The Outdoors

Scouting Without Outing

What is Scouting without outing? Nothing recognizable. Baden-Powell meant for Scouting to happen outdoors - not just on weekend campouts, but as often as possible. Troop meetings were not meant to be classroom affairs, they were meant to be active, hands-on, training sessions - outdoors.

I can show you a picture of a maple tree in a book. I can explain to you all of the different things to look for to identify it as a maple tree. I can even show you a real maple leaf. You won't really learn or appreciate a maple tree, however, until you actually go out and find one yourself. The same can be said pretty much for everything in Scouting.

Outing, of course, means a lot more than just getting outdoors. The keywords are "active" and "hands-on." Real understanding of Scouting skills, and even the ideals of Scouting, does not come from lectures. It comes from actually trying the skills, or practicing the ideals. That means Scouts must not sit around on their rear-ends most of the time. They need to be out doing things.

A troop that doesn't do things isn't much of a troop. There's nothing to keep the Scouts' interest. How much fun can they be having at a two-hour meeting if it resembles the eight hours of school they just sat through? That's why it's important for Scouts to do things other than meet once a week.

Get Thee Outside!

I took a training course once that concerned building new units. The instructor was trying to explain the steps you take to get a new troop up and running as quickly as possible. Much of the class involved talk about organizational meetings, establishing regular troop meetings, and figuring out the administrative end of things. At the end of the class there was a question and answer period and one trainee asked, "What kind of program should the troop have in the very beginning?" The instructor, at great length, explained that the program should fit the resources of the unit, and concentrate on the basics. He suggested planning the first couple meetings around the Tenderfoot requirements.

When he was done answering the question I could hardly contain myself. My hand shot up like a Saturn V on the way to the moon. "You forgot the most important thing, " I said when he called on me.

"What's that?" he asked after he'd mentally run through the lecture.

The first priority is to get the Scouts outside as quickly as possible. If all you do is a day hike at a local park, the important thing is the first outdoor activity. In fact it's the activity that's important, not what you do, where you go, or how you pay for it. Getting the Scouts outdoors as quickly as possible establishes the difference between Scouting and school. It plants the seeds of what to expect, and puts the outing in the forefront of their thoughts. The longer you wait to have your first activity, the harder it will be to maintain their interest.

The next most important thing, however, is the second outing. The more active the program, the more appealing it will be to new Scouts, which will establish a pattern of growth. With that growth, the Scouts will gain experience and learn to lead themselves. The sooner you get to the point where you're having one major activity a month, the sooner the troop will have established its program. Then the Scout's experience will benefit the troop with annual planning conferences, monthly PLC meetings, and the like.

You see, the outdoors challenge the Scouts to use the skills they've learned, but it also challenges them to be creative in planning meetings and activities. A campout doesn't look like much on a piece of paper. The challenge comes from making that piece of paper come alive. That's where the Scouts will grow and gain confidence in their knowledge and leadership capabilities.

So, make sure your Scouting has outing. If it doesn't, it's not Scouting - it's just "sc."