“In the old days the Knights were the real Scouts and their rules were very much like the Scout Law which we have now. The Knights considered their honor their most sacred possession. They would not do a dishonorable thing, such as telling a lie or stealing. They would rather die than do it. They were always ready to fight and to be killed in upholding their king, or their religion, or their honor. Each Knight had a small following of a squire and some men-at-arms, just as our Patrol Leader has his Second (or Assistant) and four or five Scouts. … You Scouts cannot do better than follow the example of the Knights.”
So said Robert Baden-Powell in the book that started the Scouting Movement, Scouting for Boys.In this book the Knights are held up as the ideal of Chivalry that Scouts should strive for. Chivalry was given very high importance by the founder of the Scouting Movement. In essence, Baden-Powell said that us Scouts should be modern-day Knights.
But that was one hundred years ago. These days, not only are many declaring that Chivalry is dead, histories are being written that many times portray the Knights in a much darker light than that in which our forefathers saw them. If you read some ‘histories’, you would think that Knights were in reality nothing but robbers and bullies. And you will hear that the chivalrous attitude of our forefathers was ‘unenlightened’ and degrading to women.
So where does that leave us Scouts now? Are we leftovers from the evolution of society who are destined to be eventually forgotten? Or should we continue to adapt with the times and call chivalry a thing of the past? I profoundly disagree. I believe that chivalry isn’t just a part of the history of Scouting, I believe that chivalry is integral to the ideal of Scouting and is, in fact, a Scout Keystone. What does this look like? Continue reading →
In 1985, a TV show was aired which was not only unique, but eventually became very popular. The title character of this series, MacGyver, was more-or-less a secret agent. However, instead of using all kinds of cool gadgets like the famous fictional spy James Bond, MacGyver used his wits to solve all kinds of complex problems and help people out with everyday materials that were on hand.
Ever since I discovered the series, I’ve been a big fan. More recently, as I dug deeper into the principles and ideals of the Scouting movement, I discovered that the spirit MacGyver embodied, Ingenuity, was the same spirit that can be found all throughout the history and literature of the Scouting Movement. So important has Ingenuity been held in Scouting, that I have come to esteem this as one of the Keystones of the character of a Scout. “What is Ingenuity?” “What does this look like in Scouting?” These are the questions I am going to answer in this post as I continue the series, Keystones of a Scout: The 10 Virtues that Make a Scout, which I introduced: here. Previously in this series, I talked about Endurance, Self-Discipline, Exploration, Observation, Initiative, and Deduction. Each of these are traits or virtues that I have shown to have been with Scouting from the beginning, and each of these traits are necessary for a Scout to do what he should do and to carry out his Oath that he swore as a Scout.
Scouts find inventive ways to overcome obstacles others would be stopped by.
What is Ingenuity?
Ingenuity is resourcefulness. It is the ability to invent a solution to a problem on the spot. It is the ability to think outside the box and use whatever you have on hand to solve a problem. In short, Ingenuity is the way obstacles are met with and overcome. These could be any obstacles, any time in life. The spirit of Ingenuity can shine in a life-or-death survival situation as MacGyver portrayed; it can shine in simple matters you deal with in everyday life; and it can shine in stuff like leadership, organization, and interpersonal disagreements.
Anywhere there are difficulties to be overcome in life, Ingenuity can be used. How does this work? Well, in most difficulties there is a common, accepted way of dealing with it. Often times this is the best way. On the other hand, each situation is different, and things often can’t be handled “according to plan”. Oftentimes the most obvious solution to the problem cannot be implemented because of a lack of time, resources, etc.
In addition to the most obvious and common way to solve a problem, there are innumerable other ways to approach it. Many of them may not work at all; others may only be temporary; and some may be just as good or better than the most common way. This is where Ingenuity comes into play. Ingenuity takes a step back, observes the problem from a “10,000 foot view”, and looks at all the options. A lot of times the best solution, if not the only solution, may not be the most obvious one. Ingenuity finds the best solution
with the resources at hand, however unusual it might be, and sets about to implement it.
MacGyver is cool, but what’s that got to do with Scouting?
Aside from the fact that the character of Macgyver actually was a Boy Scout (see episode 4), the Ingenuity that MacGyver shows is very much inline with the principles behind Scouting. The fact is, because of who Scouts are, they must exercise Ingenuity.
Scouting doesn’t happen in a laboratory. The realm of Scouts is in the real world, and in the real world, things rarely go according to plan. This is especially true for Scouts because they don’t confine themselves to ‘Civilization’, they go out and do things that haven’t been done before; they explore the frontiers of what is possible. Scouts hold themselves to a higher standard and show the rest of the world what can be done.
