As with other decades the Awards were changed reflecting changed emphasis and attempts to interest eight to ten year olds even if the basis for many remained the same.
Included in that set of 1990's cubs badges is the Local Historian one, something that within a ten mile radius of here any cub would be able complete with much local history preserved and indeed artifacts that go back a thousand years.
Computing was around in schools from the mid 1980's aided by the Acorn and BBC B home computers that hung around for quite a period so in term the badge scheme in Scouts adapted to that to include some basic (terrible pun!) computing skills as they became seen as more desirable and those early days we wrote or entered code to make the commputer do things.
Computing just got bigger and more user application lead as the crashed into 1995 and Windows 95 with it's emphasis on web based things like email, sites people joined to discuss things and news.
If you were a kid back then, you'd remember Blue Peter started with a website of its own and a feature on this.
What's this has to do with scouting is increasingly we used to communicate having local group sites, and what was covered in the Computing award changed.
The other element does go into wider society and a massive debate in many countries but really the challenge of getting children and young people to get off the smartphone and join the adventure, learning face to face from each other and switch off.
It wasn't that some of skills that applied in the era of the Phone Box didn't cease to be relevant just now you had to use your phone as widespread usage has decimate phone box provision.
For me a good start point is the involvement at all levels in delivering scouting people of all backgrounds and disabilities so the organization gains the shared experiences of its own people in what helps us all fit in.
It is about knowing what you as that person can do, things you may ned some help and perhaps some adjustments within the role to enable you and where the hard "not possibles" are.
That requires open, candid communication in a trusting environment so you and all involved locally feel able to talk about what can be done from a start point of looking at what that person has to offer first.
If you have that going on it is better when it comes to ensuring withing your group of children and young people you have a good level of inclusion because those people are so used to it, they will talk to that young person, their parents and any relevant experts at what we need to to ensure so that they can thrive in scouts and guides.
Good communication and sharing knowledge really helps.
That may mean equipment, it is likely to include some alterations of activities or help within undertaking them so the individual does it with support and there is advice around it available in both scouts and guides at national level.
There does, I feel need to more said in the offer of scouts and guides directly to children and parents about this so no one is excluded cos they never knew.
Communication isn't always clear especially when relaying information which scouts can expect to be involved in some sometimes it makes sense to spell out phonetically things and just sounding a letter isn't clear like M and N getting mixed up.
Although the relationship with Scouts in some parts of the world remains tetchy with the latter departing from the views of Baden Powell who favoured having seperate bodies for boys and girls with collaberation it is good to know GirlGuiding for Girls remains popular.
Why shouldn't girls have thier on spaces and programs?
