Signs UP!

[CalicoPenn]

Kudu - as I stated in my post, this is what my Troop taught me about the symbolism of the Scout Sign. We obviously didn't follow BP's Scout Promise as we were a unit of the BSA, not a unit of the Boy Scouts in England, which is not to say the BSA doesn't have their own version of the Scout Promise or what the symbolism of the Scout Sign is. I say whatever works, use it. Where they got it, I could not tell you - but I still remember it which is why I consider the Scout Sign to have dignity above the common use of "Shut Up".

 

Barry and Gunny - Good question about the effect outside the unit (OA events, Junior Leader Training, Jamboree). This is part of the tilting at windmills mentioned. My experience within my District and Council was that the other unit leaders knew what we were doing and respected our traditions - as Chapter Chief, Lodge Vice Chief, Summer Camp Counselor and Day Camp Counselor, I never used "Signs Up" though I never introduced the concept of the "talking stick" (and in hindsight wish I had) but would simply stand in silence looking at the group I wished to address until I had their attention. The first few times, someone in the audience would toss that hand in a scout sign right above their head and yell out "Signs Up" - but that diminished as time progressed - people got the message without having to resort to signs up pretty quickly. At Summer Camp and Day Camp, the rest of the staff adopted the same silent standing waiting for attention - it just never took off from there (and my hunch is because I didn't think to introduce the "talking stick" component). Why other units didn't adopt it, I'm unsure - perhaps because we didn't have people as leaders in the training courses to make this suggestion - perhaps because it is difficult to overcome the ingrained (ubiquitous) use of "Signs Up", perhaps because not enough Adults bought into it because of the ease of use of "Signs Up (as Gunny points out, every Scout and Scouter has one), perhaps a hundred other reasons that someone might be able to point out.

 

What I'm suggesting certainly wouldn't happen overnight, but given time, change could be created. Imagine one unit in a District who does this (or in the case of this forum, multiple districts - could help spread it faster). That unit spreads it to the other unit's in the District - perhaps a unit leader becomes the Roundtable Commissioner, or becomes active as a trainer in District training and in this way, spreads the suggestion to the other units in the District. Maybe a Troop has a feeder Pack and shows the Webelos Leaders what their Webelos can expect when they get into the Troop and the Webelos Leader introduces the concept to the Pack as a whole and that Pack has leaders that become commissioners or training staff.

 

From the District, perhaps it spreads to the Council - District leaders become active in Council training (Woodbadge, JLT, etc.) and spreads the idea, Scouts become active in their OA Lodges and spreads the idea, Scouts become staff at Summer Camps (both in and out of council) and spreads the idea.

 

From the Council, perhaps the idea spreads to regional gatherings (Lodge to Lodge, Training staff to Training staff) - perhaps it catches the eye of the folks that help write the training materials, or the Scoutmasters and SPL Handbooks and the idea appears in the next updated versions? Eventually (given time) a Scout at a National Jamboree (in 10, 15, 20 years?) from Oregon and a Scout in Florida (and all of the other Scouts) recognize the concept.

 

Ask yourself this - how did "Signs Up" become so well known that a Scout in Oregon and a Scout in Florida and Scout's all in between recognize that "Signs Up" means "Shut Up"? Someone had to start it (just as someone had to pull a Lobster out of the sea, eat one, and spread the word that, gee - here is food). It all starts with one person or small group. Eventually it becomes a Movement.

 

Gunny - another good question - how would they recognize what a different stick was (how do we know its not just a hiking stick)? At the troop level, its pretty easy to recognize your own special talking stick. It can be pretty easy for an OA Chapter or OA Lodge, or District Staff to create their own - the key is for each group to give it a special meaning by making it their own - and then showing the members the talking stick - inviting them to accept it as part of the tradition. Summer camp too - wouldn't it be cool to have the camp staff start a talking stick at the beginning of each camp season and have every unit contribute something to it as they come and retire it at the end of every season to be displayed in the Dining Hall or Trading Post or somewhere and watch the collection grow each year? Wouldn't it be cool to have a chapter and/or lodge talking stick that was ceremoniously passed on from one chief to another over the years, with the chief adding one thing to the stick each year? Wouldn't it be cool to attend a flag ceremony at a District Camporee or a Summer Camp with the PL's holding their Patrol Flag, the ASPL holding the Troop Flag and the SPL holding the Troops Talking Staff?

 

Granted, it might be more difficult for the Jamboree but, and I'm just tossing this out there, maybe as part of the pre-Jamboree packet, information was provided with a picture of that years Talking Staff with a backstory on the creation and the artist that created it (I could envision a different Native American tribe being invited to create that years staff every Jamboree - one year, the Ho Chunk, the next the Seminole, etc.)and the tribe that supplied it. How do the folks in the back know when the signs up now? Probably the Big Screen Monitors placed everywhere.

 

Gunny - finally - the most difficult question - Isn't it just another version of "Signs Up"? In a sense, I readily admit it is. But listen to the cadence of the following: "Signs Up" and "Shut Up". The cadence is the same. Now try "Talking Staff Presented" or "Talking Staff Up" and "Shut Up". Different cadences - one won't as readily think to themselves "Shut Up" when they see the talking staff as they will when the see and/or hear "Signs Up". My contention is that "Signs Up" may as well be "Shut Up" and how many of us really listen when someone tells us to shut up? Most of us become passive listeners at this point, not active listeners - we really don't care what the speaker has to say - at this point, we're still seething (we may not recognize it) at being told to shut up. The talking stick concept changes that - there is no subconscious thinking that one was just told to shut up - so we become respectful of the speaker and become an active listener.

 

Calico

[local1400]

If your Scout camp has a dining hall, did you ever notice that when the DH Steward puts the sign up for food, hungry boys put the sign up and stay quiet? It should be the same whenever the sign goes up, adults too.

[Stosh]

My scoutmaster would put the sign up, wait for quiet and if it didn't come quickly and completely, he would recite the Scout Law up to the word Courteous, pause for effect and reflection and then go into his comments.

 

He's also the one that said the three fingers up are representative of "Sit down", "Shut up", and "Pay Attention". :^)