Round Town • Santa Margarita
Back to School Kicks off By Simone Smith
W
Scouting Recruitment
hen kids head back to school in August, learning is on everyone’s minds, well, that and seeing friends and maybe the thought of joining a sports team or a new club to pursue a special interest. If, however, you (or maybe a child or teen you know) have diverse interests, want to learn leadership skills, are interested in outdoor adventures, or just want to escape the boredom of being indoors and are 11 to 17 years of age, you may be interested in Scouting. Although the “modern Scouting Movement” started over 100 years ago, Scouting organizations are still going strong worldwide. It all began when British Army General Lord Robert Baden-Powell re-wrote his popular military training manual, “Aids to Scouting,” into “Scouting for Boys,” which was published over six installments in 1908 to better suit a youth readership. The story goes that Baden-Powell’s new manual was so eagerly received that it resulted in the spontaneous formations of Boy Scout troops and led Baden-Powell to become the founder and Chief Scout of what would become the worldwide Scouting Movement. Scouting quickly became so popular that,
16 | August 2022
00-ANM050-AUG22-Book.indb 16
according to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, when the first Boy Scout Rally took place in 1909 in the UK, “a group of girls showed up declaring themselves to be Girl Scouts.” This prompted Baden-Powell to decide that there should be a Scouting movement for girls as well, leading to the official establishment of the Girl Guide Association in the UK led by Agness Baden-Powell, Robert Baden-Powell’s sister. By 1912 the movement had spread to other countries such as Ireland, Portugal, and Norway, and a woman by the name of Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low became the Founder of Girl Scouting in the U.S.A. By 1922, Scouting had grown to over 1 million members in 32 countries around the world, and according to Scouting facts, by 2020 had increased to “more than 31 million Scouts, youth and adults, boys and girls, in 216 countries and territories”. Much has happened over the years, and since its inception, Scouting has changed along with the times. Although in the U.S., Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts remained similar in promoting adventure, camping, skills, personal fitness, and leadership development, the organizations remained separate
in regards to the membership for only boys or only girls until recently. Although siblings were welcomed to attend meetings and work on projects, girls were not allowed to become official members of the Boy Scouts, earn Merit Badges, or recognize progression through ranks. That all changed beginning in February of 2019 when the Boy Scouts of America became all-inclusive, changing their name to Scouts BSA and allowing girls to become members. Now Scouting is for everyone, all children 7 to 10 years of age can become Cub Scouts, and for those 11 to 17 years of age, there are additional, new, and separate all Girl Troops of Scouts BSA (due to the dynamics of girls generally maturing earlier, being more communicative, cooperative and more naturally prone to taking on leadership roles). In San Luis Obispo County, you can find local Scout BSA Troops to join through scouting.org, with newer Scout BSA Girl Troops available in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, and Pismo Beach. Although Scouting is yearround and welcomes new members at any time, Scout BSA organizations will be doing more Atascadero News Magazine
7/20/22 6:20 PM
