Good Program and Bad Program

[Beavah]

This doesnt mean that a unit is not turning out Scouts with Bad character but does make a difference between a unit that is running a "good" Scout program and one that is running a poor Scout program (which could be a topic in itself).

 

Yah, CNY's comments were very thoughtful, so here's a new and related topic in itself. It's in Issues & Politics so dan can give full-throated objections to his heart's content, eh? Hypotheticals always limp, so this is a tale of two real-life troops, from a former council I was in about 9 years ago.

 

Troop 1

CO is a public middle school PTO. Mostly hands-off, uninvolved.

SM and ASM officially trained. SM working his ticket.

Diligent First Class First Year program. New Scout Patrol used. Age-based patrols after 1st year.

SPL elected by troop. Troop used BSA JLT for training.

Advancement program by the book, except non-committee parents and UC used for BOR's.

BOR's averaged 15 minutes, no retesting except for Oath and Law.

Troop offered regular MB sessions at meetings, and participated actively in Council MB offerings.

Strictly adhered to G2SS, filled out all paperwork, collected permission slips for every event.

Did popcorn sales, spaghetti dinner. Boys mostly paid their own way.

Used all POR's - bugler, librarian, etc.

Troop is strictly uniformed, by the book, even on outings.

Troop was a regular at district and council camporees, and often had someone at Roundtable.

 

Troop 2

CO is a parochial elementary school, but accepts kids from all over, of any faith. CO is more involved in setting "tone" and expectations.

SM and ASMs not usually trained. Make jokes privately about WB and knot-ridden chests.

No First Class First Year program. Most boys don't make First Class until 8th grade.

Vertical, not age-based patrols. No New Scout Patrol. No Troop Guide.

ASPL elected by PLC; ASPL succeeds to SPL after 6 months. Troop did not use BSA JLT/NYLT.

Troop adds LNT requirements to T-2-1. For all I know, they may tweak other advancement requirements.

Older scouts, non-registered parents, and SM might sit on T-2-1 BOR, but not S-L-E.

ASMs do SM conferences for T-2-1, usually with PL for all but last bit.

Parents are forbidden from counseling MB's for their own son, and no boy can get more than 3 MB's from the same adult. No MB's offered during meetings. No MB-Fairs. Some summer camp badges not allowed.

BOR's average 30-60 minutes, and do ask boys knowledge/skill questions that many consider retesting. Boys are occasionally deferred on a BOR.

Troop doesn't use BSA POR's like bugler, but does have its own unapproved POR's like Webmaster.

Troop plays Lasertag, and mostly ignores G2SS in favor of doing their own thing.

Troop avoids district and council events. No popcorn sales.

CO supports the program financially, so scouts do not pay their own way.

Troop wears uniform shirt only for public events, selects their own pants, and has unofficial awards and patches.

 

Who's running a good program? What should be done with Troop 1? With Troop 2?

[Beavah]

And now, from Paul Beavah Harvey, da rest of da story...

 

Troop 1

Despite an 800-student middle school to draw from, has 15 scouts. Routinely loses half or more of their recruits every year. Those boys leave scouting for good.

Has only 2 high-school boys, one the SMs son. Boys Eagle Out or just leave by age 15.

At Eagle BORs, some boys have a hard time holding a conversation, or talking about Oath and Law. Average Eagle project is 50 man hours.

Troop does no adult screening beyond BSA application.

Troop has needed rescue twice from bad situations in the field, and has had some more serious behavioral issues at camp.

Patrol identity is weak, because of small troop size.

A fair bit of planning is done by adults, because of the limited age/experience/skills of the boys.

 

Troop 2

With an 80-student middle school to draw from, troop has 60+ scouts. It loses a couple of recruits every year, but introduces them to other troops so many stay in scouting.

Has a large number of high school boys, two active Venture Patrols.

Boys never Eagle Out but stay right through high school and often continue as ASMs.

At Eagle BORs, every boy is one youd want to hire for a job that same day. Most volunteer that Scouting has been the most important influence on their lives as teenagers. All can talk about the Oath and Law in detail, and with passion. Average Eagle project is 300+ man-hours.

Troop has a very thorough screening and training process for adults (uses same process for teachers at the elementary school).

SM and several ASMs are or have been professional outdoor guides. They regularly conduct safety seminars at the University of Scouting. Kids are always great citizens at camp.

