The Uniform Method...

[Stosh]

If the core question is "Why" use the uniform Method then what relationship does "ranking" have to "why".

 

>>> Unless one is asking why is it ranked and if so why is it not equal with the other methods.

 

What relationship does being dressed snappier to the unit next door have to the uniform Method?

 

>>> It may be an indicator of unit pride in oneself, adding confidence and esprit-de-corps.

 

What relationship does wearing a neckerchief have to the uniform Method.

 

>>> It adds unit identity, like different units in the military use identifiers in their uniforms to do that.

 

What relationship does picking apart uniform accuracy have to the uniform Method?

 

>>> Inspection sheets are good to insure the boys all know what is expected and what goal there is to shoot for.

 

How can you determine the importance and the use of the Method if the things you are talking about are not related to the Method?

 

>>> Just because one doesn't think they apply doesn't mean they don't.

 

Before you can discuss the topic would it first not be beneficial to make sure there was a general understanding of what the Method is?

 

For instance;

Can the use of a uniform help reduce social barriers between scouts? Is that a good thing, If it does that, and it is a good thing, then the Uniform Method serves it's purose.

 

>>> Except the uniform isn't required and those boys that can't afford them are singled out immediately. Major social/economic identifier in their face immediately. Maybe they can afford a shirt but not belt and pants.

 

Can the uniform give a youth a sense of belonging to a group or community. If so, and you see that as a good thing, then the Uniform Method serves it's purpose.

 

>>> And how they wear it, why they wear it, and how unique to their unit does give them such feelings.

 

Do others who see a person in uniform recognize and associate specific characteristics and values with that person? If so and you see that as a good thing, then the Uniform Method serves its purpose.

 

>>> For good or bad, the uniform puts the world around that this is a scout. Same way a police uniform, military uniform, doctor's coat, clergy shirt, all identify people and what one can assume to expect from them.

 

>>> Do the Scouts and Scout leaders know and understand that while in uniform others are making determinations of their abilities and values based on the uniform, if so and you see that as a way to reinforce positive traits, then the Uniform METHOD serves its purpose.

 

>>> I do believe most units do.

 

The Method of using a uniform is to accomplish the Aims of Scouting, not to look better than the unit next door. And there are a huge variety of uniforms in the BSA, (not all use neckerchiefs). And their use has nothing to do with where you might rank the Method in importance. Each method of a Scouting Program (and there are three different sets of Methods), effect one or more of the AIMS of Scouting, and that is their only purpose.

 

The Uniform Method has nothing to do with judging success.

 

>>> But alas, it surely does. But as it's been pointed out in an earlier post, it isn't always all that measurable.

 

I like the uniform method it is a classy way of teaching boys something about themselves that one can't get by reading a book or listening to a lecture. But then again, all the methods seem to work equally in that way.

 

Stosh

 

[Bob White]

"Except the uniform isn't required and those boys that can't afford them are singled out immediately. Major social/economic identifier in their face immediately. Maybe they can afford a shirt but not belt and pants.

 

No Scouting Method is REQUIRED. Their use is a leadership choice. If you agreed to be a Scouter leader and do not use the methods then the unit made a bad leadership choice.

 

Nowhere does the BSA program say that the uniform must bought new. Theree are ample ways through scouting that any scout can afford and btain a uniform if the Troop leadership understands that.

 

Have you been to a national Jamboree? Tens of thousands opf scouts all wearing the same neckerchief. How does that establish unit identity? There are a variety of ways besides the neckerchief that allows the uniform to provide group identity.

 

The Uniform Method has nothing to do with judging success.

 

>>> But alas, it surely does. But as it's been pointed out in an earlier post, it isn't always all that measurable.

 

Whether or not you know how to measure the efectiveness of the Method in the unit you serve is unreated to whether or not the Method is about unit succees.

 

I invite you to read page 9 of the Scoutmaster Handbook, or find any BSA training that suggests the quality of uniforming is tied in anyway to the quality of scouting in the unit. No such reference exists.

 

Do some leaders think that uniform equates program? Yes, but again that is totally unrelated to what the Uniform Method is about.

 

There also seems to be the assumption that the Uniform Method is just about the dress uniform and it is not.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Eagledad]

>>It is not that I did not answer Lauwit's questions. It is that the questions he poses are largely unrelated to the Uniform METHOD.

[Beavah]

Very hard to follow this thread, eh?

 

Lauwit, I reckon you're right. At least some adults measure their success by methods that seem easy to see - uniform, or advancement/number of Eagle Scouts.

 

How well uniformed a troop is or how many Eagle Scouts they have or any other Method I think is useless for good self-evaluation. Because how well we're doing can only be measured by how our kids are growing in character, fitness, and citizenship.

 

One can have a fully uniformed troop down to the gawd-awful socks, and not achieve any of the things that BobWhite so ardently describes as bein' the true essence of the uniform method. And one can achieve the Aims in spades by just wearin' a necker that is deeply meaningful, like our brother and sister scouts in many nations.

 

I'm with Gern; in the modern world the shops who are dressed casual are typically putting out higher quality work product. They tend to be more creative, tend to listen better, tend to value real individual expertise over appearance, and they certainly attract the best younger talent. Just the way of the world, eh?

 

I can't say that I've ever felt different based on what clothes I wear. When I'm walkin' around I'm not lookin' at myself. I think that's true of most everybody. What makes clothing meaningful is how others react to us/how we react to others because of it. As several folks pointed out, they valued their Scout Uniform in part because other adults came up to them and recognized them as being valuable because of what they wore. Sea Scouts at a Yacht Club get positive recognition in a similar way, eh?

 

But what's the experience of an average scout? Do his peers in school recognize him as being valued or cool because of his Scout uniform? I reckon not. Would they value it the same way we would value a military uniform? Nope. So we have to be careful not to project the way we adults look at the uniform onto the kids, eh? They live in a different world.

 

And in their world, the uniform might not be successful at achievin' all the lofty things we think it does.

 

Beavah

 

[SM in NJ]

I'll jump in on this one ... I've actually put this question to my Scouts on several occassions. There has been more than once in the 4+ years that I've been a leader in our Troop that we've been at functions where our boys were in uniform (in my opinion you are either in uniform or not - there is no partial uniform) and other units simply had their shirts on. When I asked my boys about this they all said the same thing ... they felt the other Scouts should show more pride in themselves and their unit.

 

As I tell the parents of boys joining our Troop ... Part of the pride of being a member of Boy Scouts is the PRIVILEGE of wearing the troop uniform. The uniform is an important item. We wear the uniform because not only we require it but also because it is a means of identifying ourselves with the principles to which we are committed - character development, citizenship training, and physical and mental fitness. Boy Scouting is an action program, and wearing the uniform is an action that shows each Scout's commitment to the aims and purposes of scouting. When a Scout puts on the uniform, he makes a statement that he is a certain kind of person. One who is commited to: a belief in God, loyalty to country, and to helping other people.

 

And yes ... I believe that wearing certain clothes for certain activities creates a certain mindset and attitude. Just as I would never go to church, court, a wedding or a funeral in cut-off shorts neither would I go to a Scouting activity out of uniform.

 

Just my opinion.

 

SMNJ