With such a mission as this, Scouts are always doing hard and unusual things, whether it be camping and exploring in the back-country, saving lives, or doing great community service. Sometimes there are no ‘common’ solutions to the problems Scouts run into, and this is where Scouts must exercise Ingenuity.
There is one field in Scout training that requires a lot of Ingenuity and is particularly useful in training one’s Ingenuity. This is the field of Pioneering, that is, the construction of useful structures out of rope and poles. John Thurman, an influential British Scouter, put a lot of emphasis on pioneering and the role of Ingenuity in it. Here are some quotes on the subject from a few of books on pioneering:
Pioneering requires constant practice in Ingenuity. The limit is your imagination!
“I was showing a Managing Director of a large civil engineering firm round Gilwell [a Scout Camp] when a Wood Badge Course was pioneering near the Bomb Hole. He displayed very great interest in the Pioneering and looked closely at all that was happening. From our point of view there was nothing unusual going on; this was a usual routine exercise with two or three bridges being built, a couple of towers, and a raft. As we walked away my civil engineering friend said, ‘I am delighted that the Scout Movement is still doing this: it is tremendously important. Despite the fact that modern machinery and equipment is magnificent there often comes a time when a man has to use ingenuity and improvise in order to move the job forward and the engineer who has the spirit that your kind of training produces is the man we want in our business.'”
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“A great many valuable commercial discoveries have emanated from the thought of how to use something for a purpose for which it was not intended. Something is invented for one purpose and then ingenuity finds a different use for it.”
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“In Scouting we have always prided ourselves on our ability to improvise, but improvising does not mean doing without. It is much more attractive to think of improvisation as putting something (in this case, junk) to an unexpected use, a use its original designers had no conception of. Again to the cynic. I would say that somewhere along this road we are pointing in the direction of new discoveries. A great deal of mechanical ingenuity has been achieved by what I would call “stepping out of line”; deliberately trying to be original and using an article, a substance, or a material for a use for which it was never intended.”
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“One of the great joys of Scouting is improvisation, so that what this question really means is “What do we need?” for the first part, and “What have we got?” for the second part, which brings us back to the first part “What do we still need?” and there you may have to improvise, you may have to borrow, you may have to alter, or join up because you are short of a block or are minus the right length of rope. A little determination, a lot of imagination, and a great deal of ingenuity will overcome most shortages.”
Conclusion
So, in summary, Ingenuity is the ability to invent a solution to a problem on the spot. It is the ability to think outside the box and use whatever you have on hand to solve a problem. Anywhere in life that difficulties are met with, Ingenuity can be exercised. Sometimes the obvious solution will not be the best one. Sometimes there will be no obvious solution.
If the Scout is not prepared to meet and overcome difficulties with Ingenuity, then he cannot lead the way and take initiative in life as Scouts are supposed to do. In short, he cannot properly fulfill the oath he took as a Scout. Like many other things, Ingenuity isn’t a trophy that can be won, it is a skill that needs to be practice and exercised throughout your life.
Scouts can practice Ingenuity in all areas of their lives, but Pioneering is a particularly helpful exercise in developing this.
Thanks for reading this post! Do you have any comments, thoughts, or questions? I’d love to hear them! Do you have any cool stories of times you invented an unorthodox solution to a problem? Please share it!
I want this to get out to as many Scouts as possible, so please help by sharing this post. You can easily share this on Facebook, Twitter, and etc. by clicking the little icons below this post.
If you don’t want to miss the rest of the installments of this series, just put your email in the little box to the right, and you will automatically get an email each time a new post is published.
Thanks again! Scout on, my friends!
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“I think if you try hard enough and make the best of a situation, the situation won’t get the best of you.” – MacGyver
Though MacGyver is a completely fictional character and most of what he does is impractical, it think the show is really fun to watch and has been an inspiration to me to improve my Ingenuity. To end this post, I thought you’d appreciate a couple of short clips from the series.
Initiative: It’s a great word, but it’s also a hard one too. What does it mean? Why is it a necessary virtue for a Scout to possess? In this post, I hope to answer these questions as I continue the series, Keystones of a Scout: The 10 Virtues that Make a Scout, which I introduced: here. Previously in this series, I talked about Endurance, Self-Discipline, Exploration, Observation, and Deduction. Each of these are traits or virtues that I have shown to have been with Scouting from the beginning, and each of these traits are necessary for a Scout to do what he should do and to carry out his Oath that he swore as a Scout. Today, I’m going to talk about what is perhaps one of the most important of these traits: Initiative. Continue reading →
Today, I’m going to continue the series, Keystones of a Scout: The 10 Virtues that Make a Scout, which I introduced: here. Previously in this series, I talked about Endurance, Self-Discipline, Exploration, and Observation. Each of these are traits or virtues that I have shown to have been with Scouting from the beginning, and each of these traits are necessary for a Scout to do what he should do and to carry out his Oath that he swore as a Scout. Today, I am half-way through the series of 10 virtues, and am going to talk about number five: Deduction.
