Wednesday, 21 August 2013

The Promise: What Do Cub Scouts Want From Scouting?

Cub Scouting is supposed to be "fun", "exciting", "vigorous", and most importantly "outside". Why is "being outside" the most important element of Cub Scouting? It is the most important element because Scouting is deliberately designed to happen outside. But this "outside element" of Scouting is ignored on a frequent basis for many different excuses. Excuses like.........

  • It's too cold outside.
  • It's too windy outside.
  • It's too hot outside.
  • It's too dark outside.
  • It's too light outside.
  • It's raining.
  • It's snowing.
I could go on and on and on with excuses people, especially parents, have told me as why they don't want or won't let their Cub Scout go outside. But if the "outside" is the most important element of Cub Scouting, then why do we deny them of this element?

We deny them because of fear. We deny them because of worry. We deny them because of anxiety. We deny them because the world is a dangerous place. We deny them because they could get hurt. We deny them because their is too much risk involved. We deny them because we don't want them to get hurt. We deny them because they will get dirty. We deny them because they will make a mess. We deny them because we don't want to go outside. We deny them because we don't want to be cold. We deny them because we don't want to get wet. We deny them because we will get dirty. We deny them because we don't like nature. We deny them because we don't understand what the outdoors does for kids.

But yet...............We complain when they can't concentrate.

But yet................We complain when they can't focus.

But yet................We complain when they don't have self-discipline.

But yet.................We complain when they lack self-control.

But yet.................We complain about lack of self-esteem.

But yet.................We complain about lack of self-confidence.

But yet.................We complain when they are loud.

But yet.................We complain when they are rowdy.

But yet.................We complain they are obnoxious.

But yet.................We complain they are rude and inappropriate.

But yet.................We complain they can't sit still.

But yet.................We complain that they won't go outside.

But yet.................We complain that they are lazy.

But yet.................We complain that they are not physically fit.

But yet.................We complain that they don't like rain.

But yet.................We complain that they don't like snow.

But yet.................We complain that they don't enjoy the outdoors.

But yet.................We complain that they don't respect the environment.

But yet.................We complain that they don't enjoy mother nature.

There are many more complaints I could come up with but I think you get the picture. So now that we know what the problem is, how do we solve it? For now I leave you with that question to ponder yourself.

And for now.............."May the Great Scoutmaster of all the Scoutmaster's be with you until we meet again."

Blessed are the Cub Scouts who are taught to see beauty in all things around them.........................For their world will be a place of grace and wonder.


Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping

If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a Professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #26

Did You Know........

Scouts are in the news all the time! Each month more than 70 positive mentions are made on the radio, TV and in the papers.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Sunday, 18 August 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #25

Did You Know........

When Scout volunteer The Duchess of Cambridge was pictured wearing a pair of Le Chameau Vierzonard Wellies, sales of the boots rocketed over 30%.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Friday, 16 August 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #24

Did You Know........

John Lennon and Paul McCartney went to Cubs together.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Thursday, 15 August 2013

"If I Were King"

If I were King of France I wouldn't allow any child of under twelve years to come into a town. Till then youngsters would have to live in the open......................out in the sun, in the fields, in the woods, in company with dogs and horses, face to face with nature, which strengthens the bodies, lends intelligence to understanding, gives poetry to the soul, and rouses in them a curiosity which is more valuable to education than all the grammar books in the world.

They would understand the noises as well as the silences of the night; they would have the best of religions.................that which God himself reveals in the glorious sight of his daily wonders. And at twelve years of age, strong, high-minded, and full of understanding they would be capable of receiving the methodical instruction which it would be right to give them, and whose inculcation would then be easily accomplished in four or five years.

"Unfortunately for youngsters, though happily for France,
I don't happen to be king."

Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #23

Did You Know........

In 2009 a group of Cub Scouts (aged 8 to 10) lobbying against the "rain tax" were banned from entering Parliament for being too young.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Monday, 12 August 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #22

Did You Know........

Robert Baden-Powell, the Founder of the Scouting Movement wast voted the UK's 13th most influential person of the 20th Century.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Sunday, 11 August 2013

Camp Counselor's Manifesto

I am a Summer Camp Counselor..............

I believe in camp.
I believe in shorts, t-shirts, and sandals.
I believe in singing at the table.
I believe everyone should know five games to play on a bus.
I believe in early morning dip (even if I don't always go).
I believe if you play with children you will stay childlike.
I believe that camp makes a difference in every camper's life, as well as my own.
Camp is a place that I can get away from the rush of everyday life and back to the basics.
I come to camp for the campers, but also for myself.
Every camper is an individual and I need to treat them as such.
One method does not work with all campers.
I will strive to find the balance that will help me to see each camper as an individual.
And help me to give them each the summer of their lives.
I will remember my favorite counselors and teachers.
By remembering I draw on the positives of these people to make myself into a better counselor.
I am the most important person at camp to my campers.
My campers will watch everything that I do and say this summer.
So I want to do what is right and say what is good.
Camper see, camper do.
I need help and I will not be afraid to ask for it.
The staff want to see me succeed and will help me to do so, but only if I ask.
Camp is camp because of the people that are there.
I believe that every child should have an opportunity to attend camp at some point in their lives.
Camp is good, no camp is great...........in fact, I believe camp is the best place to be.
I believe this going to be the best summer yet.

Source:


Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping

Saturday, 10 August 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #21

Did You Know........

The current and youngest ever Chief Scout, Bear Grylls, was one of the youngest people every to climb to the summit of Mount Everest at the tender age of 23.

Source:



Yours in Scouting Service

Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping

Friday, 26 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #20

Did You Know........

In 2012 Scouting was voted the UK's most inspirational and practical charity.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Thursday, 25 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #19


Did You Know........

Singer and DJ Jarvis Cocker donated the platinum disc for Pulp's biggest ever album, Different Class, to his old Scout Group in Sheffield.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #18


Did You Know........

The first World Scout Jamboree in 1920 was attended by 8 thousand Scouts from 34 countries as well as an alligator from Florida, a baby crocodile from Jamaica, a lioness cub from Rhodesia (AKA Zimbabwe), monkeys from South Africa, a baby elephant and a camel.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #17

Did You Know........

Each day 100 thousand people in the UK take part in Scouting activities............more than the capacity of Wembley Stadium.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Monday, 22 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #16

Did You Know........

Liam Payne from world-dominating boyband One Direction is a former Scout, as is "reem" ankle watch-wearing TOWIE star Joey Essex.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Sunday, 21 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #15


Did You Know........

Gilwell Park, the scouts' UK Headquarters is home to part of the old London Bridge designed in the 19th Century by John Rennie. The rest is in Arizona.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Saturday, 20 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #14


Did You Know........

Scouts were the original Olympic Games Makers. During the 1948 "Austerity" Olympics in London, Scouts were described as "The Oil within the Wheels of the Olympic Games Organization".........performing tasks like serving tea, running messages and carrying placards in the Opening Ceremony.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Friday, 19 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #13


Did You Know........

The only five countries in the world that do not have scouting........China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Andorra.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Thursday, 18 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #12

Did You Know........

To mark the Centenary of Scouting in 2007, Scouts planted half a million trees across the UK.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Did You Know: TSA Edition #11

Did You Know........

There's a Scouting poster in both the EastEnders and Coronation Street Cafes.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Did You Know" TSA Edition #10


Did You Know........

In January 2012, Scout Bryony Balen became the youngest ever Briton to ski to the South Pole at 21.

Source:




Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Eagle Scout
ASM Troop 1316/Troop 0669
Council Aquatics/Outdoor Ethics
Council Program/Training/Camping


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

Total Pageviews