Scout Spirit Scavenger Hunt

[Kudu 186]

 

Trevorum wrote:

 

> How do you other SMs handle the "Scout Spirit" requirement? Do you

> have criteria (written or not) or go with gut instinct. This is always the

> central point of my SM conferences for Star, Life and Eagle. We briefly

> review the candidates completion of all the other requirements, but then

> have a fairly intense discussion of the Scout Oath and Scout Law, what

> they mean and how to live one's life that way.

 

> What do you other SMs do?

 

Most discussions of "Scout Spirit" advancement requirements revolve around how adults should judge a Scout's character. A different approach is to use the requirement to encourage the Scout to learn the meaning of each Scout Law by examining his own actions.

 

I do this in the form of a "game" called the "Scout Spirit Scavenger Hunt." The hunt takes the form of a worksheet which I hand out at the beginning of the campout on which I expect the Scout to complete the requirements for his next rank. The worksheet has a short definition of each Scout Law with a space in which the Scout writes an example of his behavior on a campout that matches that definition. For example:

 

12. A Scout finds wonder all around him: in the tiny secrets of creation, in the great mysteries of the universe, and in the kindness of people. Sometimes he feels a chill or a "sense of awe" when he witnesses the beauty, the vastness, or the raw force of nature.

I was REVERENT when I______________________________________

___________________________________________________________

 

See the complete Scavenger Hunt at The Inquiry Net:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/ideals/spirit

 

The Scout then brings his completed Scavenger Hunt to the Scoutmaster Conference. We discuss each of his 12 campout experiences and how that relates to his behavior in "everyday life." I write notes on this worksheet for my own use later. If the Scout is dyslexic, most of the Scavenger Hunt ends up in my handwriting. A Scout's ability to do paperwork is helpful to me, but not a requirement. See:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/ideals/spirit/directions.htm

 

I keep the completed forms in my Scouting notebook until the next Court of Honor, when they are used in our candle-lighting ceremony in a pitch-dark room. This is why every answer must include some small detail of what the Scout smelled, heard, saw, tasted, felt, or did on a campout! Before the rehearsal, I select what I consider to be the best answer to each of the 12 Laws, and that Scout lights the candle for that particular Law.

 

For example:

 

Scout (Standing at the ceremonial candle rack, and facing the audience): "Reverent"

 

Chorus of All Scouts (Loudly): "A Scout is Reverent"

 

Scout: (Lights the 12th candle on the rack, and faces the audience) "I was reverent when I felt a shiver at the Scouthaven campout. I looked at all of the stars in the sky and it made me think about God"

 

See "Candlelight Ceremony" at The Inquiry Net:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/advancement/ceremonies/candlelight.htm

 

Part of the purpose of the Candle Advancement Ceremony is as a public relations message to parents that gives specific examples of the importance of Scouting in their sons' lives, and why they should not use Scout campouts as something to take away as punishment for bad grades in school. This is why every answer should be about something that the Scout learned on a campout. These experiences have a far greater impact if they include some small detail of what the Scout smelled, heard, saw, tasted, felt, or did!

 

Yours in Scouting,

 

Rick Seymour

The Inquiry Net

www.inquiry.net