This is article is part of the Undisrupted series, a series of articles detailing our troop's response to the current COVID-19 situation, allowing training to continue even when physical CCA sessions have been postponed showing that our troop is truly prepared and unwavered even in the face of the pandemic.
By Jann Lim and Koh Jia Ler
The COVID-19 situation provided our scouts with new opportunities to come up and brainstorm ingenious ways to attain proficiency badges. In this edition of the Undisrupted series, the spotlight is on the Collector and Craftsman badges, two seemingly easy badges to attain by many but in order to stand out from the rest, the Catholic High Scout has to go above and beyond set expectations, to put the troop at the top.
For the collector badge, Badge hopefuls during normal circumstances are just supposed to showcase their collection of items live, coming up with a short presentation and sharing with their patrol mates and examiner. Due to the COVID-19 situation, this form of assessment is not applicable anymore due to the temporary suspension of CCAs in line with the Governments Circuit Breaker measures. Unfazed, Ventures have shifted offline presentations online. Now, scouts are expected to come up with a short PowerPoint presentation and present their collection virtually, on a zoom call with the other badge applicants and the respective examiner.
The COVID-19 situation also gave collectors a chance to explore new ways of completing their collection. Many of our scouts vying for the collector badge usually present rather mainstream collections of soccer trading cards, books etc. One avid collector of stamps, however, managed to continue his collecting online. He shared with the ventures that due to the current situation, many local stamp collectors have moved their discussions and trading online. This enabled him to continue to upkeep and maintain the progress of his collection. Apart from buying and trading online, he has also managed to print them out from online sources. Though they may not be the real deal, they can temporarily serve as a substitute for stamps. They are also free to print, and thus low-cost using the home printer and printer paper to print the stamps out.
For those in the craftsman badge elective, the experience has inculcated in the scouts several life lessons such as resilience when met with difficulties and an innovative spirit to overcome any difficulty placed in their way. For example, some scouts did not have any fabric suitable for the mull of the book. To overcome this problem, they have used their creativity and made use of thin cardboard pieces as a substitute for the fabric. With this new skill as well as the values learnt, it is indeed an enriching experience for our scouts to go through during the COVID-19 outbreak. Scouting is indeed not just about picking up skills, rather it is the skills that provide the medium for which important values are instilled in the lives of scouts, grooming them to become men of principle and skills.
In conclusion, this COVID-19 situation has brought a major change in the lifestyle and activities in Singapore. As Catholic High Scout Group, we have always embraced change and will always remain hopeful even in times of crisis. This virus is just a small hindrance in our current lives but it is only temporary, and will soon be eradicated. Scouting must still go on no matter the situation, as it provides a sense of solidarity and hope in our members, as well as being an avenue to release stress amidst the busy online school schedule. Catholic High Scout group will always be prepared.
Comments