Mid-Eastern/Central Asian Scouting Families

[ChuckSt8er 10]

Short version: Am in the process of writing my ticket for Woodbadge with one of the five items to be written on Diversity. I am a second-year Cubmaster with a thriving, thriving pack (doubled in size, sold 5X more popcorn this year than last, 80+% retention, etc.), but before I move on to my next post, I want to make sure I'm putting the right infrastructure in place to support real, sustainable growth.

 

We have a moderately large (10-15) population of Indian/Pakistani/Middle Eastern families in our Pack. OK, who can guess the next part of this story?

 

My ticket item here has to do with understanding the cultural, social, developmental needs of these communities (realizing that there may be a variety of culturally-based motivations), and seeing what we as a Pack can do better to meet these needs.

 

MY QUESTION FOR THE GROUP: I'm looking for prior threads, big ideas, hypotheses, guidance of any sort, anecdotes, how you've solved the problem/challenge, etc.

 

I'm all ears and a big open mind, folks. Illuminatio mea.

[ASM915 90]

Chuck,

How many other Packs or Troops in your District or Council have the same mix as yours?

 

Since there is probably a good mix of Hindi, Shii and Sunni Muslim, Christian, Jewish, possibly some Buddhist, and other Mid-Eastern religions, why not have a one day Cultural Jamboree. It can be as small as a Pack event, or as large as a Council event.

 

You can have activities and or informational sessions geared toward the Scouts and the adults.

 

They can teach eachother different games, songs and dances from their respective cultures.

 

Have storytellers there from each culture telling folktales and mythological stories. The Cubs might find it interesting how many of their own histories and mythological stories are very simular to the others there.

 

You can discuss cultural diversity and tolerance.

 

Have someone from the Council's Relations and Membership Committee's Religious Awards subcommittee have a booth or better yet a presentation on Scouting's Religious Awards program and the different awards that can be earned by the Cub's and Webelos, and how the parents can get involved as mentors and councilors. Do this at what ever level of activity you hold. There are so many parents and Cub leaders that have no idea what is offered and available out there for them and their Scouts. The Scouts can talk about an interesting item or their favorite part of their religion.

 

Have a dinner with food from all the different groups represented. Have a religious leader or parent from each group give, in English, a short prayer before the dinner, so the Scouts (and maybe some parents) can see that we are not all that different.

 

After dinner, have a campfire. Maybe start out by the leader light one candle and talk about how the one candle by itself glows, but the surrounding area is still dim. Then have the leader light the candle of the person next to them and so forth around the circle. When all the candles are lit, the leader then makes a statement about how now the whole area is a lot brighter now that all the candleas are lit. They can then somehow tie that in with how when one person tries to do something, how hard it may be, but when everyone, even from different cultures, religions and backgrounds work together, how easy and brighter things become. Close with an inter-religious prayer and a promise to be more tolerant of eachother.

 

Have a service project. Maybe collect funds that could go toward helping another National Scouting Organization out, like the Irani Scouting Movement. Have the Cubs make pictures of Cub activities and send them along to the other NSO.

 

This whole idea may allow the Cubs and leaders to qualify for Scouting's Internation Activities Patch.

 

Good luck. Let me know what you plan, when it is, and how it goes.

 

Eric

[Lisabob 13]

Sounds like a great opportunity for all of your scouts (and maybe your larger community) to learn about other cultures. You could use the language & cultures belt loop/pin as a base for this. I did my diversity ticket item along those lines and the kids (and parents) really enjoyed it.

 

An international food festival is always a big hit. My son's teacher did this one year in elem. school. The kids each chose a country/culture from their family background, created a display, and brought in food. Worked out really well. You could do that on a den level or an individual level in a pack. Talk to the elem. school teachers too - they might have ideas or even be interested in co-sponsoring an international night at the school.

 

If you have a large group of people from a particular religious or national background maybe you could invite them to help your pack celebrate a major holiday. Diwali, for example, is a Hindu holiday, but it is widely celebrated in South Asia as a cultural event regardless of religious background. Chances are good that most typical American kids don't know anything about Diwali - might be a great opportunity! Of course, if you do this, you'd want to make sure parents understood that this is simply an introduction to other cultures - not an indoctrination - and that if other families want to share their special holidays, you're open to that too.

 

See if you can link up with a cub pack in another part of the world where many of your scout families have ties. Set up a pack to pack pen friendship. This can be done fairly easily via the internet, especially if you have families who can read the local language to help you.

 

Whatever you end up doing, make sure you have the parents on board to help you. This should be about making use of the resources you have (and getting them involved) rather than you doing it all yourself.

 

Sounds like fun to me! Please keep us posted.

 

 

[Eamonn 61]

Back in London the Troop which was fortunate to have me as the Scout Leader (SM) was 60% non-white. A mixed bag of families from across the globe.

When my wife first arrived in England's green and pleasant land she was surprised that all these kids talked with a London accent!!

The truth is that these kids see themselves as being Londoner's.

Both my parents are Irish. I'm very proud of my Irish background and heritage.

But as a kid I at times was really confused.

