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Cub Scouts To Offer Merit Pin For Video Gaming
Hugh Pickens writes "Fox News reports that the Boy Scouts of America — a group founded on the principles of building character and improving physical fitness — have introduced merit pins for academic achievement in video gaming, a move that has child health experts atwitter. 'It could be quite visionary and exciting or it could be a complete sellout,' says Dr. Vic Strasburger. 'I don't see anything wrong with that as long as they're not playing first-person shooter games, violent games, games with a lot of sexual or drug content. The question is, who's going to supervise the scouts?' Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts can earn their pins by spending an hour a day playing games, teaching others how to play better, and researching the best price for games they'd like to buy."
n/t
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
I don't see anything wrong with that as long as they're not playing first-person shooter games, violent games, games with a lot of sexual or drug content.
Stop the censure! I grew up with duke nukem and it had no bad consequences.
And I'm all out of gum!
Now that you've learned how to tie a knot. You have to learn how to virtualize your real life actions probably with the Sailing job on Puzzle Pirates
Guess it is time I made my own version to compete, and show them what crap they've become.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Achievement Unlocked: Dib Dib Dib
Exactly I played games all through my child hood, and Doom was my game of choice. I mean were else are kids these days going to learn how to destroy that armed invading alien force, or if they need a car in a hurry how to jack one by simply pulling some one out of it. Now if some people believe that kids grow up into what video games taught them then why am i not out there killing ever one in the street, No I have sense and I also had a lot of fun........ But I must say that I can see both sides of the argument, one being that it is the Scouts and they are based on out door actives or things that help others, but again it is one badge there not changing ever thing else so let them have it.
Do you get extra credit for working out that piracy provides the best price?
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2. Put pin up on eBay
3. Profit
open source sub sim. I might start coding again for this. http://dangerdeep.sourceforge.net/contribute/
DYB DYB DYB W-e-e-e-l CAMP CAMP CAMP
# Play a video game that will help you practice your math, spelling, or another skill that helps you in your schoolwork.
Grand Theft Auto ?
http://snappeh.com/blog/ - My Blog, not that any of you care...
So much for Boy Scouts sticking to what its roots were in the 1900's. What's next? Oh yeah... Sleeping badge. You eat 12 cookies, drink a glass of milk, then sleep for 14 hours a day for a full week! It's the ultimate badge that takes a lot of hard work.
I don't see anything wrong with that as long as they're not playing first-person shooter games, violent games, games with a lot of sexual or drug content.
So in other words, as long as they aren't fun games
Playing games can hardly be seen as an achievement. It would be interesting to see pins for achievements in information tech though. Maybe for helping out setting up webservices for the local group or learning a programming language. But perhaps that would be to much to ask from a cub scout?
Oh yeah, because sitting on a chair and moving a mouse around so teaches one how to handle a real assault rifle, and for that matter so prepares one to sprint with 60 pounds of equipment.
Not to mention other valuable lessons. While those dumb Russkies and Chinese go like sheep and run at the enemy with a gun, as ordered, our brave NATO troops will be where it matters: camping an airstrip so they can fly an airplane into a hill ;)
I guess next thing you know they'll progress to other games, and the USA will have the first army who knows how to bunny-hop, grenade jump and spawn-camp. And woe to Osama once they learn where on the map are the BFG and quad damage ;)
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
Back in my day, we played D&D and Magic and didn't care about getting a badge for it!
Sounds fun, though. I hope it'll include some game design requirements, to get the scouts thinking a little more about how their games are put together.
Playing MAG will prepare them for a disappointing life as a platoon leader later in life.
At least they won't be surprised when half their men randomly decide to start running in circles or getting themselves blown up by mortar fire.
Or the "I pooped everyday badge"?
In all honesty, kids don't need more encouragement to game. Yes I'm a parent, but I'm young enough to still be a gamer and trust me, I didn't/don't need more encouragement.
Really? This? Are you going to have a merit badge for going to the movies?
How about you work on some of those long standing issues like your discrimination against gays, and non-Christians?
// file: mice.h
#include "frickin_lasers.h"
It was appearantly not enough to put off every halfway liberal person by their quite questionable membership policies, now they're working hard to alienate their conservative supporters.
Just like I always say, give someone enough rope and he'll somehow manage to hang himself.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Why he expects that they are going to play ".., violent games, games with a lot of sexual or drug content."? It's like a school proposing to go on a day trip with the class and a parent is worried that they are gonna be somewhere violent and have a lot of sex and drugs, because that is so usual on day trips.
