Yesterday evening, I attended a Court of Honor for my twin sons, Christian and Conrad, who are avid Boy Scouts. Though only 11 years old, they each have earned 20 merit badges, and last night they advanced to the rank of Star. That means only 12 months, four required merit badges, and a service project stand between them and the rank of Eagle Scout (which my oldest son earned almost exactly three years ago).
We view Scouting as an important part of their educational experience, and we attempt to provide similar experiences for our daughters. The merit badges require the boys to stretch their abilities and to step out of their comfort zones. They are required to interact with adults and to learn a wide variety of new things. For example, Christian is helping his mother to create a garden in our backyard, while Conrad is learning to play hymns on the piano. Both of them are learning to manage finances from a business consultant in our neighborhood, and I am preparing to sit them down for a session on contracts.
Anyway, I had Scouting on my mind when I received this story via email from Glom-friend Don Clarke. When the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres played in Beijing last week, about 50 Cub Scouts (mostly Americans) went to the game. They were particularly excited because the Dodgers had invited them onto the field to meet the players after the game. Here is what happened next:
Just before the game, the Haidian district police barred the scouts from the field. Why? Because thousands of kilometers away, in the Himalayas, monks and others in Tîbet had launched protests against Chinese rule. The government apparently feared that the young Americans would use their moment on the grassy infield to agitate for Tîbetan independence. This fear that a pack of cub scouts would politicize a baseball game drove the government to politicize the event more effectively than any Tîbetan splittist could hope for, and disappointed a group of bright-eyed kids in the process.
Oh, well. It's not like they missed out on meeting the Twins.
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1. Posted by KipEsquire on March 19, 2008 @ 8:56 | Permalink
I hope you also consider BSA v. Dale to be "an important part of their educational experience."
2. Posted by Jason on March 19, 2008 @ 10:46 | Permalink
China's government continues to be utterly bizarre.
I do have a bit of a personal question: how do you feel about your boys moving up the ranks so quickly? Do you fear burnout? I earned my Eagle Scout award just shy of my 17th birthday, and remained involved in my troop until I left for college. (Indeed, I went to Philmont with my troop in the summer between my senior year of high school and first year of college.)
I had friends in the troop, however, who, after earning the rank while still quite young, basically burned out and left the troop at 13 or 14. This obviously deprived them of the benefits of scouting (of which I'll agree there are many, despite my reservations about some of the organization's philosophies) for their late-teen years.
3. Posted by Gordon Smith on March 19, 2008 @ 12:03 | Permalink
Kip, I was tempted to put a stopwatch on the post to time how long it would be before someone made that comment. You were pretty quick on the draw.
I understand why some people would find Scouting's policy on homosexuality objectionable. Scouting has been great for my boys in many ways, but it isn't the only way we provide instruction to them. We have talked about the policy and about the topic of homosexuality more generally. My hope is that they will be wise and kind in all of their dealings.
Jason, my oldest son earned his Eagle at about the same pace, and he remains involved in Scouting (he is 17 years old). Burnout is what happens to people who are not excited about what they are doing. At the moment, my boys are excited about it, and we are feeding that excitement.
What remains unexplained is their secret weapon (i.e., Mom). My wife is very involved in Scouting, so she is knowledgeable about the merit badges, and she maximizes their return on effort. She invites piano teachers, school teachers, Church leaders, etc. to act as counselors, so whenever my boys are involved in an activity, they are simultaneously fulfilling requirements for merit badges. I am taking one of my sons to DC later this year, and we are working on two merit badges while we are there. That may sound burdensome, but we are doing the sames activities we would otherwise plan to do. We're just making sure we fulfill the requirements along the way.
4. Posted by Jake on March 19, 2008 @ 19:29 | Permalink
Gordon hits the nail, albeit too gently. The BSA v. Dale comment is a cheap shot and uncalled for. Just exercising my First Amendment rights here.
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