What do you mean by ‘Deduction’?
Well, if you read the last post in this series on observation, then you know that observation is very important. However, observing is just the beginning. You see, but do you really understand what you’re seeing? Everything is made the way it is by a particular set of circumstances. Continue reading →
For this installment of the Keystones of a Scout series, I will be talking about a skill that has been emphasized greatly ever since Scouting was founded. This virtue and skill is very valuable and the mastery of which is one of the marks of a true Scout. What I am talking about is, of course, observation.
Observation of what? Observation of everything! A true Scout is constantly alert wherever he goes and pays attention to the smallest details. This is one of those things that will always be one of the distinguishing marks that shows the difference between a true Scout and the average person. Continue reading →
“To meet their spirit of adventure I held up for their ideal the doings of backwoodsmen and knights, adventurers and explorers, as the heroes for them to follow.” ~ Baden-Powell
I have particularly enjoyed doing the research for this third installment of the Keystones of a Scout series: Exploration.
“Very few fellows learn these things when they are living in civilized places, because they have comfortable houses, and soft beds to sleep in. Their food is prepared for them, and when they want to know the way, they just ask a policeman.
Well, when those fellows try to go scouting or exploring, they find themselves quite helpless. Take even your sports “hero” and put him down in the wilderness, alongside a fellow trained in camping, and see which can look after himself. High batting averages are not much good to him there. He is only a “tenderfoot”.” ~ Baden-Powell
You don’t need to dig far into the history of Scouting to see how much pioneers, adventurers, and explorers have influenced the Scouting movement. This is perhaps the real reason that most of us joined the Scouting movement, is it not? Scouting promised us adventure. Scouting promised us camping trips, canoe trips, hiking, rafting. Scouting promised us the exploration of the wilderness. Continue reading →
The name and fame of Jack Cornwell are known to every boy in Britain as the lad who in the great sea-fight off Jutland in 1916 stuck to his gun aboard the Chester when all the gun’s crew were killed or wounded and he might have got away under cover.
He was badly wounded himself – but in the responsible work of sight-setter his duty was to be at his post by the gun, and there he stayed for twenty minutes under heavy fire, in case he should be wanted.
At the end of the fight, after the Chester had come successfully through her tremendous contest with three German cruisers, the only unwounded man of the gun’s crew said to him, “Well done, lad. You stuck it out well. Lucky you weren’t wounded”.
“Well! I am wounded—here in the chest. But did we win?”
“Yes, my lad.”
The boy sank down fainting. He lingered a few days in a hospital and died of his wound, but satisfied – knowing that he had done his duty. He had “stuck to it”, as every Scout should.
This is Jack Cornwell, one of the youngest people to ever receive the Victoria Cross, the highest British award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. He was sixteen years old when he died for his country.
The quote printed above is from Scouting for Boys, by Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement. Yesterday, we opened up a new series on the 10 Keystones of a Scout. These are the ten character traits that make a Scout really a Scout. Yesterday we talked about Endurance, how Endurance and perseverance is necessary for a Scout to do what Scouts do.
Today, I’m going to discuss the next Keystone of a Scout: Self-Discipline. Throughout Scouting’s history, Self-Discipline has always been emphasized as being necessary to the character of a Scout. In fact, the quote above is from a chapter in Baden-Powell’s book entitled ‘Self-Discipline’.
So what is Self-Discipline? Why did I choose it to be a Scout Keystone? How does one get it? These are the questions I hope to answer in this post.
The Definition of Self-Discipline
In his chapter on Self-Discipline, Baden-Powell defines it by listing a series of character traits that result from Self-Discipline. Self-Discipline in a nutshell is being in complete control over oneself.
As you know, the first Law of a Scout is that a Scout is Trustworthy. In order for you to be trustworthy, you must be able to keep your cool and not lose your head in a difficult situation. This is part of Self-Discipline. You can tell when someone does not have self-discipline if they get angry over small things and are easily irritated.
That’s why we have the Scout Law: a Scout is cheerful. If you are cheerful even under difficult circumstances, then it is evident that you have acquired mastery over your own disposition. This is an import first step in self-discipline.
