Hobby and keenness
CONTENTS
1. Historical hobby
2. Nature and function hobby
2.1 Nature
2.2 Function
3. Modification by community factors
3.1 Cultural
3.2 Environmental
4. Classification of hobbies
4.1 Basis for classification
4.2 Collection Hobby
4.3 Creative Hobbies
4.4 Educational Hobbies
4.5 Performing Hobbies
5. Promotion hobby interests
5.1 Children
5.2 Youth
5.3 Older Folks
6. Advises for hobbyists
6.1 How Hobbyists Become Interested
6.2 How To Get Started - Suggestions to
the Individual
6.3 How To Stimulate Hobby Interest
6.4 How To Help the Beginner
6.5 How To Help the Hobbyist
In the 16th century a favorite toy children
of all age was the hobbyhorse. In appearance a hobbyhorse could be as a simple
as a stick, or it could have a decorated wooden framework with an imitation
horse’s heard attached. When their simple or elaborate, children used them for
the games of the time involving war and knighthood, much as children in the
early part of the 20th century played cowboys and Indians. In time the
popularity of the hobbyhorse declined, but the pleasure of doing something
outside the routine activities of daily life had brought a new word into the
language, the word hobby, which is a shortened form of hobbyhorse.
Before the 20th century, hobbies were something
that only wealthy people had the time and money to enjoy. The present day
interest in hobbies throughout the world is the product of more free time for far
more people, resulting from shortened working hours and greater prosperity.
Some popular
hobbies are old as civilization. Ruler in ancient times often collected
valuable objects, rare manuscripts, and art treasures. The monasteries of the
Middle Ages maintained libraries to store the valuable documents and art works
that they collected and produced. Later, individuals who were well educated and
had broad range of interests made field trips and traveled to other countries,
bringing back fossils, plants, artefacts, and other objects. Such people also
build up extensive personal libraries and collections.
2.1 Nature
Hobby is a
recreation activity joyously pursued with intense interest over a sustained
period of time. It is usually not directly connected with the person’s
livelihood or his professional and social ambitions. Hobby is basically an
individual recreation pursuit which permits the hobbyist to start and to stop
when he chooses. It can and often does lead the hobbyist into group
participation. The collector of folk songs associates with others who have the
same interests and sings with them.
A hobby offers
the individual a deep and continuing interest in an activity which requires
little outside stimulation to sustain hat interest. Hobbies are as varied as
the field of human interest and experience. They contain the element of
exploration which dives the hobbyist a chance to discover himself and his
world. The same hobby activity will often satisfy different needs for different
people.
Some of the
individual’s social and psychological needs are not met through the pursuit of
everyday responsibilities. The function of a hobby is to provide ways in which
some of these needs can be met to insure balanced and enriched living. The
choice of hobby is determined by unconscious wishes and desires. The choice is
conditioned by experience and environmental factors. What a hobby does for the
person depends on the foregoing plus the satisfaction obtained through
participation. Some of the values of hobby are:
1.
Hobbies
are the means for relaxation to the person who has limited leisure - like the
medical practitioner. His hobby may be the only recreation possible at times
when the demands for his professional service leave him with little leisure.
2.
The
pursuit of hobbies can be an enemy of boredom brought about by too much leisure.
3.
Hobbies
provide a means for vigorous release of emotions.
4.
Hobbies
serve as a way of meeting the needs of people in period of frustration.
5.
Hobbies
offer many opportunities for creative expression.
5.
Hobbies
serve as a means for compensation, such as excelling in the hobby pursuit
compensating for failing to reach desired goals on the job.
6.
Pursuing
a hobby means acquiring knowledge and leaning skills. It satisfied the desire
for leaning.
7.
When
unwanted leisure creates anxiety the pursuit of a hobby may serve to help
restore emotional balance.
8.
Hobbies
stir the imagination and lead to new experiences.
9.
Hobbies
can help in meeting the needs for social acceptance and recognition.
10.
Hobbies
can provide a refuge from people when time for contemplation is needed.
11.
For
the adolescent hobbies are a good way to try out career interests.
12.
For
the person retired from earning a livelihood the hobby pursuit becomes a way of
adjustment. It can give new meaning and balance to the changed way of life.
13.
Hobbies
provide a means of satisfying the desire to collect knowledge and objects.
14.
For
many people a well-chosen hobby growing from innate desires, needs and
abilities makes joyful contributions to the art of living. When people’s lives
are affected by hobby pursuits the total community life reflects this
influence.
Community life
affects the hobby pursuit of the individual. Lack of music interest in the
community may tend to discourage the individual from considering music as a
hobby.
A community
giving a great deal of its attention to the promotion of sports would indirectly
be guiding hobby interests into sports and game activities. In towns where
dancing is not tolerated, hobby interests in the dance would not be socially
approved. Schools that do not reach a wide variety of skills and appreciation
in music, arts, crafts, sports, dance, nature education, literature, science
and others limit the student’s hobby choice and its development.
