\u201cSCOUT SPIRIT\u201d\u2026 What is it? How do we \u201cmeasure\u201d it? How can we get more of it? How do we get our Scouts to pay more attention to it? Why can\u2019t the BSA give us a more tangible definition of it? How do we know when it\u2019s there and when it\u2019s not? Is a rank-directed Scoutmaster Conference or Board of Review the only place we talk about it? What do we do when we think we need more of it?<\/p>\n
These and questions like them have been coming into this column for a bunch of years, now, and I\u2019ve tried to do my best in offering insights on these important issues. Perhaps it\u2019s time to put some real focus on it\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cScout Spirit\u201d is simple in concept: \u201cLive by the Scout Oath and Law in your daily life.\u201d Meaning honor your God by whatever name you choose and your country, extend your helping hand to others, and steadfastly improve yourself in body, mind, and principles. But it\u2019s simultaneously vague, because it doesn\u2019t say \u201cdo this\u2026\u201d or \u201cdo that\u2026\u201d Our founder, Baden-Powell, put it even more simply, and possibly more obscurely, too: \u201cWe\u2019re not about being<\/em> good; we\u2019re about doing<\/em> good.\u201d<\/p>\n The wise Scoutmaster knows that we can\u2019t cut a hole in our Scouts\u2019 hearts and stuff this stuff called Scout Spirit in there, or inject it into our Scouts\u2019 veins, or spoon-feed it to them. But the wise Scoutmaster knows that, as our Scouts\u2019 primary role model, living daily by the Scout Oath and Law is paramount, and one of the ultimate keys to success.<\/p>\n We do know what not<\/em> to do\u2026 We have lots of laws in our cities and towns, counties, states, and country that tell us what we can\u2019t do. But the Scout Oath and especially the Scout Law are unique. Unlike even the Ten Commandments, these don\u2019t tell us what not<\/em> to do; they point the way to what\u2019s the right thing to do<\/em>. That\u2019s a darned sight more difficult than not doing something, because it takes personal, individual judgment to, as the legendary Davy Crockett is reputed to have put it, \u201cBe sure you\u2019re right; then go ahead.\u201d It\u2019s also been put this way, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, but pretty correctly nonetheless: \u201cConscience is the voice that tells us what to do when nobody\u2019s looking.\u201d<\/p>\n So, what can we, as Scoutmasters, do to help our Scouts understand and internalize \u201cwhat\u2019s right\u201d so that they, on their own, can \u201cget it right\u201d and then \u201cgo ahead\u201d? Here are some ways. Pick what will work for you, based in part on your troop\u2019s size\u2026<\/p>\n The Scoutmaster\u2019s Minute is the most important \u201cpublic\u201d opportunity you have to make a difference. Every one of your Minutes can focus on a different aspect of Scout Spirit. Your first twelve Minutes are a slam-dunk \u2013 Just tell a brief story focusing on a point of the Scout Law. The next handful can focus on the ideals contained in the Scout Oath. By now, you\u2019re on a roll, so just keep going. Maybe you\u2019ll pick a point from a recent sermon you heard, or maybe it\u2019s from something on the news the night before, or even from a popular TV show!<\/p>\n I recall my Scoutmaster gave us a \u201cMinute\u201d one Tuesday evening, after the \u201cI Love Lucy\u201d show had appeared the evening before. He asked if we\u2019d seen it and of course we all said yes. He asked us if we recalled when Fred Murtz had called Ricky Ricardo a \u201cCuban crumb,\u201d and we all giggled that we had. He then went around the Scout room and asked the national origin of some of our families, and followed up by asking us how we<\/em> thought we<\/em> would feel if we<\/em> had been labeled on the basis of our heritage. Chagrined, we lowered our eyes, some of us gulped in nervousness, a few of us actually teared up. He then told us how proud he was of us, that he\u2019d never, ever heard any of us do this! He told us that\u2019s<\/em> what being a Scout is all about. That was over a half-century ago, and it\u2019s as powerful to me right now this moment as it was when I was an 11-year-old Tenderfoot.<\/p>\n One of the reasons why we still remember Abraham Lincoln\u2019s address at Gettysburg is that it was 268 words long. It can be entirely spoken in about two minutes. Use this as your model for your Minutes. You\u2019re not there to lecture, or even to moralize. You have an opportunity, each week, to deliver a succinct, powerful, dramatic message that can have immense lasting power. That\u2019s why it\u2019s the Scoutmaster\u2019s Minute<\/span>.<\/p>\n Have a \u201cTroop Movie Night,\u201d or, like the old Saturday Matinees used to do, run portions of a movie over several troop meetings in succession. Here are a few that are real winners for what we\u2019re doing here:<\/p>\n \u201cFollow Me Boys\u201d (starring Fred MacMurray, with Kurt Russell as a boy actor) gives splendid opportunities to talk over stick-to-it-iveness, the relationships between boys, the Scoutmaster-to-Scouts relationship, and even adult mutual respect and love.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMiracle,\u201d (Kurt Russell again) by focusing on the seminal \u201cWho do you play for\u201d scene.<\/p>\n \u201cOctober Sky,\u201d with follow-up conversations about setting a goal and sticking to it.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember The Titans\u201d (starring Denzel Washington), about race relations and teamwork.<\/p>\n \u201cAkeelah And The Bee\u201d provides some marvelous opportunities to reflect on honesty, doing what\u2019s right, parent-child conflicts, boy-girl relationships, sticking to your dream, and even respect toward adults.<\/p>\n There are many others, of course, and these can get you started.<\/p>\n Patrol flags (NOT made by Mom!) and yells. So fundamental, yet still so very valuable about reinforcing the essence of Scouting, which is all about the patrol. Baden-Powell put it this way: \u201cThe Patrol Method isn\u2019t a<\/em> way of delivering the Scouting program; it\u2019s the only<\/span><\/em> way.\u201d<\/p>\n The Scout Benediction: \u201cMay the Great Master of all Scouts be with us till we meet again.\u201d Not just at some meetings; at the close of every meeting. And never without the friendship circle.<\/p>\n The opening ceremony, with a twist: The \u201cspirit patrol\u201d (rotated each week\u2014you do remember this from Wood Badge, yes?) not only leads it but\u2014to get started\u2014they\u2019re asked to \u201cmake it their own\u201d by injecting something into it that hasn\u2019t been done before. Maybe it\u2019s a recital of the history of an earlier flag (the Betsy Ross, or \u201cDon\u2019t Tread On Me\u201d flag, and so on), or maybe it\u2019s inspirational (why red-white-and-blue \u2013 what do these colors symbolize) or even informative (which star is our own state\u2019s star).<\/p>\n A Troop yell, cheer, or chant. My own was \u201cTroop 5, Troop 5, Busy as a bee hive, Yes we are from Troop 5, Troop 5 B-S-A RAH!\u201d Your PLC is charged with doing this for their own<\/em> troop! Then infuse it into every meeting and outing.<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s your turn. With these for starters, what additional ways can you think of, that will subtly infuse every gathering of your Scouts with Scout Spirit at work? Go with your heart and you\u2019ll always be right.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n