Jan Amos Commenius is considered by many to be the father of modern education. Inspired by the concepts of the reformation Commenius asserted that children should be taught to think rather than forced to memorize. Boys ever delight in being occupied in something for the youthful blood does not allow them to be at rest. […]
Scouting Ideals
A Scout is Reverent – Scoutmaster Minute
A Scout is reverent. A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others. Scouting’s founders recognized spirituality as an central element of the movement. As scouting expanded throughout the world so did the way Scouting defined duty to God. Scouting would fail in its mission if it […]
A Scout is Clean – Scoutmaster Minute
Scout is clean. A Scout keeps his body and mind fit. He chooses the company of those who live by high standards. He helps keep his home and community clean. Body In the 14th century the King of France asked the medical faculty at the Sorbonne what was causing a devastating plague called the Black […]
A Scout is Brave – Scoutmaster Minute
A Scout is brave. A Scout can face danger although he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at him or threaten him. Chutzpa is a great old Yiddish word that has been defined as a combination of gall, nerve, guts, presumption and arrogance – perhaps […]
A Scout is Thrifty – Scoutmaster Minute
A Scout is thrifty. A Scout works to pay his way and to help others. He saves for the future. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property. Scoutmasters need to exercise thrift in ways that are not often talked about – Thrift in words. Paradoxically many of the character traits that make a […]
A Scout is Cheerful – Scoutmaster Minute
A Scout is cheerful. A Scout looks for the bright side of life. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy. Cheerfulness is the natural state of most boys. They may be sad, tired, frustrated or afraid or a time but given the opportunity they resume their usual cheerful demeanor. Opportunity […]
A Scout is Obedient – Scoutmaster Minute
Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas A Scout is obedient. A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather […]
A Scout is Kind – Scoutmaster Minute
Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas A Scout is kind. A Scout knows there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. Without good reason, he does not harm or kill any living thing. No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind […]
A Scout is Courteous – A Scoutmaster Minute
Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas A Scout is courteous. A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows that using good manners makes it easier for people to get along. Bad manners are cool, they always have been. It has always been cool […]
A Scout is Friendly – Scoutmaster Minute
Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas A Scout is friendly. A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their customs are different from his own. Prejudice is […]
The Unlikely Champion – Scoutmaster Minute
Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas In 1984 62 year old Cliff Young took 7th place in one of the world’s most grueling ultra-marathons; Australia’s 543 mile endurance race from Sydney to Melbourne. The winner needs about five days to complete a punishing course usually only […]
Mike Rowe Offers a Potential Eagle Scout His Eagle Perspective
Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe is an Eagle Scout. Here is an exchange of letters posted to his blog Mike, I’m not sure where I heard that you are an Eagle Scout, which brings me to my question. Could you PLEASE take a moment & post to my 13 year old son Kelby & encourage […]
Robert Burns – Pride of Worth
In 1785, just a year before his death at age 37, Robert Burns enshrined ‘the pith of sense and pride of work’ above wealth or aristocratic birth in his poem A Man’s a Man for all That. Burns knew the privations of poverty from the earliest age yet became a legendary poet and favorite son […]
Carl Schurz – True Americanism
What is the rule of honor to be observed by a power so strongly and so advantageously situated as this Republic is? Of course I do not expect it meekly to pocket real insults if they should be offered to it. But, surely, it should not, as our boyish jingoes wish it to do, swagger about among […]
Scouts and Politics
The following statement comes from a Council website. It seemed a timely thing to pass along. I found the picture above on the web. The name on the sign isn’t important, we all need to read, understand and practice this policy: Boy Scouts of America policy prohibits Scouts from participating in political activities. Uniformed unit members and […]
The Guy In The Glass
“The Guy in the Glass” was first published in the American Magazine in 1934 in answer to a readers question to the Editor: “Why he should be honest”. The authors descendants have a website that discusses the origin of the poem and it’s proper original wording. The Guy in the Glass Dale Wimbrow, (c) 1934 When you get […]
Memorial Day 2008
We will be reminded many times today that Memorial Day is not about picnics, ballgames and the first day of summer. But it really is. Picnics, little league, trips to the beach or lake will all happen in a country where most of us are free to breathe and can persue happiness with little fear […]
Don’t be a Burden – Be Prepared
Someone once asked Baden-Powell, “Be prepared for what?” “Why, for any old thing.” the founder of Scouting replied. Being prepared is usually thought of as having the knowledge, skill and gear to meet any challenge. We may think that we only hurt ourselves by not developing the skills, obtaining the knowledge or having the right gear. […]
Learn Something
The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by […]
Scoutmaster Minute – Sticks
I’ve used this Scoutmaster minute during our vespers sessions on camping trips. I asked everyone to bring a stick with them before they sat down around our campfire When they were seated I gathered all the sticks into a bundle and held them as I stood before the fire. “You’ll notice that none of the sticks complained as we collected […]
Low Impact Scouting
Most of us are familiar with and follow the principles of the Leave No Trace program while camping. Low impact Scouting has the potential for reducing our actual environmental impact but educating our Scouts on wise practices. Active Troops will spend 20-30 days and nights camping annually- for a Troop of 25 that’s the energy and […]
Scouts Canada Maxims
Here are some excellent thoughts from the Scouting in Canada website: Boys leave Scouting because of what they don’t do on Troop night, not because of what they do. A wise Scout leader never raises his voice. He gets someone else to do the shouting, then addresses the troop in civilized, well modulated tones. Good commissioners never put off […]
Scout Vespers
Some years ago we started a tradition in our troop called Scout vespers every Saturday evening when the troop is camping. “Vesperas” is a Latin word that means “evening” and is a root of the English word “west” where the sun sets. Gathering for a moment of reflection or a religious service in the evening has a long […]
Flag Etiquette and Issues
The United States Flag Code states the rules of flag etiquette, display, and handling.. Heartfelt respect and reverence cannot be compelled by law so the flag code is voluntary. There are penalties for knowingly desecrating the flag; but there is the question of free speech. In 1988 the Supreme Court upheld Texas v. Johnson that […]
