Friday, October 05, 2007
Widdle Wolfie Cubs
Well, we’re on a Pirate Pete theme this week. Last night I took him to his first Cub Scouts session. Not too surprisingly he really liked it, and is very keen to carry on. It wasn’t the most exciting of nights, they played a couple games, then did a really good map exercise. The boys where put into pairs and given a local ordinance survey map. They had to find their own homes, locate the scout hut, then freehand draw a map showing the route from their houses to the hut and include major features like woods, lakes, streams and pubs (hey, we really do live in the country).
Quite by chance PP got paired up with the only other boy from his school. They got stuck right in, no prompting, and drew a bloody good map. It struck me that the schooling was maybe showing through again. This isn’t about class, its about the discipline and focus they had learned. Not many of the other pairs put the same time and effort in.
In the car back I was told in no uncertain terms that he wanted to go back. His new friend had been telling him about the camping and hiking and he was dead keen. Didn’t matter that I’d been telling him the same things about Cubs, his mate said it was good, therefore it was good. You got to love boys.
Any way, it made me very glad. I loved Cubs and Scouts. I have many fond memories of the camping trips and jamborees. I hope it will be the same for him. It will also get him out of the rarefied atmosphere of his school. A bit of mixing up with some boys from the local council estate in a good organised place like Cubs is a very good thing.
I’m so glad Scouts is surviving in our day and age. From all accounts its more than surviving, its growing. This pack takes on kids from three villages, and was a good size. The morals may be a bit old fashioned, but that’s not a bad thing in my eyes. Teaching boys to do good deeds, to respect themselves and each other, to learn about the outdoors, its all as it should be. So here’s to the Scouts, a movement that society needs. Long may it continue.
Quite by chance PP got paired up with the only other boy from his school. They got stuck right in, no prompting, and drew a bloody good map. It struck me that the schooling was maybe showing through again. This isn’t about class, its about the discipline and focus they had learned. Not many of the other pairs put the same time and effort in.
In the car back I was told in no uncertain terms that he wanted to go back. His new friend had been telling him about the camping and hiking and he was dead keen. Didn’t matter that I’d been telling him the same things about Cubs, his mate said it was good, therefore it was good. You got to love boys.
Any way, it made me very glad. I loved Cubs and Scouts. I have many fond memories of the camping trips and jamborees. I hope it will be the same for him. It will also get him out of the rarefied atmosphere of his school. A bit of mixing up with some boys from the local council estate in a good organised place like Cubs is a very good thing.
I’m so glad Scouts is surviving in our day and age. From all accounts its more than surviving, its growing. This pack takes on kids from three villages, and was a good size. The morals may be a bit old fashioned, but that’s not a bad thing in my eyes. Teaching boys to do good deeds, to respect themselves and each other, to learn about the outdoors, its all as it should be. So here’s to the Scouts, a movement that society needs. Long may it continue.
