Yes, scouting is the best option!
Apr 09, 2009
EDITOR—I wish to add to Patrick Kaboyo’s letter that the revival of scouting in the education system of Uganda has the answer to the ongoing debate about teaching patriotism in schools. Even with my degree in Philosophy I still cannot understand the s
EDITOR—I wish to add to Patrick Kaboyo’s letter that the revival of scouting in the education system of Uganda has the answer to the ongoing debate about teaching patriotism in schools. Even with my degree in Philosophy I still cannot understand the sudden enthusiasm about ‘patriotism’.
Somebody in Kyankwanzi is not doing his job! Kaboyo’s submission that funding the scouts movement (no relation to the NRM ‘movement’) will produce the kind of citizens we wish to have in Ugandaâ€, makes a good case.
Scouting is non-partisan, and the values it stands for such as tolerance,honesty, loyalty, teamwork, hard work, friendship, and good stewardship of the environment, are some of the patriotic values we wish to inculcated in our children. Faithful to its fundamental principles and with its proven educational pedagogy, the scouts movement can significantly contribute to the upbringing of the kind of citizens Uganda needs.
In scouting, education for good citizenship starts in the patrol when a young person learns to discover other people, to respect their differences and to act with them. This discovery gradually extends to the troop, to the world around him/her, to the national and to the international.
Through concrete and appropriate activities adapted to their capabilities, young people are prepared to become responsible and patriotic citizens. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, let us support the educational mission of scouting in this country. For many of us in Uganda who are products of the scouting movement, we feel saddened that scouting has largely been neglected by the Ministry of Education.
All the experiences we had and the values we learned at Kaazi (Uganda), Rowallan (Kenya) and Bahati (Tanzania) campsites, have shaped us into responsible and patriotic citizens.
If authentic patriotism is what we are searching for at this time, a careful study of scouting may provide a very useful non-politicised option.
Fr Fred Jenga
Nsambya
Somebody in Kyankwanzi is not doing his job! Kaboyo’s submission that funding the scouts movement (no relation to the NRM ‘movement’) will produce the kind of citizens we wish to have in Ugandaâ€, makes a good case.
Scouting is non-partisan, and the values it stands for such as tolerance,honesty, loyalty, teamwork, hard work, friendship, and good stewardship of the environment, are some of the patriotic values we wish to inculcated in our children. Faithful to its fundamental principles and with its proven educational pedagogy, the scouts movement can significantly contribute to the upbringing of the kind of citizens Uganda needs.
In scouting, education for good citizenship starts in the patrol when a young person learns to discover other people, to respect their differences and to act with them. This discovery gradually extends to the troop, to the world around him/her, to the national and to the international.
Through concrete and appropriate activities adapted to their capabilities, young people are prepared to become responsible and patriotic citizens. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, let us support the educational mission of scouting in this country. For many of us in Uganda who are products of the scouting movement, we feel saddened that scouting has largely been neglected by the Ministry of Education.
All the experiences we had and the values we learned at Kaazi (Uganda), Rowallan (Kenya) and Bahati (Tanzania) campsites, have shaped us into responsible and patriotic citizens.
If authentic patriotism is what we are searching for at this time, a careful study of scouting may provide a very useful non-politicised option.
Fr Fred Jenga
Nsambya