; homeschooled students have so much time beyond the classroom to devote to passionate interests in real-life skills and can do amazing things with their spare time.
My friend, Emily, was able to complete her high school studies before noon and spent her afternoons at the naturalist museum in her area, which fueled her interest in amphibian life. She eventually went on to get her PhD at UT in evolutionary biology–she is a devout Catholic–and is now credited with the discovery of a new frog sub-species. She plans to homeschool her own children. I agree with her assessment of the benefits of homeschooling.
Katie,
I’m all for rearing sons to be brave men, but I must confess my first thought was “What were these parents thinking?!?” It’s one thing to be traveling the world on missions at the age of 16 surrounded by adults watching out for you but it’s another to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean. His accomplishment is impressive, but I’m surprised the media is not sending CPS after his parents. On the one hand you can’t discipline your children without being called an abuser or leave them at home alone for an hour without being charged with abandonment, but then it’s ok to let your child (and he is still considered a child) circumnavigate the world?
Gmart,
I had the same thought when I first heard about Zach–”Where is CPS and why hasn’t someone arrested the parents?” Which I think is a sad commentary on how accustomed we are to excess government intervention in our lives. I trust that Zach and his parents are Christian, judging from the cross he is wearing, and so one assumes that they prayed about this and had assurance that Zach’s life is in God’s hands.
In addition to us being used to having our lives overmanaged by government intervention, I also think our culture tends to keep young adults irresponsible for too long. Yes, Zach is 17, and that seems a little young to set out on one’s own to sail the ocean, but think of all the heroes we have who were very young when they made brave choices. Our Lady was probably younger than 16 when she made her famous “yes”, Joan of Arc was 19 when she led the armies of France, St. John the Evangelist was probably 18/19 when he became an apostle of Jesus, and I’m sure you can think of others. It seems to me that our American view of 18 years as the magical time when a young person becomes responsible is pretty arbitrary, and I think our children can be encouraged to make brave and responsible choices earlier than that.
Katie,
Your historical examples notwithstanding, we live in today’s world. Right or wrong, 18 is the legal age of responsibility – today. Until that age, parents are held accountable for their children’s actions. I think the argument that the family prayed about the decision and placed his life in God’s hands would not be relevant in a court. What if his boat capsized and he died? What would be our reaction? There are appropriate venues for young adults to make the passage to adulthood. If I told you that I was letting my 16 year old son (and Zach was 16 when he started the journey) travel to the Amazon on a month long expedition on his own what reaction would I get. I don’t think this is about government intervention but about appropriate avenues for a young adult to challenge themselves.