Category: Scouting in General

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We’re in the creativity business

greenlighbulb_200Like most readers of this blog, I’m a parent of teenagers (well, my older son turns 22 this week, so there’s just one teenager left) and as we all have come to realize in recent years, our kids and most of their friends are becoming increasingly disconnected with the natural world.

If you’re like me, your youth had a lot of outdoor time, especially when the weather was conducive to being outdoors. I walked to school twice a day (morning session, home for lunch, then back for afternoon class) until seventh grade, and even then I did a lot of walking to and from school in good weather and bad. Summers were spent outdoors and – this is not a cliché – we played with our friends, wandering what seemed like far and wide, only coming home for lunch and supper.

Today, a young person is more likely to be found indoors, regardless of weather, using some kind of screen or electronic device – cellphone, computer or tablet – to communicate with friends or play virtual games instead of heading out the door for the real thing. Continue reading “We’re in the creativity business”

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The true meaning of Scout

earspy_200Our troop has experienced a rash of Eagle Scout activity in recent months, the most recent of which was an Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday in which the 48th Eagle Scout in our troop’s 30-year history received his medal and his charge. We have two more Eagles who have completed their boards of review and are awaiting their courts of honor, another with a project completed and two more whose projects have been approved. The uptick in activity is the result of a successful recruiting drive six years ago that resulted in a dozen crossovers, almost all of whom have stayed with the troop. Successive waves of recruiting in the years that followed nearly tripled the size of our troop.

I had the privilege and honor of sitting on his board of review, and something he said during the enjoyable conversation caused me to make a connection to the true meaning of Scout. Continue reading “The true meaning of Scout”

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The advancement treadmill

ranks_125Of all the attributes we associate with Scouting, certainly the uniform is the most directly visible, but the advancement program is certainly the most palpable (and visible when the insignia of recognition appear on the uniform).

Scouting is measured by advancement. Starting in Cub Scouts, den leaders use the advancement program as a roadmap for their den programs. They dutifully plan meetings and activities and lead their dens, checking off requirements in their trail books as they go-see-it, learn about God, country, family and self, and eventually earn badges for learning about community, outdoors, mental, physical and technology skills. In Boy Scouts, there’s a similar list of things to do in order to achieve each rank, and Scouts spend their troop meetings and campouts running down the list and getting signoffs for the things they’ve done. Merit badges follow, each with their own list of requirements to be completed and signed off.

Indeed, to the untrained eye (and many Scouts, Scouters and families too), Scouting is all about completing requirements and advancing. Continue reading “The advancement treadmill”