The physical
environmental factors influence hobby interests. Urban sections without parks
or open fields place a handicap on many outdoor hobbies. However, hobbies
demanding access to libraries, museums, and educational classes thrive better
in urban section. Hobbyists in music, creative writing literature, and similar
activities receive greater stimulation in or near larger cities.
Our
industrialized economy has created conditions which affect the individual’s
life through speed, routine, specialization, and increased leisure. At the same
time it has multiplied our resources in terms of tools, implements, and
materials for hobbies in some areas like engineering, machines, science, and
travel.
The fact that
cultural and environmental factors may handicap the pursuit of certain kinds of
hobbies does not mean these pursuits become impossible. Such barriers for some
hobbyists become challenges for the individuals and the community.
The scope of
hobbies is as broad as human interests because hobbies are different things to
different people.
4.1 Basis for classification
For purposes
of convenience the wide scope of hobbies will be classified into four
categories: Collecting, Creating, Educational, Performing.
4.2 Collection Hobby.
One of the
most natural habits of man is collecting. Collection hobbies can be a real art
or an accumulation of odds and ends. Collectors tend to group themselves into a
few main classifications. People who collect odd objects are in a small
minority. The most popular collection hobby is stamp collecting. Antiques
appear to be next in popularity. They include China, glass, period furniture,
laces, needlework, quilts, pictures of early fashion old document, books,
autographs, firearms, Indian relicts, paintings, and coins. A large group
consists of hobbyists with mechanical inclination who collect firearms, model
ships, trains, plains, and autos. Memorabilia of great people are objects of
hobbyists - their autographs, documents, manuscripts, books objects, furniture,
possessions and articles supposed to have been used by the great persons. Items
of purely art interest are much sought after such as bronzes, etchings, wood
carvings, paintings, and objet d’art. Collecting historic relicts of one’s own
part of the country provides fascination for some people. Other collections
include:
Phonograph
records: Old, swing, classical, or one particular artist.
Stamps: U. S.,
European, commemorative, covers.
Guns: Modern
army rifles, old U. S. Rifles, old European.
Coins: U. S.,
European, Ancient Greek or Roman, novelty.
Books: Early
American school texts, First editions, almanacs.
Paintings:
Miniatures, water colors, old masters.
Dolls:
Antiques, China, rag, rubber, paper, bride, foreign, wax, celluloid.
Man has a
psychological drive to create, to make, or to construct. It is often referred
to as the aesthetic drive because it satisfies the person’s sense of beauty and
gives pleasure. Much of the creative urge is satisfied by designing, painting,
composing, writing, inventing, and making objects of many kinds as exemplified
in the areas of arts and crafts, drama, music, nature, and camping activities.
The creative urge expression is satisfied in different ways for different people
- writing a poem, developing a story, telling a story, painting a landscape,
making a piece of furniture, constructing a telescope, baking a pie, organizing
a club, developing a new bit of strategy in the sports contest, writing a song,
and creating a new dance.
The area of
hobbies is one of the greatest potential sources for satisfying the creative
urge. It has become increasingly important as creative expression opportunities
decline in many job. Every hobby offers some chance for creative expression but
some are richer in their offerings. In a hobby which has creativeness as its
major emphasis collective, educational, and performing benefits are also
present.
A suggested
list of creative hobbies follows:
Woodworking:
Furniture, lathework, wood finishing, wooden models of trains, boats, and
planes, children’s toys.
Sculpture:
Soap, wood, plaster, clay, stone.
Puppetry:
Making the puppets, building the stage, writing the script, presenting the
play.
Leatherwork:
Making articles such as bookcovers, handbags, belts; decorating leather,
stamping, embossing, carving, flat modeling.
Photography:
Used as an art medium to produce portraits, scenes, action shots; still life in
black and white or color; developing the art of taking pictures; processing and
printing, and enlarging stills, movie - black and white, color; amateur movie
production; slides and transparencies.
4.4 Educational Hobbies.
A suggested
list of educational hobbies is presented to indicate the scope. These the
pursued individually, or in classes, or clubs.
Ornithology:
Study of birds, their habits, calls, migrations, effect on nature’s cycle. Astronomy:
Study of stars, planets, relationship of celestial phenomena to the earth,
falling star plotting, lore related to constellations.
Meteorology:
Study of weather, clouds, rainfall, storms, wind.
Music: Leaning
to play instruments and sing, music appreciation, study of composers, history
of music and instruments, study of types of music, relationship of music with
peoples culture.
Arts and
crafts: Leaning skills in the various media such as paint, metal, textiles,
wood, photography, plastics; study of design artists, art periods; art
appreciation, and art in its relation to peoples culture and economy.
Sport: Leaning
to perform in athletics; study of specific sports, their history, the star
performers, and records; developing hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing,
sailing, riflery, and archery skills; study of history of sports and its
development.