Troop is well-known in the community for several ongoing service projects, including youth tutoring, after school programs, and homeless support services. These are coordinated through CO, but the kids seem to buy in.

Troop conducts its own TLT, and is a pretty good example of boy-run. PLC has nearly complete control of the activities, planning, etc., and you rarely see an adult leading or instructing. Patrol identity is strong, and patrol competitions are a regular feature.

I believe this unit had the highest number of religious awards in the district, from several different denominations (but I may be mistaken - district really didnt keep records of that).

A higher fraction of their boys come from single-parent homes.

This troop in the past 25 years spun off two additional troops. The 3 troops are the biggest troops in the district.

Oh, yah... and the SM is married to the IH, so he mostly does what the CO wants, eh?

 

Im not fer one over the other. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. But I think yeh have to look at the whole, and not get caught up on a notion that any tweak is a violation that puts yeh on the slope to disaster. A few tweaks might be better in the circumstances. Most are just different. A few might be worse, but then good Scouters and kids will figure that out, too, with a little help from a good Commissioner.

 

CNYs distinction is a good one the difference may be between a program feature not implemented because of laziness, and a program feature modified by conscious choice to achieve some end. BSA does the latter, too, eh? If every detail of the program was perfect, we wouldnt be revisin the requirement book every year, and the handbook every ten.

[Kudu]

Beavah writes:

 

Who's running a good program? What should be done with Troop 1? With Troop 2?

 

Your wording is open-ended, so let me approach the idea of a "good program" from a completely different perspective:

 

What feedback would I, as a Baden-Powell Scout Association (BPSA-USA) Commissioner, give Troop 2 if they decided to leave the BSA and join the BPSA-USA?

 

This moves the discussion away from Kohlberg's Pre-Conventional "I obey the BSA's worst impulses because 'A Scout is obedient'," and moves it closer to the true "Universal Principles" of Scouting at maybe the "5. Social Contract: The rules are flexible, together we do whats best for the general welfare" level which is expressed by the BPSA-USA's principle of "Group Autonomy."

 

Beavah writes:

 

SM and ASMs not usually trained.

 

(Speaking to Troop 2): Critics will be quick to point out to you that a new, all-volunteer Scouting association will be similar to those in other countries where units depend on Commissioners and regional (or national) Wood Beads courses to learn how the program is supposed to work.

 

Make jokes privately about WB and knot-ridden chests.

 

"Wood Beads" in your new association is not the business management leadership course that you may have already taken where you work. It is a practical course that uses practice in Baden-Powell's Patrol System to teach some outdoor skills and indoor Scouting theory.

 

As for jokes about BSA Scouters' knot-ridden chests, they are jokingly referred to by Scouters in the UK, Australia, and Canada as "Christmas trees."

 

Such humor is even popular at the BSA's national headquarters in Irving Texas, but it is not necessarily so private. I once spent a week with the BSA's national Director of Training for the Boy Scout Division. It was his opinion that excessive patches on adults are unseemly and he recommended that Scouters wear only the absolute minimum (such as Council, unit number, and leadership position). On at least two occasions during the week he joked about the number of Scouters who telephone him at National Headquarters to ask if there is a knot that they can wear for having taken Wood Badge.

 

He said his standard reply is,

 

"As a matter of fact there are TWO "knots" for Wood Badge!"

 

When the salivating Scouters express their sheer glee and ask for the details, the Senior BSA Executive replies,

 

"Yes, there is a "knot" on both ends of the leather thong of the Wood Badge. They hold your beads on!"

 

No First Class First Year program. Most boys don't make First Class until 8th grade.

 

You can expect to continue this tradition in Scouting programs based on Baden-Powell. A boy is not formally accepted into a Scout Troop until he earns Tenderfoot, so the requirements for this "Award" are limited to the few traditional ones that were written by B-P himself. The Patrol Leader is expected to handle the Tenderfoot candidate's progress as quickly as possible.

 

As B-P indicated, a boy is not really a full Scout until he earns First Class but some of the Traditional requirements (such as signalling, retesting, and the First Class Journey) are much more difficult than those in the BSA program so there should be no rush to speed through them. Old-timers in the BSA program will find that old photographs of their own boyhood Patrols probably show mostly 2nd Class badges until 8th grade as well.

