We aren’t working to control the conduct of young people. We have a greater challenge; to form their character as defined in the Scout oath and law. Are the Scouting ideals in the Scout oath and law a code of conduct? Is it an ideology? Is it a religious text? No, it is none of these things. The Scout oath and law are ideas that have defined positive, contributing, individual character throughout human history....
Members of the BSA we are specifically asked to affirm the Declaration of Religious Principle – The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God. In the first part of the Scout Oath or Promise the member declares, “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law....
Remember being young when the ground was constantly shifting under our feet? Remember wanting to be an adult but not wanting to be like the adults you knew? Remember how you wanted to change things? What an energizing, exciting, challenging, and sometimes confusing world we lived in! Our growing brains and bodies were in a constant state of change, every day was full of new ideas, new experiences, new people, new challenges....
On this Memorial Day we honor the memories and continuing dedication of women and men who have served our country. We must rememebr that when meet, when we camp, when we march in parades and decorate the graves of those who served, the great debt we owe. Our remembrances today are one small payment on that debt, and our work in Scouting has the great potential to foster peace by educating our Scouts in a spirit of world brotherhood....
The next time you are out camping take a moment or two to be in the wild, stroll around and take it all in. No intention, no agenda, just be there until your mind quiets down and you begin to see what’s in front of you. The Norwegians call it friluftsliv ( free-loofts-liv ) or “open air life.” Norwegians practice friluftsliv by hiking, biking, boating, canoeing, skating, fishing, hunting, or camping....
What is your message about kindness? In this season of peace take a moment to consider your connection, as a Scouter, to the lofty goal set by our founder: … let us go forth from here fully determined that we will develop among ourselves and our boys that comradeship, through the world-wide spirit of the Scout Brotherhood so that we may help to develop peace and happiness in the world and good will among men....
One of my favorite writers and noted American naturalist Aldo Leopold is, perhaps, the first to describe what is now known as a “trophic cascade”. Leopold observed over-grazed mountain slopes and connected this with the extermination of wolves. How trophic cascades work, and how they can be restored is explained in this video about the far-reaching effects of the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone; Scouting provides young people the opportunity to understand how our own lives are woven into the fascinatingly complex web of life....
Eagles and peacocks are both impressive looking birds. Peacocks are known for their elegant, showy, appearance, and for strutting around and their impressive display of feathers; “proud as a peacock”. If you’ve ever spotted an eagle in the wild you’d agree they are an impressive sight. A symbol of power, nobility and freedom the eagle’s flight through human history is steeped in myth and legend. Assyrian carvings blended the lion and the eagle – a symbol that spread to Greece where Herodotus believed the griffin lived in the mountains of India, where it made a nest of gold....
This Scoutmaster’s minute is based on one of Aesop’s Fables. The Wind and the Sun were arguing. It’s a little know fact but, every once in a while, the forces of nature have an argument, and I happened to overhear them the other day. We all know the wind is, well, kind of a blowhard and just the other day the Wind was bragging about how strong it was, and even insisted it was stronger than the Sun....
Atoms are 99.99% empty space. Solid objects aren’t actually solid, just tiny bits of matter floating in an electrostatic field. Scouting is 99.99% values and ideals. Everything else is window dressing. Take the space out of atoms and things turn into a little pile of dust. Take the ideals out of Scouting and there’s not much left. We can’t literally see the space between atoms; but scientific study provides evidence it is there....
Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea for your notebook: If you visit the archery range at camp this summer (and you should!) you’ll get the opportunity to shoot an arrow at a target. If you shoot six arrows at the target how many do you think will hit the bull’s-eye? Before you answer; an archer shooting in Olympic-level competition gets about 70-80% of their arrows in the bull’s-eye. How many of you will aim your arrow at the upper right hand corner of the target?...
Keep before your mind in all your teaching that the whole ulterior motive of this scheme is to form character … Baden-Powell Scouting’s ulterior motive, our goal as Scouters, is forming character. The methods of Scouting , (the patrol system, outdoor adventure, etc.), are the tools of character development. We track this development using reflection, counselling, mentoring and coaching. If our work is invested in developing an individual’s mental and moral qualities what milestones indicate we’ve succeeded?...
“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others…for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received....
click the image to see full-sized On Independence Day we celebrate; We celebrate the trust our nation’s first leaders invested in one another. We celebrate loyalty they mutually pledged: their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. We celebrate the helpfulness of those who aided our fledgling country. We celebrate friendship born in service and devotion to the aims of liberty. We celebrate courtesy, the civility that both values our own ideals and treats those of others with respect....
A bit of planning, a lot of work, and the result! From Seth Godin You don’t get to just do the good parts. Of course. In fact, you probably wouldn’t have chosen this path if it was guaranteed to work every time. The implication of this might surprise you, though: when the tough parts come along, the rejection and the slog and the unfair bad breaks, it makes sense to welcome them....
A Scoutmaster minute about discouragement: If a bird landed on your head what would you do? Run? Brush it off? Maybe both? Nobody can keep birds from flying over their head but we can keep them from making a nest in our hair. Everyone encounters discouragement. We all come up against situations that seem like we’ll never get over. We all have birds fly over our heads too. It’s not very likely you’d just let a bird build a nest in your hair (although after a few days camping some people’s hair may look like a bird’s nest)....
Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – Sometimes we need to slow down and concentrate on what we are doing. Sometimes we rush because we want to save time and we actually end up spending more time. What’s interesting is that taking more time to begin with actually saves time in the long run. Have you ever rushed to build a fire only to have to start over again? Sometimes we get distracted by the result and forget to do things properly....
How do you put out a fire? Adding more fuel is not the answer. How do you deal with anger, resentment, misunderstandings, conflicts and arguments? These are natural reactions that everyone feels some time or another. It’s not wrong to feel angry, frustrated or resentful – it’s how we react to these feelings that matters. Anger can actually feel a lot like fire. If we react to anger by saying or doing angry things it’s just like adding fuel to the fire....
Make Me a Boat If I communicate the love of the sea to my people, Soon you will see them diversifying according to their thousand particular qualities: One will weave the fabrics, Another will cut the tree in the forest, Another still will forge nails Someone will observe the stars to learn how to navigate, All will work as one. To create the ship is not just to weave the fabrics,...
Forest E. Witcraft (1894 – 1967), a scholar, teacher, and Boy Scout administrator first published in the October 1950 issue of Scouting magazine. I am not a Very Important Man, as importance is commonly rated. I do not have great wealth, control a big business, or occupy a position of great honor or authority. Yet I may someday mould destiny. For it is within my power to become the most important man in the world in the life of a boy....