Scouting, Volume 54, Number 4, April 1966 Page: 5
32 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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because the teacher tells him to and
the others do it; he repeats it at
Scout meetings because the others do
while grinning at something funny
between them. I object to anyone re-
peating a pledge or oath when they
have no conception of the meaning
of it.
I suggest you line up a group of
Scouts, point to one and ask him what
the word "pledge" means; point to
another and ask him what "alle-
giance" is; then to another "what is
a republic?"; ask about the word
"indivisible" and "what is your idea
of liberty?" You are in for a surprise.
Children being made to say a pledge
they know nothing about is the Rus-
sian method of brainwashing; it is
immoral to take a pledge if you are
not sincere, and how could you be
sincere if you are ignorant of what
is in it? I think it is wrong to make a
boy repeat, by rote, any pledge that
he does not understand. My big gripe
is that the meaning and "thorough
understanding" as prescribed by the
Scout handbooks is neglected by too
many Scout leaders who do not take
the enormous time and effort re-
quired to do it right.
A. G. Evers
St. Louis, Mo.
Achievements
and electives
Since I am a new Cubmaster, and
knew little about the program, I read
all the available material. In one of
the first meetings with Den Mothers,
I mentioned that we should be sure
the boys were completing their
achievements before they started on
the elective portions of their books.
To my surprise, they had never heard
this. Boys in our pack had always
been allowed to work on electives and
achievements at the same time. I
talked to the roundtable commission-
er, the district advancement chair-
man, and the district Scout executive
and they were not in accord with each
other. The Den Mother s Denbook,
page 102 says, "When the boy has
completed his 12 required achieve-
ments for any rank, he has the oppor-
tunity of passing electives and earn-
ing arrow points while he is waiting
to reach his next age." Please set
us all right. Can a Cub Scout work
on his electives before he has com-
pleted the required achievements?
Cubmaster S. Bellamy
Pack 200, Bell flower, Calif.
(Yes, he may. We quote from the
most recent training material, the
Cub Scout Training Program. "A boy
may ivork on achievements and elec-
tives simultaneously, but he may be
recognized for earning arrow points
only after he completes the required
achievements for rank." If hi'e a boy
is earning his Wolf badge by doing
the achievements, he does certain
handicrafts in the den meeting and at
home for which he may receive an
elective credit; he may do certain
things in a den meeting or take part
in a skit at the pack meeting and earn
an elective. The books are not as
clearcut as the statement we've
quoted; the Den Mother's Denbook
has not been revised in many years
and will be brought up to date.)
Miniature badges
At the court of honor when I re-
ceived my Eagle Award, I was pin-
ning the miniature Eagle badge on
my mother when a Scout official said,
"You can take off that Star now."
She was wearing the Star badge my
brother gave her when he earned Star
rank. She is wearing both the Star
for my brother and the Eagle pin for
me. Is it all right for her to wear two
miniature pins?
Craig Holiday
Beverly, Mass.
(Your mother may wear the minia-
ture badge of rank for each of her
sons. When your brother earns his
Eagle, she will wear two Eagles. The
Scout official may have thought the
Star badge was for your earlier rank;
if true, the badge would come off.)
BRUNTON HONORED
As we go to press, Freedoms
Foundation at Valley Forge
announces that it has awarded
the American Patriots Medal, to
Chief Scout Executive Joseph
A. Brunton, Jr., "For his spirited,
effective direction of the Boy
Scouts of America, and the
unique patriotic 'Strengthen
America's Heritage' program
reaching millions of Americans
through Scouts and Scouters.
For his inspiring spoken and
written words urging profes-
sional and volunteer Scout
leaders and boys to elevated
qualities of sound patriotic
character; encompassing ac-
ceptance of duty, hard work,
and high purposes. For his in-
spired leadership in develop-
ing a 'Scout-trained citizenry
of men who are physically,
mentally, and spiritually armed
to guard America's future.' A
patriot worthy of the company
of our Nation's great leaders;
a builder of young men equal
to the challenges of these
tumultuous times."
HELP YOU
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*2,500
• MASON MINTS
■ ALMOND
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■ ASSORTED
JELLIES
■CHOCOLATE
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NO MONEY IN ADVANCE...NO RISK...
NO OBLIGATION. Mason supplies your
group with a choice of beautifully boxed,
top-quality Mason Candies and tells you
or your organization how you can make
404 on every $1.00 box sold. Pay only
AFTER you have sold the candy. RETURN
WHAT YOU DON'T SELL. For complete
information, fill in and mail this coupon.
MRS. MARY TAYLOR, DEPT. 807,
MASON, BOX 549, MINE0LA, N. Y.
PLEASE SEND ME, WITHOUT OBLI-
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NAME
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PHONE.
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 54, Number 4, April 1966, periodical, April 1966; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth331770/m1/7/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.