100 years! What's in the future?

[Eamonn]

My one sister lives very close to where the World Jamboree is being held, so close that she can hear the concerts and things that are going on.

While the invasion of thousands of Scouts on the small village has had an impact she (Who is not and never has been involved in Scouting)tells she that she is impressed with how well things are going. In fact she says the biggest headache was dealing with the security when the Prince visited the Jamboree.

I joined Scouts back home in the early 1960's.

I had a great time as a youth member in all of the programs.

By the time I was about 16 most of my pals in school were not in Scouting.

Looking back maybe I was seen as the "Odd Ball"?

I was very involved in a lot of things that interested me but maybe were seen by my peers as not being "Cool" (I think the term we used at that time was "Neat")

I was involved in the drama department and was a budding thespian, played on the school and house rugby teams, was Head Boy and chairman of the School Youth Council.

While many of my pals were into progressive music; King Crimson and the like I was happy with the Beatles, the Stones and the Who.

Even though the school I attended had a strict School Uniform policy (black socks, grey trousers, white shirt, school tie, school blazer with the school badge on the pocket, silly little cap with the badge and a long woolen scarf in the school colors for winter.) With uniforms for all the sports. I remember looking at photos of Scouts from the early days and thinking how old fashioned they were!!

I never camped in a Bell Tent, never pushed a Trek Cart to camp and when I read Scouting For Boys, seem to remember thinking that it was really dated.

Many of the adults involved when I was a kid had been involved before the war. Many of the Commissioners (The Top guys, not the same as over here.) Seemed to be "Upper Class" sorts. Many had or seemed to have lots of money!!

Many of the leaders had served in the military.

I don't think things were more organized, in fact looking back it was more chaotic! But maybe that was just where I was at!!

Even then there seemed to be a sense that things were not as good as they used to be and we were heading toward a sticky end. This was made worse in 1969 when the Advanced Party Report tried to update Scouting.

I'm very thankful for everything that Scouts and Scouting has given to me. I have over the years had the best times in Scouting.

Thanks to Scouting I have found a new home here in the USA, met and married Her Who Must Be Obeyed. Most of my best friends are people I have met through Scouting and by just being a Scout I do think it has impacted my values and the way I treat and deal with other people.

As with any anniversary, looking back is nice and enjoyable, sure we look back and notice that some things are not the same or not there any more, we remember people who played a big part in helping us become what we are, sadly some of these people are gone, but hopefully we can put to use the gifts they gave us.

But it is also a time to look to the future.

If we are honest we all know that change will happen.

We know if we don't change we are going to be left behind and soon will become Scouting Dodos.

When I look at my son and the Scouts in the Ship, I see these young people with just about every high tech toy known to man.

I wish I could get my cell phone to do what they can get their's to do!!

Yet I'm amazed how quickly they can adapt to going away without the need to use these toys and how given the opportunity they can work as a team and how after a week or so of being in a youth led, challenging, adventurous environment how very proud they are of themselves.

Sure the equipment is not the same, in most cases it's better and some of that is now very high tech (When it works!!)

Of course none of the kids I serve are dirty little urchins from the streets of London. In fact nearly all of them are well adjusted great kids from good families who will be great adults and Scouts and Scouting really isn't going to change them that much.

Every now and then we do introduce a young person to something that they might not have thought about doing or we might provide the spark that lights the fire that does change the course of their lives.

I do believe that by us just doing what we do, we set the example that does show that volunteering to do something for someone else without pay is a good thing.

My big hope for the future is that we as a organization can start to put more effort into providing programs for teenagers and the age group that BP had in mind.

Not that I'm in any way anti Cub Scout.

I'm not sure what we have to do to make this happen? I do think that no matter what we do a lot of people my age and older will see it as being the end of the world as we know it!

Sadly I also think if we opt to do nothing we will not be here in 2107.

Eamonn

[John-in-KC]

E,

 

Across the board, newest Tiger to Venturing Silver, we (volunteers), not the National Professional Service, have to rationalize our program.

 

We have to get a coherent vision of what we want a boy to look like:

 

At 9,

 

At 11,

 

At 14,

 

At 17...