 

Vertical, not age-based patrols. No New Scout Patrol.

 

This is the ideal in a Baden-Powell Scouting Troop as well. With some notable exceptions older Scouts make better leaders than 6th or 7th grade boys, and larger Patrol members can help keep discipline with the younger Scouts. Patrol Leaders are responsible for Tenderfoot through First Class training, and therefore they are chosen by the Scoutmaster for their proven sense of responsibility and ability to lead (rather than making Patrols a "lesson in democracy" by allowing the Patrol members to learn about the downsides of "popularity contests" by electing bad leaders and suffering the consequences). Baden-Powell did not require leadership for "advancement," so there is no pressure to force the best boy-leaders to abandon their Patrol Leader positions to make way for less talented leaders.

 

No Troop Guide.

 

By definition, a "Troop Guide" is an example of what I call the "Troop Method" rather than "Patrol Method." In B-P's Patrol System, the Patrol Leader is the Patrol's "guide." If he is not up to the task then the Scoutmaster should replace him.

 

ASPL elected by PLC; ASPL succeeds to SPL after 6 months.

 

This appears to be a modification of William Hillcourt's BSA Patrol Method in which the SPL is appointed by the PLC. This was replaced in 1972 by the "Troop Method" in which the entire Troop votes for the SPL and he "runs the Troop."

 

There are no ASPLs in a Baden-Powell Troop because the Patrol Leaders rather than the SPL (and his appointed assistants) run the Troop. Baden-Powell wrote that a Scoutmaster "MAY" appoint a Troop Leader (SPL) with the help of the Court of Honor (PLC) because in B-P's Patrol System a Troop is a loose federation of Patrols that can function perfectly well without an SPL, thank you very much.

 

Given Baden-Powell's wording your PLC should continue to appoint the SPL (technically the SPL-in-training) if that works for you, but I would advise against ASPLs. If you choose to ignore Baden-Powell's advice to limit a Troop to 32 Scouts (because B-P himself could only work with 16 Scouts and he figured that most Scouters where twice as capable as him), the PLC can always appoint additional SPLs as the Patrol Leaders deem necessary to do specific jobs for them, but the Scoutmaster should recognize that this is may be a danger sign that the Troop is creeping toward the Troop Method.

 

Troop did not use BSA JLT/NYLT.

 

Good riddance!

 

It is interesting to note that traditional WOSM Troops around the world who continue to use Baden-Powell's Scouting methods rather than pop youth culture or pop corporate culture modernizations, often use the Danish William Hillcourt's American PATROL LEADER TRAINING course!. Patrol Leader Training differs from "Junior Leader Training" in that it trains Patrol Leaders how to be Patrol Leaders, rather than being designed to teach the Troop Librarian how to be a one minute manager.

 

Troop adds LNT requirements to T-2-1.

 

You will be delighted to find that LNT requirements have already been added to the Baden-Powell all outdoor requirements that have an impact on the environment. Troops are expected to add LNT practices to all activities as local conditions make necessary.

 

For all I know, they may tweak other advancement requirements.

 

Baden-Powell Scouting is a game that plays Baden-Powell's version of the game with the exception of advances in safety, light-weight equipment, and environmental concerns (LNT). Tweaking falls under the BPSA-USA's policy of "Group Autonomy," but if you tend to tweak toward Parlour Scouting then you might be happier in the BSA where the most demanding Scoutcraft requirements have already been "tweaked" out of the program by people like you :-)

 

Older scouts, non-registered parents, and SM might sit on T-2-1 BOR, but not S-L-E. ASMs do SM conferences for T-2-1, usually with PL for all but last bit.

 

There have never been any Troop Method adult-judgement requirements such as Scout Spirit, BOR, and SM Conferences in Baden-Powell Scouting. The Patrol Leader judges Tenderfoot through First Class competencies (which are all training in Scoutcraft). The Scoutmaster is expected to keep his eyes open and judge the quality of this Scoutcraft training in every Patrol for himself and work with his appointed Patrol Leaders as necessary. Proficiency Badge counselors judge the specific proficiencies of older Scouts.

