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Question about the Outdoor Code!


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Our scouts always police up the area they camp in before they leave.  We camped once in a small city park that had a campground.  It was a mess when we arrived and before we left I let it be know that I won't be leaving until the whole campground is cleaned up.  We were staying for free so I felt a bit obligated.  They were invited to join me if they wished.  They did well until one of the other adults told the boys to leave the cigarette butts.

 

One scout and I spent an extra 1-1/2 hours cleaning up the butts that if the whole troop would have joined in on would have taken less than 15 minutes.  Their only concern was they would be late in getting back home. 

 

I do not have the Outdoor Code memorized and neither did that other scout.  Even if the whole troop had it memorized, I don't think it would have made one iota of difference.  It's not something one memorizes, it is something one does.

 

:)  By the way, I learned about cleaning up campsites from my Godfather.  As I mentioned in another post, he Eagled in 1936. 

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It's part of the requirements for earning the Scout rank - repeat the Outdoor Code from memory and explain what it mean in your own words (summarized, not quoted).   It's a Boy Scouts of America ple

The "Outdoor Code"   is an ideal we strive to live up to.   So too the Scout Promise, the Scout Law, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Smith System Keys to Safe Driving, the Direction to the Players from

WOW.. Another does signs?  Does this mean ASL signs?  

I do not have the Outdoor Code memorized and neither did that other scout.  Even if the whole troop had it memorized, I don't think it would have made one iota of difference.  It's not something one memorizes, it is something one does.

 

 

Stosh, kudos for the campsite clean up...that's the code in action, and far more meaningful than any ceremonial flourish.

 

Concur, reciting is not the same as walking the walk.

Edited by desertrat77
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....... I recently sat on an Eagle board, my first in years.   I was surprised to see that the Outdoor Code was recited right after the oath and law.    To me, the code was an unnecessary road bump, another hassle, on the way to the task at hand--asking the scout some tough questions and hearing his answers.   His own words.  Not memorized ones.......

exactly how I feel every time I sit on any BOR and the other committee folks ask it....."unnecessary road bump"

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Of course living the outdoor code is more important than simple recitation. The same is true for the oath and law. Scouts should be demonstrating those virtues on site as well. To dismiss the outdoor code and claim only doing it onsite is also justification for eliminating the oath and law.

 

The purpose of faithful recitation of these codes is a constant reaffirmation of the ideals, they are not the end of the journey but the map by which a scout follows.

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I was going through the Scout requirements with my boys Sunday night and this issue came up on the Outdoor Code.  They were all surprised that I didn't have it memorized.  I said it wasn't necessary to have it memorized beyond getting the requirement done.  The newbies were surprised at that answer but my oldest scout said, Mr. Stosh always makes sure every bit of garbage is picked up after a campout so that it looks nice, every piece of food dumped on the ground picked up (animal safety) and the fire pit is cleaned up, (nice for the next group).  He then said it was the troop's trademark.  A clean campsite that good means a Scout was the last camper there.

Edited by Stosh
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That is my point. The meaning is important, but we still expect the recitation as an affirmation of the ideals. Putting it into practice is then where the rubber meets the road. We don't just say, "well living the scout law is what's important so memorizing the 12 points is a waste if time".

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I remember as a kid absolutely detested having to memorize the entire catechism.  Yet today, bits and pieces, if not entire sections of it float back to me constantly to direct my actions.  I have no idea the number of times the phrase: "help other people at all times." floats through my consciousness on a daily basis.

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