I played a lot of games and I never got a game with violent, sex and drugs in the store. In what world does he live?
At last, why is he putting FPS games and ".. violent games, games with a lot of sexual or drug content" in one pot?
http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
The scouts obviously can teach the declining churches a thing or two about moving with the times (how about PS3s in the confessional?' how long has it been since your last session?). Mind you, they are just following behind the US military (instead of out in front scouting) who are down with gaming as an effective recruitment tool. US military gets "Immoral but effective" badge, the scouts get a "Easy Money" badge.
Waiting for the other shoe to...
They should be playing 1st person shooters, out alone behind enemy lines, evade capture, gather intel, use the right knots on captives, start fires in enemy assets, they are training to be scouts, not nancies!
Waiting for the other shoe to...
Scouts can earn their pins by spending an hour a day playing games, teaching others how to play better, and researching the best price for games they'd like to buy.
One hour per day seems perfectly normal for any teenager, teaching others will train their social & verbal skills and the gaming market research will teach them how to get the most out of their buck.
From my point of view these are all useful skills.
- Human knowledge belongs to the world
They're embracing something that kids are doing anyway. The Scouts have been modifying their program in recent years. They now have a leadership position for Troop Webmaster, a Jamboree on the Internet and have wholeheartedly embraced Geocaching. I would have thought this would be marked as one giant leap for nerd-kind. They're saying it's OK to play video games. Where's the "HUZZAH"?
The requirements talk about comparing prices of games & consoles (and store return policies), teaching others how to play games, balancing homework/videogames, and picking games that will help improve school skills. You know, the kinds of things we discuss here all the time?
Some people would say that First Person Shooters fit in *exactly* with the Scouts militaristic origins/undertones.
(If it was the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcraft_Folk/ then it would be a different matter.)
No first person shooters? Are the scouts aware that they actually offer a merit badge in SHOOTING.
People are up in arms because these violent video games "train young people how to operate weapons". No, they don't. You know what does train young people to use guns? Learning to shoot in the boy scouts.
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. No one is bitching about REAL guns with REAL bullets shooting REAL targets, but the second it becomes virtual everyone throws a fucking hissy fit.
-1 disagree is not a modifier for a reason. -1 troll, flaimbait, redundant, overrated are NOT acceptable substitutes.
Haven't we seen that video games at least engage the mind and don't induce the same fattening as television. Perhaps the 1 hour of video games instead of 1 hour of television is a good difference.
Cub scouts really wasn't that fulfilling, I didn't learn that much in it, Boy scouts is where you learn the real leadership skills, and life skills. You have to move with the times, and try to keep the same values at the same time.
Where is the mod rating for "scary"? Also,
Ignoring Fox's propaganda, the list of tasks a scout has to do to earn this is pretty decent. Considering these kids are gonna be playing anyway, why not teach them to play right ...I see nothing to complain about in the following list.
Belt Loop
Complete these three requirements:
1. Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.
2. With an adult, create a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming. Do your best to follow this schedule.
3. Learn to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.
Academics Pin
Earn the Video Games belt loop and complete five of the following requirements:
1. With your parents, create a plan to buy a video game that is right for your age group.
2. Compare two game systems (for example, Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, and so on). Explain some of the differences between the two. List good reasons to purchase or use a game system.
3. Play a video game with family members in a family tournament.
4. Teach an adult or a friend how to play a video game.
5. List at least five tips that would help someone who was learning how to play your favorite video game.
6. Play an appropriate video game with a friend for one hour.
7. Play a video game that will help you practice your math, spelling, or another skill that helps you in your schoolwork.
8. Choose a game you might like to purchase. Compare the price for this game at three different stores. Decide which store has the best deal. In your decision, be sure to consider things like the store return policy and manufacturer’s warranty.
9. With an adult’s supervision, install a gaming system.
I'd tell a UDP joke, but you may not get it. I'd tell a TCP joke, but I'd have to keep repeating it until you got it.
How about a merit badge for creating Web pages or setting up a Web site.
Maybe one for completing a simple self-taught course in a simple language like Java?
-Todd
p.s. The discrimination thing is an unfortunate issue, but, hey, just "Don't tell."
Omne ignotum pro magnifico.
