In Boy Scouts character is built, so maybe we need bright yellow caution signs with Character Under Construction in big bold letters on them. Character is built by guiding the boys to live by the scout oath and scout law. One word missing from both that is equally important is respect. If we have no respect for ourselves, family, friends or our community, then the words in the scout oath and law are meaningless. As scout leaders we help build character by teaching scouts to not just memorize the oath and law, but to learn and live by them. I’m always asking scouts during a scoutmaster conference to explain how they live by the scout oath and law. I usually get the standard answers like, “I’m clean, I take showers every day, and I’m trustworthy, my dog trust that I’ll feed him”, so we discuss it a little more.
As leaders we need to post our yellow under construction signs and let our communities know we have
Character Under Construction.
