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For years I have been a video game apologist, taking every opportunity I can find to defend the medium. Most gamers will know exactly what I am talking about; having likewise put up with years of hearing that games are an antisocial waste of time. Because of this I am always suspicious of any mainstream media discussion on video games. But I was hopeful spotting the headline, “Boy Scouts find merit in video games” above column in my local newspaper, The Toledo Blade. (Read it here)
Of course, being a girl, I don’t know all that much about the Boy Scouts (I was a Girl Scout but my troop was anemic at best). As a kid I had vague impressions of the Boy Scouts trekking through woods and learning skills that may build character, but never seemed all that useful to a city kid. Boy Scouts of America hardly seems to be an organizational that will lend any credibility to gaming.
Cautiously I read the column, and was thrilled to find that the Boy Scouts seem to have gotten it right. According to The Blade, to receive the academic pin, “Scouts must play a game that involves a subject like math or spelling, organize a family tournament, and teach an adult or friend to play a game — activities that emphasize teaching and togetherness, both character-building skills embraced by the Scouts' mission.”
What I love about this reward is that it seems designed to defend itself against inevitable retractors. I mean that by requiring the Scout to teach others to play a game, it may result in a reluctant person seeing a games value. I can easily see a grandparent being persuaded to join a family Wii tournament and then having a better time than expected. Or how great would it be if the scout decided to teach a younger brother or sister to play a difficult game?
The Wii has done a lot to change the way most people view video games. But people seem to class the Wii as being different from other games and still vilify most console games. In fact The Blade column I have been quoting from comments, “How could the youth organization, after spending the last 100 years preparing young men to keep themselves "physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight," seemingly endorse a pastime with a poster child titled Grand Theft Auto?”
As a kid I was lucky to have parents who never berated me for playing games. Mom used to devote Saturday mornings to playing Ms. Pacman with me, and Dad has always shown an interest in my games. Hopefully this action by the Boy Scouts will encourage more parents to see the value that can be had while playing video games.