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Cub Scouts gaming belt loop & pinApril 28th, 2010 |
Yup, and the jokes about Couch Scouts are already flying on some news sites.
There is something oddly appropriate about this, though, given how much games have been inspired by the “achievements system” that Scouts have used for a century.
The requirements have a lot more to do with education than anything else, though. Only one of the five requirements for the academics pin involves actually playing. The others have to do with things like comparison shopping, hardware setup, evaluating the game rating system, and teaching people. The actual descriptions:
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.
Academics 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.
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I dont remember helping to “promote a chinese slave wage made consumer appliance” and “reviewing and reporting on corporate brands and products” to be any part of the “civic duty” that scouts were encouraged to exemplify.
Next– “do a taste test for coke vs pepsi”…. I wonder who’ll be paying for the outfits soon enough.
[...] was quite impressed with the Scouting movement when I discovered that they’d introduced new badges related to video gaming. It definitely shows forward thinking and an understanding of the youth of today and I’ve got [...]
I think it’s a great idea and it shows how the Scouting movement is keeping up with the times and teaching kids how to game responsbily. Great stuff!
Oh yes, it is quite real… And, the belt loop was the first award to sell out this spring in our council.
While I believe it is very important that we strive to get our kids active in outdoor activities, it is still important to provide connection points where the kids are able to engage in activities across their interest segment. It provides much more meaningful. Much as games have an opportunity to be applied to education.
Plus, it is a big plus for the den leaders when they let their cub scouts know they are going to work on the video games belt loop at the next meeting.
The link at the bottom of the quote is to the official Scouting site, so yes, it is real.
No idea if it is properly real, but having spent a childhood in Cub/Boy-scouts, these tasks have the ring of truth to them.
As far as the “couch scout” angle goes, these organizations are not just about instilling outdoors-man skills, but life skills in general. Apparently, they finally decided that digital gaming can be a part of a balanced life; this trend can only mean good things for the industry.
Random anecdote: I discovered table RPGs and Magic: The Gathering in Boyscouts. Nothing like a 15 mile hike with 65 lbs on your back, and then cooking over a campfire, rolling polyhedra, and getting dirty looks from the more conservative scouts and adults.
Is it a prerequisite for advancement to Wii-blows?
Did you check to make sure you weren’t reading an Onion article?
That’s too funny.
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.
This sounds more like preaching than education. Real education would have them draw their own properly supported conclusions instead.