Scouts learn how the local government operates

Once a year, the Village of East Rockaway gives Scout troops an opportunity to see how the government works.”

Peter Carbonaro Assistant scoutmaster of Troop 332

On Feb. 5, young citizens from Cub Scout Pack 84 and Scout Troops 332 and 121 participated in Good Government Night, hosted by the Village of East Rockaway.

This annual event allowed Scouts to experience how local government functions by pairing the Scouts with the mayor, trustees, and municipal leaders during a Village Board meeting. Scouts then ran the meeting and provided reports on the activities and accomplishments of various village departments. East Rockaway Mayor Gordon J. Fox and the rest of the village leadership provided an informative and welcoming environment to the Scouts, who were also able to complete a requirement for the “Citizenship in the Community” Merit Badge through their participation.

“Once a year, the Village of East Rockaway gives Scout troops an opportunity to see how the government works,” Peter Carbonaro, assistant scoutmaster of Troop 332, said.

Carbonaro explained that this event helps the Boy Scouts achieve their Merit Badge and helps the Cub Scouts achieve their Belt Loop. Both are achievement awards for learning about local government and civics. One of the requirements of this award is to attend a town meeting and participate in some aspect of the meeting, whether it’s taking a vote or speaking at the meeting.

“So for the little ones, they’re given a script to read off of,” Carbonaro said. “And the older ones have the facts, but they’re allowed to go off script and improvise a little bit.”

This event is held every year at a village board meeting. Carbonaro said that this event helps the Scouts learn how the village is run.

“I think a lot of these kids never realize that the town that they live in needs to be run,” Carbonaro said. “I think they just wake up and think things happen, but there’s a whole element of public service and they got exposed to that at this event.”

At this year’s event, there were about 19 Scouts who participated. Carbonaro said that the kids were excited for this event, as this was an out of the ordinary event for them.

“One of the values that we try to teach these kids is citizenship,” Carbonaro said. “And citizenship is a participation sport. It’s not just about casting a vote every four years, it’s about what’s going on in your community and knowing what’s going on in your country and in the world.”

Carbonaro wants the Scouts to understand that they are the future citizens of this community, state, and country. He aims to instill the values of caring about your community into the Scouts. With government night, the Scouts got a taste at what running a local government is like.

“They get to see how the sausage is made,” Carbonaro said about the Scouts at the event.

Carbonaro believes that the Scouts need to be active in the community and pay attention to what government does at the local, state, national, and global level. He hopes to teach the Scouts to care about others through understanding how government affects everyone.