 

If you don't trust the theory that Scouting is a game that uses the VERY indirect method of training in Scoutcraft to teach citizenship, and if you want to second-guess Baden-Powell and block the recognition of a Scout's Scoutcraft skills because you don't approve of the attitude with which he wears his Scout Socks, then stick with the BSA :-/

 

Parents are forbidden from counseling MB's for their own son, and no boy can get more than 3 MB's from the same adult. No MB's offered during meetings. No MB-Fairs.

 

Amen.

 

Some summer camp badges not allowed.

 

In Baden-Powell Scouting summer camp is about the Patrols setting up their own Patrol sites, Patrol cooking (of course), and planning outdoor adventures. Summer camp is mostly planned by the PLC and should not aspire to Troop Method Merit Badge factories.

 

BOR's average 30-60 minutes, and do ask boys knowledge/skill questions that many consider retesting.

 

Retesting of the ALL of the previous Award (rank) skills is a Second and First Class requirement in Baden-Powell Scouting. The Patrol Leader customarily waves this requirement for Scouts who help him teach these skills to the younger Patrol Members.

 

Current proficiency is also required for all Proficiency Badges. For instance if a Scout fails to renew his first aid certification, he is no longer allowed to wear a first aid Proficiency Badge (Proficiency Badges are far fewer in number and all Badges are worn on the Uniform, not on a "Merit Badge Sash").

 

Troop doesn't use BSA POR's like bugler, but does have its own unapproved POR's like Webmaster.

 

Baden-Powell did not require "PORs" for Progressive Training in Scoutcraft ("Advancement"), so this kind of stuff is besides the point.

 

Troop plays Lasertag,

 

Jolly good show!

 

What kind of Scouting association would not encourage Lasertag, a proven joy to boys? Such games are consistent with Baden-Powell's "Scouting Games" from the very beginning of Scouting!

 

and mostly ignores G2SS in favor of doing their own thing.

 

The G2SS is not written by insurance experts in risk assessment as is commonly assumed, nor by safety experts in their fields of expertise. The BSA's G2SS is written by BSA lawyers to protect the BSA's assets against seizure in worst-case scenarios (such as pioneering projects that are, gasp!, more than six feet off the ground!). Safety standards in Baden-Powell Scouting reflect the standards of Proficiency Badge requirements written by appropriate partner-associations such as the NRA, Red Cross, United States Canoe Association, etc, all of which are subject to the policies of the Troop's insurance carrier.

 

Troop avoids district and council events.

 

Baden-Powell held in disdain the BSA public park "Camporees" which were invented by James West. B-P called them "Parlour Scouting!"

 

No popcorn sales.

 

Baden-Powell Scouting has no local air-conditioned offices full of paid professional that need to be supported by popcorn sales. If you constantly need a local support staff, then the BSA is the better option.

 

CO supports the program financially, so scouts do not pay their own way.

 

As your Commissioner, PLEASE include me in your next free Troop Campout in England or Hawaii!

 

Troop wears uniform shirt only for public events, selects their own pants,

 

This is called a "Class C" Uniform in Baden-Powell Scouting. The pants must be dark blue. Troop-made activity shirts must be the same color as the official tan "Class A" uniform shirt.

 

and has unofficial awards and patches.

 

A Baden-Powell Scout continues to wear most of his previous Awards, including the Tenderfoot and First Class badges. Scout level Proficiency Badges are eventually replaced with the equivalent Senior Scout Proficiency Badge. So there is not a lot of room for unofficial patches.

 

Kudu

 

[SR540Beaver]

Kudu,

 

Back in April 2005, you said that BPSA-USA was set to launch in the US. Is the First Tarrant group out of Fort Worth still the only BPSA group in the US? A google search didn't turn up anything other than the First Tarrant group.

[Beavah]

Yah, OK, I really wasn't tryin' to be an advocate for BPSA or whatever. The point was that good fellow scouters and commissioners recognize different approaches within the BSA as legitimate and worth supporting. If not for their positive effects, then for reasons of good fellowship.

 

But you make a good point that much of Troop 2's "tweaks" were not their own developments. They were really the result of not changing when the BSA "tweaked" the program out from under them. In some cases (kids on BOR's for example), they came half way between the "old BSA program" and the "newer (tweaked) BSA program."

 

That's an interestin' point. And it raises perhaps a different question. We recognize and allow any old pre-de la Renta uniform part as still "official." I wonder if we should similarly recognize any previous BSA program elements (like boys on BOR's, no FCFY, etc.) as still "official" and available for use at the option of the troop.

