Near — Far
Translation details
Model:mistral-large-2512.Translated text
Section titled “Translated text”The patrol leader leads their unit in patrol formation through the town or surrounding area. Having prepared beforehand lists of objects for the scouts to observe, they distribute these lists at the moment of departure and instruct the scouts to mark with strokes each time someone spots an item on the list. The patrol leader compiles the list of objects to train scouts in observing both near and far distances simultaneously, and to break the habit—common among those trained in tracking—of focusing only on the ground beneath their feet. Example list of objects: broken window, damaged chimney top, matchstick, button, dog tracks, bird tracks, tower, landmark tree, statue, number of birds in flight, types of birds, lame horse, horse tracks, the horse’s gait, and the like. The scout with the most observations—marked by strokes—wins.
For variety, this exercise can be modified so that scouts are only required to observe and remember their observations, while the patrol leader notes them down. Later, through cleverly posed questions, the leader determines which scout in the patrol has the keenest sense of observation.
Initially, observations are made over a distance of 2 kilometers, later gradually extending to longer excursions. Example questions: What sound reached your ears as we left the town? From which direction was the wind blowing? How was the smoke rising? How many carriages were coming toward us? How many were behind us? What was the inscription on the statue? How many geese were swimming? How many roosters were crowing? From which direction were the crows flying?
Source scan: Śląska Digital Library, marked as “public domain.” View PDF — page 112.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Type: game
- Traits: Not stated in the source
- Source: Stanisław Sedlaczek, Szkoła harcerza (1921)
- Printed pages: 111–112 / PDF 112–113
- Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
- Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 111
- Read the source text: shc-024