Scout Spirit-- What is it?

[OldGreyEagle]

Ok, Just what do you define as Scout Spirit?

[Nike]

Scout Spirit is living your life and behaving in accordance with the Scout Oath and Law. I suppose we could get mathematical and give each boy a 0-10 score, add them up, and there you go, like with the uni inspection sheet. Other than that, I think it's one of those "I know it when I see it" things, or rather "I know when I don't see it."

[SunnyD]

OGE, great question. It's so many things, isn't it? Does it oversimplify to summarize it as putting others before oneself? That encompasses a lot - doing good turns, taking responsibility, assuming extra duties with a cheerful spirit, putting the greater good first including the troop or patrol, helping the out new guy even if he's not popular, supporting leadership, never grumbling - just doing the right thing!

[John-in-KC]

Here's the definition from BSA Requirements #33215:

 

Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life.

 

That, to me, means what is happening with Billy the 167 hours of each week he is away from his leaders. Does he model the Scout Law at his school? The Scout Oath at his church? Does he look for opportunities to serve others?

 

It's not about wearing uniforms, and being quiet when the sign goes up, and participating in 63.65% of all meetings.

 

It's about becoming an honorable young man, whose word is his bond. It really can be that simple.

 

FOR US SCOUTERS: It's about being honorable adults, our word being our bond.

 

My thoughts.

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Three great answers, Scout Spirit- How one lives the oath and law. No mention of when the uniform is worn, no mention of how many events one attends, how one lives the oath and law.

 

Scout Spirit is not a weapon kept in the Scoutmasters arsenal so when all else fails, he can pull it out and prevent an underserving scout from advancement.

 

It seems like Scout Spirit is bandied about when there is no tangible evidence the youth cannot advance, he has done all the requirements, yet the unit doesnt think he is ready so out trots the Scout Spirit card.

 

So many issues in Scouting that occur at the Eagle level should have been addressed at ranks or the unit level so much earlier. An Eagle candidate that is a known bully? Always causing problems? How did he get to life? How did he fulfill his POR? If the argument is he did just enough to slink by all those, but Eagle, Eagle is different then the unit needs a quick kick in the butt. Being a First Class Scout mens quite a bit, there are a lot of scouting/outdoor skills that must be present. If those skills are not present, its not the scout's fault, who signed them off and who allowed them to be lost? Don't use Scout Spirit as the weapon of last resort, use it to inspire youth to live the Oath and Law

 

 

[Eagle92]

from the BSA website:

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/boyscouts/guideformeritbadgecounselors/rankadvancefaq.aspx

 

 

Question: Rank advancement requires a Scout to demonstrate Scout spirit. How is Scout spirit defined and determined?

 

Answer: Scout spirit applies to how a Scout lives and conducts his daily life. He shows Scout spirit by being a role model to his peers ( emphasis added), living by the Scout Oath and Law. The concept of Scout spirit is not based on how many Scouting events or outings a Scout attends, but rather by how he helps bring out the best in others as a reflection of his own character and attitude in his daily life.

 

For some units, "being a role model" includes wearing a uniform properly as it is what some leadership principles call "setting the example"

 

 

Edited: I know this thread was spi\ubn from the uniform and EBOR thread, that's why I focused on the comments above.

(This message has been edited by eagle92)

[evmori]

Ya make a good point John but since a Scout is to

 

Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life

 

I feel everyday life includes Scouting. If a boy is a model citizen outside Scouting and a total train wreck in Scouting, that is not meeting the requirement. And visa versa applies, too.

[Buffalo Skipper]

evmori, I agree that Scout Spirit reflects on attitude while particpating in Scout activities as well as in one's personal life. I also think that one's personal life may define exactly how one shows and demonstrates scout spirit, and that it may be different from scout to scout, depending on his setting.

 

On the same note, I do not think it is difficult for a SM to understand and "judge" scout spirit. It is something which should be obvious in each scout, how they do or do not show it.

[Beavah]

OGE, great question. It's so many things, isn't it? Does it oversimplify to summarize it as putting others before oneself? That encompasses a lot - doing good turns, taking responsibility, assuming extra duties with a cheerful spirit, putting the greater good first including the troop or patrol, helping the out new guy even if he's not popular, supporting leadership, never grumbling - just doing the right thing!

 

Yah, I like SunnyD's answer!

 

Contrary to OGE, I don't think Scout Spirit is a card or somesuch that gets trotted out to block a kid's advancement. I think that's an odd way of viewin' any requirement. Is da First Class swimming requirement a card that gets trotted out to block a kid's advancement? Nah, it's just one of the requirements, and a lad doesn't advance until he works hard and meets that goal.

 

The Scout Spirit requirement is the only requirement that goes directly to our program goals of character development. It's the only requirement for each rank where character must be demonstrated, eh? That to me makes it the last, most important, and perhaps hardest of the requirements. Certainly the one that most kids have to work longer on than learnin' to tie a bowline.

 

And just like the swim test, adults shouldn't "fudge" it, eh? Even if it takes a while for a lad to meet the requirement, or he gets behind his peer group.

