-title from the Scout promise-

Okay, I watched a video on Youtube a while back on the Dunblane Massacre.
If you don't know about it, here's a link [link] (grab a tissue while you're at it, seriously).

And, after posting a fairly innocent comment, I've become appalled with the scummy, ill-informed comments concerning the Scouts Association and everything that comes with it. Actually, just realised that if you scroll down, you can see my "lovely" conversation with someone where I'm forced to try and defend my own father.
SO! I thought I would write a journal because I'm well aware that a lot of people out there think Scouts is all about singing gin-gan-gooli round a campfire with shorts and knee-high socks.


Okay so, contrary to popular belief, the Scouts were not created originally for training boys to be trained for the army, by any means. In fact, Lord Baden-Powell explained in Scouting for Boys that he had the idea for it after coming back from the Boer War and seeing so any teenage boys dying, not because they were being killed by the enemy, but because they didn't know the basic ways of surviving. So, he taught them himself. At a tester camp in 1907 on Brownsea Island. After this blatant success, he continued to work hard to get as many boys involved as possible, and after some convincing from his wife, he set up a special section for girls too in 1911 called Girl Guides. He even went as far as setting up an international scout center in Switzerland (which as a few of you may remember, I went to a few years ago and my God it's incredible there...). This man was not a pedophile. He was not a homosexual trying to get some. He was a man concerned about the welfare of future generations and tried to help them in the best way possible, which I thank him eternally for.

As for the uniform, did you know every part of it served a practical puporse? The shoes? at the time the most practical and sturdy thing to walk in. The socks? Good for hiding a small, sheathed knife in in case it was needed as a tool (NOT a weapon). The shorts? Again, a practical idea with pcokets for storage. The shirt? again, two pockets for storage (including a Bible) and for sewing award badges onto. The necker (or scarf)? Could be used in a first aid situation as a make-shift sling, which I've actually been forced to do in the past and it worked incredibly well. The hat? sturdy, with protection for the sun but also good enough to store water in if needs be in a survival situation. Of course, over time the uniform has changed over time - more people wear trousers these days as they give your legs slightly more protection, and the hats have sadly gone out of fashion (though a big Hell Yeah! to Maids Moreton Scouts for bringing them back!) and obviously hiking boots and thicker socks are worn now instead, but the same basic principle of practicality applies. They are clothes the kids can use in situations they're called for, and they can also get dirty and active in them without discomfort or worrying about ruining their Sunday best. They are NOT designed so that old men can perv on boys walking past, or for school bullies to pick on for looking silly.

The badges? What better way to encourage the learning of practical skills, then proving you can do them than being given a badge? Okay, that sounds really lame actually... But unless you've received one yourself, especially if you put a lot of work and effort into it, you can't really appreciate the feeling of satisfaction when you're given what is essentially a prize fr doing the best you can do in a certain area, then getting to show it off by wearing it on your shirt in front of others. Y'know Russel in Up! ? Of course you do, the kid's a legend. He may be an exaggerated version (though my friends are convinced I'm the female incarnation) but he is the perfect example.
Plus, the things you learn while doing these badges... let's put it this way: I'm a first aider, a semi-qualified lifeguard, a camp cook, a navigator, a person who has spent 30+ nights in the outdoors and done 28+ hikes (including two days in the Peak District, 4 days in Dartmoor, climbing Snowdon, crossing mountains in the Lake District etc.), I can safely use an axe and various saws, I know how to use my knife and care for it, how to effectively light and maintain a fire and loads of other skills that have actually helped me a lot more than one might think in my life.
Today, I spent the day with my uncle, four other Explorers and our leader going through a serious of 64 canal locks in about...8 hours? to raise money for a two week trip to Greece in July to do community projects and earn a very high award called the Explorer Belt. We're also planning on doing a 4 day hike, a week residential (but not together as it's against the rules), 12 months volunteer work, 12 months on a skill, 12 months doing physical and and extra 6 months onto one of those to gain a higher award than (if you know it) The Duke Of Edinburgh award; The Queen Scout award - the hardest award in the entire Scouting association to  get and you only have 9 years to do it.

After for the leaders and district, county and country teams dedicated to helping us kids learn these skills and do these amazing things? I have never seen more dedicated people in my life. I see it in my dad all the time - he comes home from work at 5:30 most nights, then he checks his emails and starts organising how to go about that week's meeting, any meetings about the programme or upcoming events/camps with the other leaders and updating the Scouts on anything they need to know, as well as maintaining a website and leading his home life as well. The other leaders do this too and despite the amount of stress and exhaustion they go through trying to achieve these goals, they still volunteer week in, week out for the sake of a group of 6-18yr olds wanting to have fun. Every single one is CRB cleared and removed from their role if anything that might harm someone emotionally or physically becomes apparent. At least, that's how it's done in England - that's not insulting other countries, just saving myself from flamers trying to tell me otherwise. I have complete faith and trust in all these people and though at times we may joke around about my dad being like Hitler, or one of our other leaders being Mussolini (two jokes that go way back and have nothing actually offensive involved) but I know they take their roles seriously and I myself as a Young Leader had to go through 4 hours of basic training before I was allowed to look after a group of kids I'd spent the last 7 years with. The Scout Association does not just let any old person in; even parents have to be checked before helping on activities. The main priority in anything is the safety and well-being of the kids.




Aaaaand I think that's all I can say without boring you to death... If you'd like to know more, go to www.scoutbase.org.uk or, for my group's website go to www.1stmaidsmoretonscouts.org .  If you're still reading this, then a) thank you and b) I hope that cleared up your views and perhaps told you things you didn't know about the Scouts Association.
I myself owe them so much and owe so many experiences, friends and memories (good, bad and ugly) to Sir Lord Robert Baden-Powell. Yes, I am passionate about defending him and what he stood for, because I believe it's the best thing you can do for a child. Skills, friends, respect; what more could you want for them?
If you wanna know more, feel free to ask (though I really doubt anyone will XD) and I'll be happy to answer :3


~Livy