At home my parents were thankful that England had provided us with a good life and standard of living. My Dad was super proud of his kids. He often said that through us he had proved that "A Paddy from the bogs of Ireland could do well!"

At home we knew that England should not have kept the six counties of Northern Ireland and going back to Elizabethan times to way the English had treated the Irish was and had been wrong.

We seen the IRA bombings and we knew that wasn't right.

In England they tell "Irish Jokes" which make the Irish seem stupid. These offend me. (As does the leprechaun that Notre Dame has.)

Yet in many ways I was English!!

This is very confusing for a young person.

Overcoming stereotypes is something we all need to work at.

Here is Southwest PA. They tell Polish jokes, much the same as the Irish jokes told in the UK and just as wrong.

The kids in the Pack need to know that it's a good thing to be proud of their heritage, they all so need to know that there are people who came from where their parents or grand-parents came from who have and who do a lot for where they now live.

Maybe a pack meeting where each Den had a "Skit" about what someone with a ethnic background has done for the USA might be a good idea.

My Grand-mother had a little alter in her home with religious pictures and statues of her favorite saints (lit by a small red bulb with a cross inside it) Along with these was a big picture of JFK.

The message the kids need to know is that it's OK to have a heritage , it's OK to be an American and being both or having both can be done and is a good thing.

Eamonn.

[ASM915 90]

Chuck,

Why not come up with an adult sguare knot requirements for adults Scouters involved with Scouting in the Middle Eastern communities. If I'm correct, we already have one for Scouters involved with the Hispanic and I think either the Vietnamese or Southeast Asian communities.

[ASM915 90]

Chuck,

Click over to the "Issues and Politics" forum abd read fgoodwin's thread "Scouting reaching out to Muslims". I found this by accident. I don't remember it popping up on "Todays Topics" around that time.

Might be helpful.

[epalmer84 10]

We don't have any major populations like that here in our area, but I have lived in the Middle East. Things are very different over there.

 

I see some very good ideas here. I really like the food ideas- nothing pulls folks together like good food. You might also try to approach their religious leaders and let them know about the religious emblems program. Ensure they know the programs can be used for any of their youth, not just Scouts. In turn, these folks may have some good ideas you could implement.

 

Writing style mode: The BSA uses the term jamboree only for the world and national jamborees.

 

Eamonn: You might want to check out Francis Parater, an Eagle Scout who has been nominated for canonization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_J._Parater

 

ASM915: You are thinking of the Scouting ... Vale la pena! Service Award for service to Hispanic American/Latino youth and the Asian American Spirit of Scouting Service Award for service to Asian American youth. There is also the The Spirit of Scouting Award for "exceptional and unusual service to young people in hard-to-reach communities over a long period of time."

 

Ed

[ChuckSt8er 10]

Ever start with a a pretty small, manageable idea and have somebody take it places you never imagined?

 

Wow. Many, many thanks from a Fox just startin' to work his ticket. I'll keep you all informed on where this goes.

[Crew21_Adv 25]

Chuck,

 

Greetings!

 

Here is a thought to offer as a Diversity ticket item.

 

An Enlightenment Trail.

 

This type of event, I learned in the early 90's, participated in only one in the late 90's. I have heard about it in a few councils, but I do not believe every council conducts this event. But at least this style of event dates a little longer than WOOD BADGE for the 21st Century and the current ticket process. Equally, the Enlightenment or Ten Commandment Trail was highlighted in Scouting magazine a few years ago (circa 96), describing how a specific council conducts their Trail.

 

Most all councils have Historic Trails, and they are registered with BSA and may earn local Council medals after learning history and conducting a 5-10 mile hike. However, Some Councils have begun Enlightenment Trails, and earned an associated medals and patch by completing a brief Q&A test at the end. Most Enlightenment Trails, visit ten Churches, Mosques, Temples and Shrines, while listening to one verse of the Ten Commandments and a five minute history of that religious faith. It may also be known as the Ten Commandments Hike.

 

A quick search of Scoutingmagazine.org shows their online articles only go back to 1998, I could not find the article of the hike. But there was an article of The 12-Points Bike Ride, which was adopted from the Scouting magazine article "In Search of Reverence and Understanding," March-April 1996.

 

Most religious institutions would look at this opportunity as a diversity outreach ministry. They were please to have a staff of Sunday School or Educational directors wait for about 100 plus scouts on a Saturday to hike from institution to institution and arrive at their door steps. Scouts and religious may sometimes stir controversy, but their staff understood all that was requested. These different denominations did not consider this an opportunity for conversion, but they would offer to dispel myths about their denomination. During my hike, there were no prayers or sermons, only a brief history and the next consecutive verse (within their own literature) of the ten commandments. It actually was very fun and educational.

 

In most councils, these are downtown hikes, so all ages of Cub Scouts, Boy Scout and Venturers may usually all attend. With little risk of mud, or scrapes and bruises, or mosquitoes. And during my hike, most of these religious faith institutions had juice and snacks (sometimes ethnic treats) at each stop for us. So there was little chance of dehydration.

 

Possibly an Enlightenment Trail (or similar) in your council may be the precise answer for a Diversity Ticket.

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv