"Updating" Scouting

[OldGreyEagle 5]

In an effort not to get bogged down in what is wrong with scouting, how about a thread about what you have done to update the program? I have been asked to "officiate" as the adult Boy Scout leader in many "bridging ceremonies", I was casting about trying to find someway of getting the boys attention after a usually very long Blue and Gold Banquet. I settled on this song, spoken as poetry just before they cross over the bridge. Many of the kids recognize it, for them its "Classic Rock". Please note, I have changed one word from the original text:

 

 

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right

I hope you had the time of your life

 

So take the photographs and still-frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time

Tattoos of memories and dead skin on the trial

For what it's worth, it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right

I hope you have the time of your life

 

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right

I hope you had the time of your life

I hope you have the time of your life

 

yes, its Good Riddance by Green Day

 

 

[emb021 16]

I was at an OA ceremony (believe it was a Vigil Tap out), and they played the soundtrack to "Dances with Wolves". Doing so really made the ceremony more meaningful, at least for me.

 

 

[Chippewa29 13]

When you add touches like that to Scouting events, it really raises the level of quality. Many of the Scouts in my troop are really into Classic Rock (Beatles, Led Zepplin, etc.) and have use some of their songs for campfires or even changed lyrics to more of a Scout theme.

 

The methods of Scouting are frameworks around which we build our programs. There is nothing wrong with adding modern touches to the program, as long as it doesn't take away from the aims and methods.

 

For many "older" programs, mixing the modern and traditional is a delicate balance. Many kids want things modern, but how many sports teams do you hear about spouting tradition and getting the kids to buy into their history. Scouting has an incredible history and many wonderful traditions. Those traditions don't need to be scrapped to make the program modern and more relevant to the youth of today. However, if we rely only on tradition ("Son, you need to join Scouts because I was a Scout and my dad was a Scout") then we will keep losing numbers.