 

Then we need to build the toolbox to make it happen.

 

One of our disadvantages is "self-described expertise" to be a Merit Badge Counselor. We need to re-look that. We need to leverage other organizations to describe "what right should look like" in subject matter expertise.

 

If our program tool is the outdoors, then we need to look how we educate kids about the outdoors. The simplest element of LNT needs to be introduced at Tigers, and build up from there.

 

We need to re-visit camping. Yes, I love a Dutch oven, but are we in the covered wagon era, or the "house on our backs" era? How much equipment helps us enjoy Nature, how much hurts the places we camp?

 

We must be ruthless about keeping molesters away from our young charges.

 

WE MUST BE SEEN AS EXCELLENT STEWARDS OF THE LAND

 

My thoughts.

[RangerT]

I think that scouting will continue and evolve into something different than us old timers knew as youth. As our culture continues to change into a more global community it will reshape scouting into what is relevant to the youth of today and tommorrow. The reality is that while there will always be a place for outdoor skills it will become much less emphasized in the future because thats probably not what will attract youth 10, 20, 50 or 100 years from now. Instead of crying the blues about losing the "good old days" of scouting, all of us over 50, I am very interested to see what scouting evolves into because like it or not change is a natual part of life, without it we would stagnate as a people. Many parents I have talked with, in their 20's- 30's, have told me scouting was something their dads did as kids and that it isn't relevant to todays culture. The fact that scouting has survived for 100 years is something to be quite proud of, but if it is to survive another 100 change is inevitable, and instead of complaining about it we should be actively involved in the shaping of scouting for the future.

 

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself.", truer words have never been spoken and scouting will survive, it may be very different than what we know today but it will survive.

[Eamonn]

" it will reshape scouting into what is relevant to the youth of today and tomorrow."

I was invited to sit in on the last District Committee Meeting.

It was sad!!

We have lost a lot of units and a lot of kids.

Our DE has moved on and for the present it seems that there is no real rush to replace him.

I get the feeling that someone (The SE??) is playing a wait and see game. If things don't pick up the District will gone.

The new District Membership Chairman is a old timer.

He seems to have been around for ever telling everyone about the good old days.

He isn't married and has no kids.

But he can tell you all about units that haven't been around for over 30 years!!

He hates anything that might be seen as not old.

I swear he still uses a quill pen!!

He spent a lot of time at the meeting complaining that he doesn't get notified of meetings because he doesn't have e-mail.

A lot is riding on this years Sign-Up Night. I like this old fellow, but he really isn't going to bring home the bacon.

After the meeting the District Chairman asked what I thought?

I asked what plans were in place for Sign-Up Night? He looked at his feet, shook his head and said "I have no idea!!" He went on to say that we needed 250 Cub Scouts to sign up. I didn't have the heart to tell him that as a rule we get about 100 on the night and the best we have ever done is 125, that was when we had five more packs than we now have.

We really do have to do more to make Scouting attractive and appealing to the parents and the kids. While it's nice to look back and at times revisit things we used to do (activities) We however need to remember that this is the 21st Century.

At times I have to remind myself that many of the Tiger Cub parents were born after John Lennon was shot and killed!

Ea.

[jambo]

Ea, and all my old timers on this forum , don't be dismaid ...SCOUTING..if run properly, should gain strength...and will flurish. I enjoyed reading your biography. I was in England (Kent), and made many friends there in Scouting. I have learend a lot from them and I was invited to take the woodbadge course in London , but due to my military obligations, I was not able to attend . I agree cubing of today, seem not to help Scouting of the (11 to 18) age group. A lot of their programs are to much " the scouting type " and not games and crafts, like it should be.

The change has to come from the volunteers, they should throw out most of the proffesionals, and let a commitee of active Scoutmasters make the national decisions,and run this wonderfull organization/program, of what is good for the boy in Scouting,....and not what is good for the $ 100,000 a year executives . Don't make the " By laws " of the national council, be so strict that it hampers Scout movement. Let's not have the buracracy and authoritarion phylosophy destroy this movement. There is hope for another 100 years of Scouting, but I and some others Scouters around this forum campfire will not be around. Keep that Scouting Spirit burning forever...jambo