Disclaimer: Cub Scouts was awesome and I remember most the warm feeling when the scouts gathered at a parents house. Video games would fit that atmosphere. The requirements are actually not so bad I think for this badge. Whereas I dropped out of Boy Scouts after some years when the bullying overwhelmed the exciting but life threatening campouts (8 miles into the wilderness in freezing winter, other scouts trying to burn down your tent, etc.) loved the hiking though.
Okay in this video merit badge for cub scouts I am worried about these lines:
It seems to require you to buy games in a store and the purchasing experience is emphasized. Being aware of the return policy is good but there seems to be a requirement to buy something. What if you want to use Free (or free) Software? Likewise "install a gaming system" could mean install a linux system on an old PC, and download some free games for it. So I think it would be better for cubs to emphasize the noncommercial aspect.
Also there is the cost of hardware, whether a console or not. If you can use an existing computer then the "install" could really mean just doing a software install.
I think it would be great if linux distro's sites had a page for Cub Scouts to learn about Free Software and guide them to fulfilling all the requirements for these badges and belt loops using Linux.
The question is, who's going to supervise the scouts?
These are young boys. The parents are still supposed to be involved at this age. Once they get to boy scouts, then its OK to give them a little bit more freedom.
âoeAny society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
I really almost see this as an attempt by Boy Scouts as a selling point to get more of the younger "Nintendo-and-Mt-Dew baby" generation interested in Boy Scouts itself in their parents already can't. Unless your child has a really identifiable personality and has no problem being an individual than a follower, of course it's going to be a struggle on a parent or club organization level to have any child be motivated to earn badges without feeling embarrassed, stupid, or get razzed at school because they helped some old lady across the street wearing their navy blue shorts, brown button-up and their sash.
I just think it's a real stretch for Boy Scouts to add this as something you 'earn'. Most parents get their children involved in an organization like this to get their children out of the house and away from TV and video games. There's already a Computer merit badge that you can earn, so it's tough to accept this idea as any more than lure bait or to re-gain interest in the club.
People seem to forget that scouting was originally seen as a way to train BETTER SOLDIERS. (Could be because Scouting worked so hard to camoflage it in the 70s)
This is clearly still on that path, as far as the US military in the 21st century is concerned.
-Styopa
Why not a badge for system building, or tech troubleshooting?
I love video games, but scouting isn't about sitting in your home playing video games.
When I tried being a cub scout for a couple years, all we did was sit around in the suburbs and glue popsicle sticks together. Do the cub scouts even go outside anymore?
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
First I had to lie to BSA about my atheism. Then I have to let others know I'm not homophobic when I tell them about my Eagle award. Now I have to watch while one of my life's proudest achievements is further devalued by BSA's desperate attempts to be "cool."
Before you write me off, please note that I am an avid player of video games. Metal Gear Solid 3 pretty much cemented my "C" average in college. I even carry around a DS as an adult. Still, I feel this merit badge is, well, devoid of merit. I fail to see how it is congruent with the objectives of Scouting, to provide boys (and girls) with a lasting appreciation of nature, leadership skills, and practical life knowledge. Scouting taught me how to change an oil filter, light fire without matches and to understand how airplanes fly. Stomping goombas doesn't fit in.
I guess I should mute my outrage until I know the requirements for acquiring the badge, but I can't help doubting they will involve much in the way of understanding how game consoles work. Indeed, there is already a merit badge for computer skills.
My 8 yr old son told me that he saw they have video game belt loops in Boys Life this month!
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/content/cub_scouts_video_games_academics_pin_and_belt_loop-2035.asp
Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts may complete requirements in a family, den, pack, school, or community environment. Tiger Cubs must work with their parents or adult partners. Parents and partners do not earn loops or pins.
Requirements for the Video Games Belt Loop
Complete these three requirements:
Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.
With an adult, create a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming. Do your best to follow this schedule.
Learn to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.
Requirements for the Video Games Pin
Earn the Video Games belt loop, and complete five of the following requirements:
With your parents, create a plan to buy a video game that is right for your age group.
Compare two game systems (for example, Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, and so on). Explain some of the differences between the two. List good reasons to purchase or use a game system.
Play a video game with family members in a family tournament.
Teach an adult or a friend how to play a video game.
List at least five tips that would help someone who was learning how to play your favorite video game.
Play an appropriate video game with a friend for one hour.
Play a video game that will help you practice your math, spelling, or another skill that helps you in your schoolwork.