These hobby
interests are based on the used of body skills. They include the sports skills,
music skills, arts and crafts skills, camping skills and other. To understand
this hobby category one must recognize that many persons seek their
satisfaction in performing with and for others. The range of activities in
music, arts and crafts, and drama has been illustrated by the other categories.
This category recognize those areas as performing hobby sources.
Some specific
examples of performing hobbies include: hiking, swimming, roller skating,
hunting, fishing, dancing, camping, baseball, football, bowling, boxing, chess,
checkers, orchestras, horseback riding, fencing, canoeing, boating, sailing,
golf, tennis, wrestling, acrobatics, choirs, and magic.
5. Promotion hobby interests
Factors
Related to Hobby Participants.
In the
promotion of hobby interests needs and characteristics of the various age
levels must be kept in mind. Some illustrations of applying these to hobby
participation are presented as follows: Age Factors.
In collection
hobbies the child collects bottle tops, campaign buttons, comic books, stones,
toads, dolls clothing. The collection of these seems to be based on no logical
purpose.
This is the
age of exploration in all categories of hobbies. Children move from one hobby
to another. Their span of interest is short.
Child’s
participation in hobby is on a very elementary level.
Most children
have a simple collection hobby.
Interest in
educational hobbies does not seem evident.
Performing
activities have great appeal at this age.
Youth’s
hobbies become more discriminating.
Not all youths
continue collecting hobbies.
There are
fewer changes from one hobby to another.
Youth often
use hobby pursuits to discover career interest.
Youth seeks
greater opportunities to relate hobby interest with clubs and groups.
Youth wants to
engage in performing hobbies.
At this age
the foundation is laid for possible educational hobbies which are pursed in
adulthood.
Adults.
Their hobby
interest are specialized.
They need the
hobby more than in their earlier years.
They seek to
express themselves through their hobby interests.
They pursue
their hobby more seriously.
They join
hobby clubs because they want to share their interest.
They have more
leisure than adults and their hobby becomes a way to make life meaningful.
They use a
hobby as a means of making adjustment to retirement.
They enjoy
hobbies that require study and offer creative opportunities.
They want
hobbies that give them a chance to receive recognition.
6.
Advises for hobbyists.
6.1 How Hobbyists Become Interested
The following
represent means of helping individuals get started on a hobby:
1.
Parents, grandparents, or
friends give instruction, guidance, and encouragement.
2.
A gift received starts the
person on his hobby.
3.
Children and youth get
their hobby ideas while in school or while participating in an agency program.
4.
Camp programs arouse
interest.
5.
Some hobbies are an
outgrowth of vacations.
6.
Some hobbyists get started
by attending classes in instruction in crafts, music, radio, speech, etc.
7.
Some persons become
interested through seeing a hobbyist in action.
8.
Others are stimulated
while visiting a hobby show or an arts and crafts display.
8.
Some are interested as a
result of trips to museums. Libraries, and parks.
9.
Reading magazine articles
and books arouses the interest of some people.
11.
Listening to a talk on a hobby or
hobbies start some people on their interest.
10.
Talks on radio or demonstration on
television start some folks on their hobby.
1.
Talk to other persons
pursuing same hobby.
2.
Read books and magazines
on hobbies.
3.
If necessary attend
classes for instruction.
4.
Visit hobby show exhibits.
5.
Check on source of
supplies.
6.
If a collection hobby is
selected limit the collection and begin at once to classify collection.
7.
Join a hobby club.
7.
Go to the library, museum,
recreation and other agencies.
8.
Start on a hobby in a
small way.
10.
Subscribe to a magazine specializing
in the hobby selections.
The recreation
agency can help the potential hobbyist as well as the person who has a hobby.
For the beginner it can expose him to activities that may lead up to hobby
selections.
1.
Provide classes on
beginning arts and crafts, photography, music and drama.
2.
Provide classes in hobby
exploration.
3.
Have displays featuring
hobbies.
3.
Advise the beginner of
resources in the community such as library, schools, and hobby clubs.
5.
Plan trips to local points
of interest.
6.
Provide talks by
hobbyists.
7.
Organize hobby clubs for
older adults who do not have hobbies.
8.
Use older adults hobbyists
in teaching and guiding beginners.
1.
Provide space for hobby
club to meet regularly. Help clubs by providing facilities and acquaint them
with other resources.
2.
Provide special facilities
and equipment that can be made available to hobbyists who cannot afford their
own. Examples are;
a.
Photography room (dark
room);
c.
Ceramics room and kiln;
d.
Room for radio amateurs;
e.
Field for operation of
model planes.
3.
Arrange to exhibit hobbies
in store windows.
1.
Sponsor hobby interviews
on the radio and television.
2.
Sponsor a hobby show or
fair. This requires much planning, organization and promotion.