There are several other attributes of a self-disciplined Scout that Baden-Powell mentions. Among these are: Obedience, Duty, Loyalty, Honesty, Humility, and Courage. A lack of these things shows that a person has a lack of self-control, and therefore cannot be trusted.
A Scout must have Self-Discipline to be able to work with his fellow Scouts in accomplishing an objective.
What Makes Self-Discipline a Scout Keystone?
I chose Self-Discipline as one of the Scout Keystones for many reasons, some of which I alluded to above. In order to keep the Scout Law, a Scout must have Self-Discipline. A Scout cannot be Trustworthy, Loyal, or any of the twelve points if he hasn’t mastered control of himself.
If a Scout can’t concentrate when he has to, he won’t be able to learn the skills he needs to be a Scout. If a Scout can’t keep his own thoughts quiet and pay attention to others, then he won’t be able be mentored by anyone else. A Scout must have control over his own mind and body.
Most importantly, the core of what a Scout stands for is service to others. A Self-Disciplined Scout is able to put aside his own personal desires for others. True service does something for others without expecting anything in return. This is Self-Discipline at it’s finest. This is Scouting.
How to Cultivate Self-Discipline in Your Everyday Life
There are many different ways you can improve your self-discipline. The most important way is by practicing it in the little things throughout your day.
Take eating, for instance. So much of what most of us eat is simply for our pleasure, not to actually nourish us. Do you really need that extra coke? … or candy bar? Practice putting aside your cravings, this will not only improve your self-discipline, but also make you healthier too!
Also, practice what you say. Do you argue with your siblings? Or if you’re an only child, do you argue with your parents? So many disagreements that you have with your family members could be avoided if you did not retaliate with your words. Perhaps you feel that someone treated you unfairly, well is it really worth fighting about?
If you were to record everything you said and play it back at the end of the day, you probably would be surprised at everything you said. Practice thinking through what you’re going to say before you say it. This will help improve your self-discipline, and thereby help you become a better Scout.
Conclusion
In summary, Self-discipline is a very important aspect of being a Scout, and one we all need to work on. Start working on self-discipline in the little things throughout your day, this will build your self-discipline and raise your trustworthiness in the eyes of others. Then, when difficult times come, you will be ready to face them like a true Scout.
Thanks for reading this post. Do you have any comments, thoughts, or questions? I’d love to hear them!
I want this to get out to as many Scouts as possible, so please help by sharing this post. You can easily share this on Facebook, Twitter, and etc. by clicking the little icons below this post.
If you don’t want to miss the rest of the installments of this series, just put your email in the little box to the right on the home page, and you will automatically get an email each time a new post is published.
Yesterday, I introduced a new series that we’re going to do here at Scouting Rediscovered.You can read the introduction by clicking here.
The first Keystone virtue of the Scout is Endurance. While for the most part, I do not have a particular order that I’m covering the Keystones in, I think it is a good idea to start out with endurance as it is necessary to posses this Keystone if you are going to achieve all of the others.
The Definition of Endurance
So what is endurance? Well, to start with, Baden-Powell (the founder of Scouting) wrote a good deal about Endurance in his book, Scouting for Boys. In it he said:
A Scout saying is “Never say die till you’re dead”— and if he acts up to this, it will pull him out of many a bad place when everything seems to be going wrong for him. It means a mixture of pluck, patience, and strength, which we call “endurance.”
If you’ve never ran across this term in older literature, you might be wondering what ‘pluck’ means in this context. Well, ‘pluck’ is an older expression which simply means: “courage or resolution in the face of difficulties”. I think this definition of Endurance that Baden-Powell gives is a very good one. It means that a Scout doesn’t give up what he has started. Too often, boys have great intentions and start something something new (like Scouting), only to quit later on whenever some difficulties arise or they get tired of it.
Baden-Powell followed up his definition of Endurance by giving an example of a Hunter and Scout whose party was attacked and he was cut off in Africa many years ago. This man was able to survive the ordeal by cleverly out-maneuvering those who were trying to kill him and survived many days in extremely adverse conditions by the strength of his will and his physical endurance.
Indeed, Baden-Powell mainly emphasized physical endurance in his book. He said this could be cultivated by anyone who was willing to exercise properly and live a healthy lifestyle. However, having mental endurance and will-power are even more important aspects of endurance than the physical side, for if you don’t have endurance of will, being in great shape physically will be of no use.
What makes Endurance a Scout Keystone?