Choose a game you might like to purchase. Compare the price for this game at three different stores. Decide which store has the best deal. In your decision, be sure to consider things like the store return policy and manufacturer’s warranty.
With an adult’s supervision, install a gaming system.
Armaments, 2-9-21 And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, 'O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade' N
In the sixties, I got so disgusted with "Scouting" I got out before We-Be-Los(t). As a youngster, I'd studied all my Dad's scouting manuals from the forties, and thought we'd be doing some serious woodcraft. One of the things I learned from TFM was that a REAL SCOUT can survive anywhere you dropped him with only a knife and an axe. Once again, I fail to see the application. I taught myself to make a fire using a bow-drill. (Well, I did it once, good thing it wasn't a real situation...) Maybe if you could learn how to short out the game's battery battery pack and make a fire it would serve a purpose.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
If they had this back in my day I would've gone from Bear to Weeblo in about 12 minutes. I had to spend three weeks just carving a fucking molar out of Ivory soap. And then there was the creepy den mother's boyfriend.
I agree to a certain extend. Scouting seems to me as a "purpose" giving thing for kids playing around and giving them sortof guidance. I used to grow up in the weekends in rural environments and the region, so I have ran around in fields, built treehouses and just "dissapeared" to pop up in time for dinner.
Imagening how life would've looked like 40 years ago, with no TV, boring games, .. I'd imagine they would do the same thing and just take on such a "manual". (the times I ran around playing "Rambo" of "Gi JOE" in camo imagening to be in a war are countless).
So perhaps it's now out of context, these "skills" aren't going to help you if you would evolve through to army as a man in those days (think that was part of the organisation, same as "hitler jugend" btw...) and are a bit outdated. Yet I'm glad I have these experiences of weekly being out playing with a group of kids, building camps, doing the campfire thing, growing to learn your boundaries and learning how to deal with people...
:P To do "actual kindof cool stuff" with it) and being around skirted girls in early puberty who punch you because they like you. Good times man.
To me it has had purpose, even though with moments it was pretty roughing up, but open knees, being allowed to use knifes (to stab your friends, no kidding
I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
It's Cub scouting, for younger kids. In the US, it's the regular Scouts that do all that compass reading, map using, hiking, woodcraft stuff.
Let's look at the actual requirements at scouting.org. It says, "Play an appropriate video game with a friend for one hour." That means one hour, once. Furthermore, that requirement is one of nine, only six of which must be fulfilled in order to earn the Video Games pin. As a scout leader, I can tell you that the Boy Scouts of America does not promote spending a lot of time playing video games. We do, however, recognize that video games are a normal part of a kid's life experience. So why not teach our kids how to evaluate systems and games from every aspect? Why not teach them how to think critically about selecting and playing video games? There is no specific mention in the BSA guidelines about first-person shooters or any other kind of game. The requirement is to understand the ESRB rating system, to be able to explain it, and to be able to make good choices about selecting games. The guidelines don't even prescribe what it means to make good choices; rather, they assume that the boys and their parents are intelligent enough to make their own decisions. I am a software developer, lifelong gamer, and dad of a scout.
Code like the wind, Bullseye!
it's fun to think that scouting was intended as a way to train better soldiers, but it's just not the basis of the BSA
Anything you say will be held against you.
Saturday morning we performed a flag retirement and new flag installation ceremony at my son's school for the new flag our pack purchased with a fundraiser.
Then we went on a 45 minute hike through a nature preserve (completing 4 wolf requirements and earning 2 belt loops in the process).
Armaments, 2-9-21 And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, 'O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade' N
Naturally, you're not going to get the whole story. Just enough of it to try to create outrage against the liberal weakening of patriotic program! Read the ACTUAL requirements before passing judgment.
Anything you say will be held against you.
I stopped reading at "Fox News reports."
In the sixties, I got so disgusted with "Scouting" I got out before We-Be-Los(t). As a youngster, I'd studied all my Dad's scouting manuals from the forties, and thought we'd be doing some serious woodcraft. One of the things I learned from TFM was that a REAL SCOUT can survive anywhere you dropped him with only a knife and an axe. Once again, I fail to see the application. I taught myself to make a fire using a bow-drill. (Well, I did it once, good thing it wasn't a real situation...) Maybe if you could learn how to short out the game's battery battery pack and make a fire it would serve a purpose.
