Dear Editor,
For the most part, our school-age boys and young men refuse to take part in extracurricular activities.
Involvement in uniformed groups, especially for our males, has become a rarity in the Jamaican society. It was a rather refreshing sight to see a young man dressed in full scout uniform making his way to school last Friday while on my way to work. This occurrence signalled to me that all is not lost in Jamaica, despite the harsh economic times and the struggles we face daily as a people.
As a society, we need to revitalise the scouting movement in Jamaica and encourage our children, especially our young men, to get involved in positive extra-curricular activities such as this. Scouting was started in the early 1900s by Robert Baden-Powell and is still as relevant today as it was back then. The scouting organisation works towards giving young men the knowledge, skills and life lessons that will help them mature and succeed as they become adults.
In an era when many of our boys are facing a crisis of masculinity, a sense of despair and under-achievement, the scouting organisation offers boys a variety of benefits including friendship, cooperation, leadership skills and character building. Too many of our boys are only interested in the "G Factor", that is, guns, girls, gangs, ganja and Gaza/Gully (counted collectively). We need to work harder to expose and re-socialise our boys into other areas of the culture in order to have them as well-rounded and productive members of the society.
With almost 50 per cent of Jamaican households headed by females, scouting can be used and should be used to bridge the gap to provide positive male role models to our boys. As more and more parents and guardians take on extra working hours in order to earn additional income to make ends meet, we are most likely to see an increase in the need for safe and productive avenues for boys to get involved in some structured after-school programme.
Scouting should be in all our schools. However, too many of our schools do not have this offering; we must now ask ourselves why this is so and put measures in place to address this. Too many of Jamaica's youth are at risk and are in need of rescuing.
As a worldwide brotherhood, scouting is unique. It is based on the principles of loving and serving God, human dignity and the rights of individuals, and of recognising the obligation of members to develop and use their potential.
In order for us to have a better society, one in which we can live peacefully, as well as raise families and work, we need to offer the necessary support and incentives to our uniformed groups and organisations to carry out their mandate of equipping the next generations with the necessary skills to help us realise the 2030 vision of become a developed society.
Wayne Campbell
waykam@yahoo.com
Scouting should be in schools
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For the most part, our school-age boys and young men refuse to take part in extracurricular activities.
Involvement in uniformed groups, especially for our males, has become a rarity in the Jamaican society. It was a rather refreshing sight to see a young man dressed in full scout uniform making his way to school last Friday while on my way to work. This occurrence signalled to me that all is not lost in Jamaica, despite the harsh economic times and the struggles we face daily as a people.
As a society, we need to revitalise the scouting movement in Jamaica and encourage our children, especially our young men, to get involved in positive extra-curricular activities such as this. Scouting was started in the early 1900s by Robert Baden-Powell and is still as relevant today as it was back then. The scouting organisation works towards giving young men the knowledge, skills and life lessons that will help them mature and succeed as they become adults.
In an era when many of our boys are facing a crisis of masculinity, a sense of despair and under-achievement, the scouting organisation offers boys a variety of benefits including friendship, cooperation, leadership skills and character building. Too many of our boys are only interested in the "G Factor", that is, guns, girls, gangs, ganja and Gaza/Gully (counted collectively). We need to work harder to expose and re-socialise our boys into other areas of the culture in order to have them as well-rounded and productive members of the society.
With almost 50 per cent of Jamaican households headed by females, scouting can be used and should be used to bridge the gap to provide positive male role models to our boys. As more and more parents and guardians take on extra working hours in order to earn additional income to make ends meet, we are most likely to see an increase in the need for safe and productive avenues for boys to get involved in some structured after-school programme.
Scouting should be in all our schools. However, too many of our schools do not have this offering; we must now ask ourselves why this is so and put measures in place to address this. Too many of Jamaica's youth are at risk and are in need of rescuing.
As a worldwide brotherhood, scouting is unique. It is based on the principles of loving and serving God, human dignity and the rights of individuals, and of recognising the obligation of members to develop and use their potential.
In order for us to have a better society, one in which we can live peacefully, as well as raise families and work, we need to offer the necessary support and incentives to our uniformed groups and organisations to carry out their mandate of equipping the next generations with the necessary skills to help us realise the 2030 vision of become a developed society.
Wayne Campbell
waykam@yahoo.com
Scouting should be in schools
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