Why do I choose Endurance to be one of the ten Scout Keystones? There are several reasons for this. This first is one I alluded to earlier. A true Scout doesn’t give up Scouting when thing get tough. He doesn’t shy away at the first sign of difficulties. I’m not going to lie, Scouting is hard work. However, we are Scouts because we realize that the hard work is worth it, and we enjoy the Adventure of Scouting which is made up of both challenges and triumphs.
I don’t say this just about being a member of an organization, such as the Boy Scouts of America. Scouting goes beyond this. True Scouting is a way of life, and a true Scout keeps on Scouting long after he has left any organization.
Scouts explore new things and push back the boundaries of what is known and the commonly accepted level of achievement. A vital aspect of this is the virtue of Endurance. A Scout cannot give up or quit; his spirit of discovery and adventure doesn’t allow him.
How to cultivate endurance in your everyday life
The quality of physical endurance isn’t built over night, and neither is mental endurance. Both are achieved by constant practice and application in your everyday life. If you commit yourself to building the virtue of Endurance in yourself, you will steadily improve more and more each day.
The first step to growing your endurance is to watch what you say. Don’t tell someone that you are going to do something unless you really mean it. It is easy to fall into the ‘good intentions’ habit. You say you are going to do this or that all day long, but you never quite get around to doing it although you ‘mean’ to. Get into the habit of doing everything you say you will do, and don’t say that you are going to take on something unless you really mean to carry it out.
The second step is to get support from you family or close friends. When things get really tough and difficulties just keep mounting in front of you, it is very helpful to have people around you who support you and encourage you. They’re not there to remove your difficulties, that’s your job. They’re there to encourage you to stick with it. They’re there to give you moral support.
There are many other little ways that you can increase your Endurance, but I don’t have time here to go into each one, and really the best way to learn is by doing. As you put endurance into practice, you will get better and better at it.
Conclusion
So there it is in a nutshell; the first Keystone of a Scout is his Endurance. A Scout doesn’t give up, he sticks to it through thick and thin; rain and shine. It sounds simple enough, but it is surprising difficult to put into practice. I hope you will take the effort to improve your Endurance today; physically, but most importantly: mentally.
Thanks for reading this post. It might have been a bit long, but the subject is very important, and one that we need to take seriously as Scouts. Do you have any comments, thoughts, or questions? I’d love to hear them!
I want this to get out to as many Scouts as possible, so please help by sharing this post. You can easily share this on Facebook, Twitter, and etc. by clicking the little icons below this post.
If you don’t want to miss the rest of the installments of this series, just put your email in the little box to the right on the home page, and you will automatically get an email each time a new post is published.
Today I’m going to introduce a new, ten-part series that I will be running here on Scouting Rediscovered. There is no better list of adjectives that describe what a Scout stands for better than the Scout Law:
A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
In my own Quest to rediscover Scouting, I have gone through many writings of Scout Leaders from the past, and have learned more and more about the essence of what Scouting is and the essence of what a true Scout is. I wanted to know: At his core, what is the true essence of a Scout? What is the Spirit of the Scout? In fact, this is the very reason I set off on my quest to rediscover Scouting; I wanted to find the essence of what a Scout is, and I wanted to become that.
So, as I dug deeper, and uncovered more about Scouting’s roots, I have come to form an understanding of what this essence is. And, the more I understand, the more I was able to put this into words and define it. This is what Scouting Rediscovered is about. I want to share this with you, and I want you to join me in the quest.
I have come to see the spirit of the Scout as summarized by ten words. I call them ‘keystones’. The meaning of the word ‘keystone’ finds its roots in architecture. In building an arch out of stone blocks, there is always one critical block needed at the very top of the arch which holds everything together. If you were to remove this keystone, the entire arch would collapse.
That is how I views the words which summarize for me the essence of a Scout. Without them, the title of ‘Scout’ is just an empty word. With them, the purpose and meaning of a Scout becomes clear and defined. These Keystones are:
Endurance
Self-Discipline
Exploration
Observation
Deduction
Initiative
Ingenuity
Chivalry
Duty
Honor
I will make one post for each of these Keystones. And these will be published every day, or every other day. I hope that you will join me in this discovery. Please leave a comment with your feedback and any questions/additions that you might have. I am passionate about this and want to have as many Scouts hear about this as I can. If you find these posts valuable, please pass them along to your friends and your Troop! Using the little buttons at the bottom of the post, you can share this on Twitter, Facebook, and many other Social Media sites.
So said Robert Baden-Powell in the book that started the Scouting Movement, Scouting for Boys. In this book the Knights are held up as the ideal of Chivalry that Scouts should strive for. Chivalry was given very high importance by the founder of the Scouting Movement. In essence, Baden-Powell said that us Scouts should be modern-day Knights.
Scouting Rediscovered 