 

Not that the BSA cares, but a statement to that effect might dampen the enthusiasms of da self-appointed "program cops."

 

 

 

[Kudu]

SR540Beaver writes:

 

Back in April 2005, you said that BPSA-USA was set to launch in the US. Is the First Tarrant group out of Fort Worth still the only BPSA group in the US? A google search didn't turn up anything other than the First Tarrant group.

 

The printed materials, uniforms, etc, were not ready until about a year later. By then the BPSA-USA had decided that the quiet organization of interested congregations was the way to go. So the First Tarrant Group remains the only Internet lightning rod

 

Those who want to contact them to ask questions or to inquire about getting involved or starting a Group can call their toll free number, 866-339-0846.

 

Kudu

 

[SR540Beaver]

So, is First Tarrant the only BPSA group in the US or are there more? Is there a BPSA-USA organization like national in Irving? No amount of Googling has turned anything up. You said you were a BPSA-USA commissioner. How many units are there to commish for?

[Eamonn]

Please don't take this the wrong way.

But is there a reason why the BPSA-USA is not recognized by the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS)?

Eamonn.

 

 

[Kudu]

SR540Beaver writes:

 

So, is First Tarrant the only BPSA group in the US or are there more? Is there a BPSA-USA organization like national in Irving? No amount of Googling has turned anything up.

 

I am familiar with the BPSA-USA's program, but I do not speak for the association. You could call their toll-free number (866-339-0846) and see if they want to reveal their numbers and Internet polices :-)

 

Eamonn writes:

 

is there a reason why the BPSA-USA is not recognized by the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS)?

 

The North American branch of the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS-NA) is based in Canada. They wanted American member associations to observe the same restrictions imposed upon BPSA-Canada by the Canadian courts after Scouts Canada's successful litigation against the competition.

 

BPSA-Canada was forced to 1) cease using the term "Scouts" and 2) disband as a national organization (independent provincial associations were ruled OK). It was therefore WFIS-NA policy that in order to avoid a similar confrontation with the BSA, only American state-based associations that did not use the term "Scouts" would be recognized by the WFIS-NA.

 

As I understand it, BPSA-USA would not agree to those terms.

 

Kudu

[Eamonn]

Thank you.

Eamonn

[Hunt]

"Who's running a good program? What should be done with Troop 1? With Troop 2?"

 

I'll bite. Both are running programs with strengths and weaknesses, like virtually every other Troop there is. However, I'm not prepared to say that the many successes of Troop 2 somehow prove that all of their deviations from BSA's program are good ideas. In particular, their choice to ignore the requirements of the Guide to Safe Scouting is a very bad idea, and I think a UC would have a duty to remind them that these requirements are not optional. Also, a number of the rules and practices of this troop suggest to me that it is run by the adults and not the boys (retesting and failure of BORs is often the tipoff for this). Troop 1, for that matter, may also be too adult-run--here the tipoff is complete uniforming, by the book, even on outings. So I would say that both programs may be doing good things, but both could be doing better. One way to improve performance at anything is to consider what the experts have to say about it--and BSA is the expert on its program. That doesn't mean that BSA (or any expert) is always right--but without some pretty good reason to think otherwise, BSA probably has a good understanding of what works well.

[Beavah]

Both are running programs with strengths and weaknesses, like virtually every other Troop there is. However, I'm not prepared to say that the many successes of Troop 2 somehow prove that all of their deviations from BSA's program are good ideas.

 

Yah, that's the way it is, eh? The real world is messy. People do their best, and do things differently than each other, and achieve differing levels of success. I wasn't advocatin' for one or the other, beyond the obvious: nobody does it perfect, and program modifications don't necessarily lead to the kinds of "slippery slope" failures some seem to think. Lots of times, people who are doin' it different are also doin' a good job.

 

In particular, their choice to ignore the requirements of the Guide to Safe Scouting is a very bad idea

 

This is the fault of my writin' eh? Or at least maybe it is.

 

I really did mean "ignoring" as in "not reading" more than "violating." The troop was blessed by having some genuine professional expertise. They were all about runnin' a safe program, to a level generally far in excess of a typical G2SS compliant troop. Safety isn't optional, but the Guide is, eh?