Ever cross your mind that you got out before the 'good stuff'? I mean, don't you think even though they teach certain skills to boys up to 18 years old, they may not teach the same things to 9 year olds? That's the reason I didn't participate in cub scouts, and instead worked to earn my Eagle.
My experiences? I did a 70-mile backpacking trek at Philmont in New Mexico, earned the mile swim award, all three shooting sports merit badges, and became a BSA certified lifeguard. Sure, one could get away with doing the bare minimum of outdoor activities, but I've not experienced any that did. It's unfortunate you had a poor (cub) scouting experience, but I don't think it truly applies to scouting overall.
Write your representatives! Repeal the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics!
I would imagine any video games portraying homosexuality in any manner are strictly verboten. All characters in all games must be heterosexual. Pikachu would be an example of a verboten character.
"You are NOT prepared!"
And as the person responsible for making sure the Cub Scouts in my den actually meet the requirements, I am going pay particular attention if any of my Scouts claim completion for the belt loop or badge.
That being said, I see no real problem with this, and yes I read the requirements for the badge. In my opinion, one of the purposes of Scouting is to allow the boys and their families to learn about various subjects they may not have exposure to otherwise.
For example, the Cubmaster in our pack is a certified Hunter Safety instructor. He has taught the boys things about the outdoors that I did not know. I gave a presentation to the boys (and their parents) about computer and Internet usage. We work together with the parents to try to share our knowledge and views with the boys in a fun and supportive environment.
My goal is that my Cub Scouts (and my son is one of them) will have the confidence and knowledge to make good decisions on their own.
Go on, citizen, stamp the vote card. R or D, your choice.
So can the McDonalds in California now start giving away free video games instead of toys with their Happy Meals and say they are doing it to support the Cub Scouts?
..So it's ok for a youth organization to teach how to fire a gun and promote kids taking up killing people for a living(military enlistment), but doing it in a video gamer is wrong?
BSA has gone to pot.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Even as a youngster, I was a bit of an antisocial asshole. When I was doing a sixty mile hike with some YMCA folks, I packed in canned foods and fresh eggs, just so I could piss off everyone that forgot to bring bacon. I guess the experience of cutting living shrubberies (The Horror!) to make shelters and stuff like that isn't important to most people anymore, and Scouting is all about camaraderie and relevance. I wanted to do a little bit more outdated field work. I'm glad it worked for you, but I did see what the BSA were up to and it just wasn't for me. A field manual that doesn't teach the basics, like a figure-4 and a dead-fall, is far from complete.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
I've long believed anything that you do can be done passively or it can be done actively. Someone earlier complained that they might as well offer a badge in movie watching. I guess he thinks that's a bad thing. But I like the idea of offering badges for things kids are already doing specifically because the badges have requirements and those requirements cause you to consider what you're doing and put effort into doing it right.
If this gaming badge was nothing more then a time sheet that gives a badge for X hours of gaming time it'd be worthless. But their requirement list is perfect: connect the gaming hobby to your family experience, research pricing at different stores instead of just bugging mom, and explaining what you're learning to your folks are all really good ideas and great practices to have.
As a movie example I worked at Blockbuster all through college because I was a movie buff. So I read movie reviews, I sought out rare movies, took movie classes, held movie conversations with other knowledgeable people and risked seeing movies I didn't like (or that challenged me) to find movies that could surprise me.
None of this is true of 95% of the people who walked into our store. They would not, under any condition, rent a movie they hadn't seen plastered on every billboard and bus in the city. They'd never, ever, rent a movie that wasn't in their native language or even starring people they didn't already know.
That said, I'm not bitter or angry at them. Movies aren't their serious hobby, they just want a bit of escapism after a long day of work. I'm fine with that.
What I am saying is this: one approach deserves a badge and the other does not.
I, for one, respect the cub scouts for giving their members a reason to take aspects of their lives more seriously and their requirements are exactly right to meet that goal.
Oh, and one other point: the purpose of badges is to have more than one. That gaming should be one hobby balanced among others is a fine lesson as well.
I would have welcomed this pin with open arms. Trying to keep the interest of 1st - 5th graders on anything at all is difficult, and Cub Scouts requires the active participation of parents too. I certainly would have had more luck with this material than the woodcraft or tool work, which I have little talent for. :)
From what I can see, the focus of the pin is clearly on educating the kids about making better choices in video games, and on games that are educational. Looks like a win to me.