 

Beavah

 

 

 

[walk in the woods]

Yeah, it's interesting isn't it. If I don't sign off a scout's Scout Spirit requirement for any rank then I'm some sort of obstructionist, guardian of the flame, gatekeeper, scoutmaster. However, if a scout's spirit is questioned at a BOR then I'm some sort of slacker, doesn't know the program, worthless scoutmaster.

 

OGE, I will take some exception to your comments. I have indeed signed off T21 requirements for scouts and I know that some of those skills have been lost. We camp 20 days and nights a year. We provide many opportunities for scouts to practice skills. But, I can't force a scout to tie a knot or practice first aid. And, since I can't retest the poor darlings there's no incentive for them to remember a skill. You can blame the adults all you want but the scouts have to show some responsibility to the program as well.

[Eagle92]

DC,

Not to change the subject, but one way for a scout to keep his

T-2-1 skills sharp is for him to teach those skills to the younger scouts.

[CalicoPenn]

I'm of the opinion that too many Scouters and Committee members (BOR) look at Scout Spirit as if it's in a vacumm, and that's why some come across as using it as an obstruction or brake. There are going to be times when Scout Spirit should come in to play - most of us can name specific things that we'd agree falls well outside Scout Spirit parameters, such as bullying. It's those events we look at and don't come to common consensus, perhaps something like Johnny Scout was crabby at a campout 3 months ago and snapped at his SPL, but other than that one time, he's always pretty cheerful, and a good kid to have around.

 

We forget that Scout Spirit has other components to it - the Scout Oath and the Scout Law - then we forget that the Scout Oath has a particular phrase in it that individuates the Oath and Law to the Scout, not the group. "I will do my best". Is a Scout doing the best they can but still slip up on points of the Scout Law or the Oath? I'd argue they've met the Scout Spirit requirements.

[Beavah]

I both agree and disagree with Calico, eh?

 

I think if we define Scout Spirit just in the negative - the scout is not a bully, the scout has not committed any felonies this year, the scout didn't vandalize the camp, etc. - then we really miss the point, eh?

 

To my mind, bullying isn't a Scout Spirit issue. Bullyin' is a disciplinary issue, like theft or vandalism. If that's the bar for Scout Spirit, we're settin' it way too low.

 

Scout Spirit and da Oath and Law are all about goin' out of your way to be a positive contributor to your troop and society. It means you go out of your way to do your duty to God and Country, even when it's annoyin' and inconvenient. It means yeh help other people even when you don't want to and you don't get anything for it. It means people should recognize your Trustworthiness, your Loyalty, your Helpfulness... your Reverence as being somethin' worth commenting on or applauding yeh for, because it's unusually positive for a lad your age.

 

If we're not holdin' lads up to that bar - of doin' somethin' really positive rather than just not doin' something terribly negative - then I don't reckon we're doing our job of developing character.

 

Where I agree with Calico is on his specifics, eh? I don't like judgin' lads based on single incidents. Yah, and I think that "do your best" comes into play, especially for boys in tough circumstances. A lad from a single parent home who struggles in school might be doin' his best to pull a "C" and make meetings only when he can bike or catch a ride. At the same time, that also means that a lad with a lot of advantages might not be showin' Scout spirit if he skates by with C's when he should be gettin' A's, or blows off meetings to play on his PS3.

 

Beavah

 

[AvidSM]

What the requirement is asking a boy to do is to not just be a scout when he is with his troop, but all the time. It's a requirement for every rank because it is so important for a boy to remember that.

 

It's entirely up to the Scoutmaster how to verify that this requirement has been met. He could ask the boy at his Scoutmaster conference to give examples of how he has been "trustworthy" or "kind" in his everyday life. And, they will ALWAYS produce those examples every time.

 

In my opinion, if a boy can't demonstrate Scout Spirit when he is with his troop, under the watchful eyes of his adult leaders, he certainly is not living by the Scout Oath and Law in his everyday life. What a Scoutmaster observes of the boy's behavior during meetings and campouts must factor into scout spirit.

 

Most boy scouts I have seen have scout spirit. They are in the program, because they are drawn into the ideals. They want to be those things mentioned in the Scout Oath and Law.

 

Using scout spirit to hold up a boy's advancment is wrong and the sign of a poor Scoutmaster.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

Ed,

 

The reason I say the other 167 is because I expect the SM and the youth leadership to be training the young man during his hour a week at the Troop meeting (and at the campouts, eagle projects, and other events).

 

I also make that point because I still hear people talking about wearing the uniform, attending a certain percentage, and so on. Those are matters of esprit ... and do not fall within the definition of Spirit as the National Council has set it.

 

I think we're in the 98% agreement range.

 

I absolutely agree with Beavah on the matter of adults. Certainly goes to the conversation we had with ONMYHONOR.

 

I've noticed over the years that really good Scoutmasters have ways to listen and observe their youth outside the Scouting environment.

 

BTW, yes, the apple pie is warm and the ice cream is ready. No uniform required.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)