 

Also, a number of the rules and practices of this troop suggest to me that it is run by the adults and not the boys (retesting and failure of BORs is often the tipoff for this).

 

Yah, sure, like all troops there are various levels of adult involvement. Troop 2 I remember as bein' top 5% in terms of "youth run", but there were certainly things like the CO's direction in the ongoing community service efforts that had an adult component, as well as some of the safety/outing prep, for sure. Not the BOR's, though. The kids liked showin' off their skills a lot more than the other "dumb adult questions," as I recall. And they generally had a kid on the BOR after all.

 

One way to improve performance at anything is to consider what the experts have to say about it--and BSA is the expert on its program.

 

Well, now that's an interestin' idea. Might make for a different thread.

 

Certainly the BSA is the publisher of its program. But does that make it the "expert," especially when it comes to implementing the program? Can a corporation even be an "expert?"

 

A book publisher may put out a book on law. But the author of the book, not the publisher, is the expert, at least on the theory and general principles. Then perhaps the attorney who implements the principles of the book successfully over time in helping his clients is the real expert.

 

Whether the publisher does a better job with later editions of the book depends on how good the feedback is between the author and the field experts, eh? And probably on how little the publisher's executives get in the way.

 

Beavah

 

(This message has been edited by Beavah)

[Hunt]

"Safety isn't optional, but the Guide is, eh?"

 

Well, no, it isn't--at least not the parts that are in bold type. The Guide says that these are "rules and policies" of BSA. If you signed the adult volunteer application, you agreed to follow the rules and regulations of BSA. In addition, the Charter Agreement obligates the CO to follow the policies of BSA (in addition to its own).

 

Now some people may think that those agreements make you morally if not legally obligated to follow to the letter every BSA rule, regulation, and guideline. I wouldn't go that far, but at the very least they obligate you to follow those that BSA clearly indicates are required--to me, that means the safety rules in bold print in the Guide, and the requirements for membership and advancement. Saying the Guide is optional, in my mind, would be like saying that a troop could choose the option of requiring fewer or different merit badges for Eagle, or the option of letting girls or 8-year-old boys join.

[OldGreyEagle]

Hunt, you have hit on an area I was trying to clarify when I asked what parts of the program did one hold sacrosanct and was firmly told no one cares, or that what one holds sacrosanct was not important, how to help a unit was more important. But you have hit what I meant. If a CO wants to reward effort and "trying" and wants their Troop members to feel success, what if they said, you earn 18 merit badges and we will spot you the other two? What if they decided Co-ed was the way to go and enrolled 20 12 year old girls in the Troop because their religious principles said there shall be no discrimination based on sex? Is the intent if such an unit exists we are to applaud the well intentioned adult leadership and move on?

 

If I remeber the story, or perhaps more accurately the legend of how Rugby got started, it was a frustrated Soccer player who just picked up the ball and ran with it. Now, the people in the game were appalled, it was an adaptation to the rules a tweak as it were, but clearly it wasnt Soccer anymore, it was something else.

 

I see Forums as an exchange of ideas and thoughts and opinions. If someone posts a situation they want feedback. If someone posts a situation that is contrary to BSA policy, I will say so. Now, I may not have the entire story and frequently further clrification is requested and the answers start moving around and many times I feel like we are being set up but still, I am not sure when citing the rules and wanting them followed became such a bad thing. I always thought the rule of law was a hallmark of Western Civilization. Teaching scouts to follow the rules is part of the Aims, as in citizenship?

 

I saw a comment somewhere that if it was between a rule and whats best for the youth, the rule would be ignored, but what rule is that? What rule does the BSA have that gets in the way of the youth? There may be such rules, but those are truly the ones that need to be changed or deleted.

 

ANyway, to reiterate, I would like to know when following rules became a charactor defect?

[Hunt]

"Anyway, to reiterate, I would like to know when following rules became a charactor defect?"

 

I would say that a level of skepticism about authority is a part of the American character. Characters who skirt the rules (or the law), but who are good at heart are common in movies and literature--think of Han Solo in Star Wars, for example. Or the Bill Murray character in Stripes. The Jack Nicholson character in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." The doctors in MASH. Or Sgt. Bilko. Ferris Bueller. Even Beetle Bailey. It's a fantasy of freedom, or of sticking it to "the Man," I guess--but I think it's a mistake to ake too much of a virtue out of it in real life.