"Making" OA(Was Re: <no subject>)
settummanque, or blackeagle (blkeagle@DYNASTY.NET)
Sat, 17 Jan 1998 22:31:56 -0600
Hey Everyone!!
After a period of adjusting to having both of my boys here, I'm now trying
to spend this evening to read and answer as much of the mail as I've
received. This (having both boys here) was something planned but wasn't
planned. I'll explain about that in a subsequent posting on Monday.
I'm crossposting this to Arrow-L because of the nature of the question;
hopefully, this will serve as a starting point for discussion over there
into "how do you explain what the OA is to a parent?"
Carl Westfall asked a good question.....it's a question that a lot of
parents are asking their Scoutmasters and some of them are not getting a
very good response:
>My son just made 1st Class and keeps talking about making OA. Can
>someone give me a little information on exactly what Order of the Arrow
>is, what they do, and how you get in.
What IS the "Order of the Arrow"?
First, it is NOT the "Arrow of the Arrow", the "Arrow of Light" nor the
"Arrow Order", as some past personal postings to me have stated.
The Order of the Arrow (OA for short) is the Boy Scouts of America's
national camping and leadership honorary. The Order has four stated
purposes, the most important in the minds of most Arrowmen (the name given
to members of the OA, male and female) is of giving service to others.
In particular, service to others within the OA takes on two or three
specific areas: service to the local Council, as escorts and
representatives of the local BSA Council; service to the local Council's
camping and/or outdoor facilities, as workers and constructors of the
camping facility for the summer season as well as to organize new outdoor
facililites for campers and hikers. Some OA Lodges (the organization which
serves at the pleasure of the local Council Scout Executive and Council
Executive Board) take on additional service to units as provisional leaders
at camp or to assist local Councils in organizing and extending Scouting to
new units.
The OA is nominative in nature....members are elected by their Scout member
peers after meeting some short and longterm camping requirements as well as
becoming a First Class Scout as you've stated in your question. Once a
year, the members of your son's Troop will elect members to the OA. The
election results are normally not announced until the District or Council
camping program in the spring, or until the start of the summer camp program
during the early summer.
If your son is elected to the OA, he must participate in an outdoor
experience outside his Troop along with other candidates. This event takes
place normally at the Council's summer camp facility or some other Council
facility; however, it can and has been done at other locations throughout
the local Council area. After the completion of this 24 hour Ordeal and
participation in the Ordeal ceremony, he becomes a member of the Order of
the Arrow and is entitled to wear a special patch on the right pocket flap
of his uniform or jacket pocket. These "flaps" become the most prized
possessions of an Arrowman and becomes the catalyst for a lot of service to
his unit, his District and Council, and to Scouting and his community.
It also starts him onto a sideline of "collecting and swapping" those flaps
for other Lodge's flaps!
The OA also is something of the individual, Carl. While there are many
Arrowmen that have participated in the Ordeal ceremony and have completed
the Ordeal, and whom are wearing the flap emblematic of membership, they
have done very little in the way of truly participating in the OA. In other
words, they have "made OA" as if they have completed a merit badge or
advanced a rank; with little thought as to why his fellow Scouts elected him
to membership in such a special organization.
This is the time to sit down with your son, Carl, and while your should
encourage him to be eligible for OA membership, you shouild also encourage
him to THINK about WHY he wants to be an OA member. Not ALL OA members get
to wear the outfits of the ceremonial or dance teams.
Not ALL OA members get to take part in the National OA Conferences. Not ALL
OA members get to participate in special flag ceremonies within your
Council....but ALL OA members get to work hard to be of service to others.
ALL OA members have an "obligation" to be and do for other people whenever
they can and without grumbling or complaining about it.
In a very small way, Carl, the OA is a demonstration of the finer qualities
of the Scout Motto and Slogan in real, practical life. OA members all over
the country wear the flap and backpatch; not a lot of them demonstrate why
they were elected every day.
One does not "Make OA"; the Order of the Arrow "makes" the person that is
chosen to experience additional leadership and followship experiences and
the OPPORTUNITY to be of service to so many others.
Without flinching.
I wish your son Good Luck toward his goal of becoming an OA member, and
thanks for your question....betcha didn't get this kind of answer from your
son's Scoutmaster, did you??
Settummanque!
(c) 1997 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") (502) 827-9201
(settummanque, the blackeagle) http://dynasty.net/users/blkeagle
241 Fairview Dr., Henderson, KY 42420-4339 blkeagle@dynasty.net
kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@hq.21taacom.army.mil
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