Writing a "Letter to the Editor"...

[mrkstvns]

I love being a scouter, and one of the activities I most enjoy is being a merit badge counselor for subjects that I truly care about....especially Communications (which I regard as the single most important life skill for someone aspiring to a leadership role of any kind).

In every class, we've written "letters to the editor" as part of requirement 7a. 

Normally, that's the end of it.  After counseling more than 100 scouts on this MB, I can't recall hearing that the boys' letters actually got published --- or even got read by anybody outside the class. 

Now, I have an example to point to of an MB class that wrote a group letter to a newspaper, which actually published it on their website....cool!

https://www.theolympian.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article237568074.html 

 

[DuctTape]

Agreed about being a mB counselor for those things we are passionate about. Should be the case for all mB counselors as that passion can transfer to the scouts. If the passion does not exist, the likelihood of the scout becoming passionate about the activity is unlikely. Worse, a scout with fledgeling passion will have it extinguished by a ho-hum mB counselor.

Back to your post, that is very cool for the scouts to have their letter published. It will certainly encourage them to continue to write letters to editor, etc...

Edited November 23, 2019 by DuctTape
typos

[greenreddew]

My son did this as a prereq for summer camp and his letter was not only published but also became a topic at our town's council meeting. Granted, it was not a nice discussion but still he was excited!

It is great when the scouts can get that little bit of a perk in public. We teach the boys that it is not about the public acknowledgement but it is fun when it happens