Looking for Leaders

Those who have been following our site for a while know by now that this year I got our boys (5 and 7 at the time) into Beavers, which is the entry-level for Scouts Canada. It comes before Cubs, which comes before Scouts, which comes before Ventures. They did not have Beavers when I was that age, but I did go through Cubs and Scouts - and had a lot of fun while I was there. I'd been thinking that I wanted to start a lot of camping and outdoor activities with the boys, and figured I'd kill 2 (or even 3) birds with 1 stone and get them into Beavers, and volunteer to be a Leader. The year is winding down now, and we are already looking for Beaver, Cub and Scout leaders for next year. So if you are interested, please let me know. Our troop is in the Hintonburg/Westboro area of Ottawa near the Ottawa Bagel Shop if you know where that is. Beavers and Scouts meet on Wednesday evening, and Cubs on Thursday.

Next year I'll be returning as a Beaver leader, and since my oldest is moving up to Cubs I've also let our district coordinator know that I'd be game to be a leader there as well. I'm hoping I do get to do both because the Cubs should be a little less like herding cats, and I'll be able to do a lot more in-depth stuff with them. I have said many times this year that there was a good reason why Baden Powell started them at age 8 :-) Being in charge of the Beavers can certainly be challenging, but it is also an awful lot of fun! And by the time I get up into Scouts with my boys, we'll be doing stuff like what you see in this video. This was filmed last week at our troops' annual end-of-year picnic. It is a trebuchet that our Scout troop has been building for the last 18 months or so.

Our Scout troop does a lot of really interesting things. Another favorite activity of the boys this year was building rockets! Sorry, no video of that one. And of course since it is Scouting, they do lots of camping - both on their own and as part of larger jamborees and similar large gatherings. They do winter camping, as well as "klondike" - which is sort of like a winter relay race done with klondike sleds - which are sort of like dog slegs only powered by the Scouts instead of dogs. Scouts in years past made the sleds out of old skis and hockey sticks, and every year the boys maintain and race the sled in Klondike.

There are all sorts of activities for all sorts of people - the limit is your imagination! And even if you are not in our area, there are Scouting troops all over the country who need volunteers to help out. And on the odd chance there is not one near you, you can always start one up! There is lots of support out there do doing this. THere is a new troop starting up in Chinatown here in Ottawa, and as one of their neighbouring troops we're helping them get off the ground in any way we can.

And since I know there are a lot of misconceptions about Scouting, I'll address a couple of the most common ones right away. While it is true that Baden Powell founded the Scouting movement on strong Christian beliefs, modern Scouting organisations around the world like Scouts Canada recognise a very wide range of religions - including every one you've ever heard of and a whole bunch you've never heard of like Zoroastrianism :-) Here is a complete list for the curious amongst you. Your child can actually earn a "spirituality" badge with the religion of their choice. Or not - the decision on what badges to earn is largely up to the kids though some group activities will work towards specific ones chosen by the group. Anyway, regarding spirituality, it is never taught these days in any of the programs, though some troops do have what is called "Scouts Own Time" where the boys can take time to discuss their spiritual beliefs with each other. The leader is supposed to leave them alone for this time - thus the name. The word "God" is still in many of the promises, but it is not meant to be the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God, but rather the concept of God according to the child's own spiritual beliefs.

I guess it would be true to say that Scouting does not seem to have a place for atheists. I personally think that is unfortunate, because I do not see anything which is particularly bound to religion or spirituality. There is definitely a strong sense of being custodians of the planet, which I really like. And they do link that to spirituality, but I do not think that necessarily has to be the case. Nonetheless, if someone were to ask me if they could take one of the oaths without mentioning "God", I'd probably say "no", and mention that in general I think people should do a bit of research about an organisation before getting themselves or their children involved in it.

Another one often heard about Scouting is that it is a para-military organisation. I honestly have not been around long enough to answer that one authoritatively. It certainly is true that the Founder Baden Powell had a long military career, and it formed within Scouting a hierarchical structure which is very similar to the military. But I do not think the intent was ever for it to be something like the reserves or anything like that.

Anyone who wishes to read Baden Powell's original writings can find them all for free online - the dump is a good place to get most if not all of them. I have found that the modern books put out by Scouts Canada are fairly watered down in some areas, so I would recommend to anyone thinking of getting involved to read some of the Founder's original material. Just be sure to be a little forgiving when he talks about the Christian God. Just replace that whenever you read it, with a more general concept of God. That's what I do.

Anyway - bottom line - it is a lot of fun and a really great chance to have a positive influence on a lot of kids. I really enjoy it so far and at this point think I'll be around at least as long as my boys are. And so far they really love it and are looking forward to next year already. I'll also say that for your kids there are precious few activities that have this kind of value for the money - a whole year for $140 per child if you pre-register. It is a bit more expensive if you wait for regular registration, but still at $155 is a steal. There are some other expenses like uniforms and supplies. And there is also a no one left behind program if you think you cannot afford it. And if you can afford it, one not give this wonderful gift to a child who cannot, and make a tax-deductible donation?