For the record, my Cub Scout pack (and yes, it was MY pack in the late 70s and my son's in the late 90s) is not affiliated with or sponsored by any religious institution (other than perhaps the BSA itself). We had to pay rent to the elementary school where we met, just like anyone else.
Necron69
It's not a boy scout badge, it's a cub scout pin. Kids in the cub-scout age range run around and go crazy regardless of whether they have video games. (At least, everyone I knew who had video games at that age ran around and went crazy, too.) Nobody is going to get this pin who doesn't play videogames--it's going to be kids who play videogames already, and they're going to have to at least learn how much the games cost. It doesn't hurt anything and it requires them to learn something. And nobody will seriously take it as a status symbol.
Sculpture, Theater, Cinematography, and Computers are all areas where someone might be interested in working in them one day, and one of the goals of the merit badge system is to introduce people to a wide range of areas. I only know any technical details about fingerprinting because I studied it one afternoon for a merit badge fifteen years ago--I get that knowledge forever, and there's nothing wrong with encouraging young men to learn things from a wide range of careers, activities, or knowledge. They recognize that some badges matter more than others to the scouting program, which is why you have eagle-required badges--but they also let people either earn something for the work they've put into an interest or for learning about a new potential field.
I would certainly be concerned about a video game merit badge on the boy scout level--but at the cub scout level, where it's one of a hundred things that are *really* easy to "earn," and where it still requires you to actually do something, I'm not too concerned about it.
-- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
When I was a boy scout.. 19 (ugh) years ago..
there was a badge for computing.
not specifically video games but they were tied in to it then.
I would assume the latter.
We have some wooded land almost a hundred miles from a Grizzly Bear Sanctuary in B.C. I'm not necessarily a second-amendment crazy, but if I could only pack heat at one of the two places, I'd pick the theatre.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
A field manual that doesn't teach the basics, like a figure-4 and a dead-fall, is far from complete.
Are you sure you aren't thinking of the standard manual? The field manual (a supplemental) does have a wide variety of survival and extreme environment information.
Write your representatives! Repeal the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics!
I was a scout and boy scout until I was allowed to quit. The whole process worked well on my father who ended up in 'nam.
The scouts prep you for the boy scouts like the 1st years of elementary prep you for school life. Then in the scouts its all about getting you into that old-age view of manhood that also happens to be closely tied to military ways. I pointed this out while in the cub scouts, having been raised on the old WW2 era films my father loved; it fell on deaf ears. I will say that the most gun ho ones were the not the vets... the vets were more into camping, nature etc-- and to me it seemed somehow the other men were making up for something. Needless to say, we didn't do much of the fun stuff and instead focused on earning stupid badges and the military prep work. Earning stickers, stars, points, candy, symbols stopped working on me early I suppose...
The scouts may have trouble getting with the times with internet and games distracting more youth; so they are trying to embrace it but I am far more skeptical and think of the recent words from some general who replied to the complaint that new recruits were too fat and out of shape: 'I don't care if they are fat as long as they can run a computer,' (paraphrasing.)
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
I guess that rules out Bastard Tetris.
It does fir with the times, as long as its only 1 badge.
Heck, I would even invite cub/boy scouts over to game, and show them the value of team work, communication, and good sportsmanship
I wish they would stress proper manors in gaming. Such as not griefing, playing for fun, not to own and that aspect since gaming now days is about multiplayer.
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive
No doubt the next badge will be awarded for evading the creepy Scout Leader during the weekend camp-out, with an added "Survival Under Extreme Conditions" Badge if Scoutmaster Roy brings along that priest he met on-line.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Originally, many of the merit badges applied directly to job skills, especially for sailors and farmers. Nowadays, knot-tying and welding are specialties. OTOH, as a US soldier, you can spend all day in a bunker in Nevada remote-piloting a drone in Afghanistan that can shoot rockets at Taliban leaders or innocent civilians. First person-shooter training is perfect for this new type of soldier.
there's nothing hard about getting FP when you are a subscribefag... just ask ASS POS.
Fags are on /b/. I am a subscriber nerd.
BTW, what woke you up? Haven't seen your UID before.
You must be new here.
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
This reminds me of the Bikini Awareness merit badge my buddy made up one summer camp. As part of the requirements, one would have to recognize all the different types of bikinis, make their own bikini, and write a report.