There is a common definition of scouting all over the world that “scouting is a educational movement for young people, open to all without distinction of origin, race and creed in accordance with the purpose, principles, and method conceived by the founder with the core objectives to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual potentials as an individual, as a responsible citizen and as a member of their local, national and international communities.”
In my opinion, Scouting is a process of self development which make us useful to assist or help during the course of needs and necessities. Scouting is the education system that exaggerates the self potentiality to live a sound and prosperous life. All the ingredients, that we need to live a successful life, scouting methods help to achieve them and bridges the gap between such incomplete ingredients. The scouting system is driven within the framework of self discipline and collective theme of leadership. It is regarded as non formal education as it chased the phenomenon of Learning by doing principle. Apart from the formal knowledge from the educational institutions and informal education from the society and circumstances, a person needs several skills and knowledge in their own to cope up with the every possible challenges in their life, in which scouting can be signified as the important means or tools to get such knowledge with our own experience.
Spices generally regarded as the mixture of various ingredients, which gives a complete structure and the distinct importance and identity. SPICES in the scouting system is the ingredients that a scout acquire to become a fully potential person. SPICES of scouting give the real taste of scouting and determine the purpose, function and objectives of scouting. We can say that the whole scouting system is based on this SPICES, these aspects determine the scouting methods, processes, means, scouts’ curriculum, importance, goals and objectives of scouting. When these ingredients are mixed in scouting that makes a perfect framework for scouting practice. The aspects or ingredients SPICES are defined as follows:
S= Social
P= Physical
I=Intellectual
C= Career
E= Emotional and
S=Spiritual potentials.
S= Social
A scout perform action being in a group with equal respect to all caste, creed and religion. That is socially directed principle of scouting. All we know that human being is a social animal, and the emergence of the civilization and development is the boon of being social animal. With the development of civilization and sense of the people, it equally raise the sense of superior complexity and inferior complexity which draw the gap between and among the people regarding to class, caste, culture and religion, but the ethics and principles of scouting believe in homogeneity.
Link with fundamental of scouting
A scout has responsibility and duty to be good, humble and useful to others under the guidance of moral ethics and norms. The moral norms and values are associated with the purpose of Duty to God which ought to be socially acceptable and socially tolerated and in order to maintain it a person has their own Duty to Self i.e. scouts need to maintain social characteristics and moral sensitivity within themselves. And the service is delivered to Others, which is another fundamental of scouting and it is characterized by the social potential of the scouts. Thus, scout aims to enhance the potentiality of social aspects of a person to promote fundamentals of scouting.
Link social ingredients with scouting law
Law no.1 a scout honour is to be trusted
Law no.3 a scout is useful and helpful to others
Law no.4 a scout is friend to all and keep brotherhood and sisterhood to each other
Law no.5 a scout is courteous
Law no.6 a scout is friend and kind to animal
Law no.10 a scout is pure in thought, word and deed
Link with scout promise
Scout promise no.1 tend to maintain the equal respect to all religion, nation, truth and bear the
responsibility in their accordance
Promise no.2 tend to maintain the beneficence or welfare characteristics of scouts, which directly associated
with the social potential of the scouts.
Hence, the scouting activities and methods such as patrol system, adventure, drills, scout uniform, leadership
and community service make a scout socially potential. The guidance and the pursuance of the scouting
curriculum developed the social characteristics in scouts.
P= Physical
The history of scouting is emerged from the army background, as the founder Lord Baden Powell, the lieutenant general of British army, developed scout to enhance the capacity and capability of young ones, after the courageous effort done by ‘Good Year’ during Mafeking siege. So, the training and activities are highly influenced from the military background.
Link with fundamental of scouting
A scout has duty to God, duty to self and duty to others, where a scouts need to be physically fit and sound to learn and to deliver service. All the physical activities are operated with the moral values, ethical principles, disciplines, positive attitudes and with the aim to be useful to others in the time of needs. A scout is responsible to maintain moral sensation, self determination, dedication, self actualization in order to bear the duty of service deliver, development and beneficence of the society and nation. All the activities, trainings and sessions of scouting aims to make scout physically able to abide the fundamental principles of scouting.
Link scouting laws
Law no.3 a scout is useful and helpful to others, which envisage that a scout needs to be physically able to
help others.
Law no.7 a scout is discipline and obedient, in order to maintain discipline scout need to involve in drill
activities to maintain uniformity and in training camps to be trained manpower, which primary objective is to
maintain discipline, so in order to maintain uniformity scouts perform several physical activities.
Law no.8 a scout is brave and smiles over the difficulties, which precise the physical endeavours to cope up
with the respective challenges.
Link with scouting promises
Overall promises makes a scout to be in boundary of social service, tolerance and abiding scouting laws, where
a scout need to attend training and several sessions and also need to perform the group task, which ultimately
develop the physical potential of scouts.
Hence, the scouting methods, process and the activities aims to develop the physical potential of the scouts.
The 6 B. P exercises, drilling, yoga, and other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, omega jumping,
community service campaigns, rafting etc. also plays significant role to make scouts physically potential.
I= Intellectual
As scouting is based on patrol system, group dynamic is common or for instance it is natural in group, a scout needs to take intellectual decisions in order to motivate, encourage and maintain balance situation in team. Group work always seeks efficiency in work and scouts participate in decision making, which is an indispensable aspect of leadership in scouting, so the right decision in right time and place is mandatory in scouting (team work), that ultimately develops the intellectual potentiality of scouts. Aside from it, scouts also participate in national and international events, from where the learn about diplomacy and dealing techniques.
Link with fundamental of scouting
Duty to God, duty to self and duty to others, a scout needs to take proper decision to maintain balance and cohesion among the team members. A scout need to respect all religion, moral norms and values, where s/he need to take appropriate decision from their cognition, that how to deal and how to motivate distinct mates to bring harmony and peace. Similarly, while performing duty to self and duty to others, a scouts need to acquire the essential knowledge, skills and techniques.
Link with scouting laws
Law no.1 a scout honoured is to be trusted: a scout needs to take reliance actions to maintain trust and
worthy
Law no.2 a scout is loyal, to maintain loyalty a scout needs to perform action intellectually
Law no.9 a scout is thrifty, a scout optimally utilizes limited resources with the synergistic efforts
Link with scouting promises
There need to be presence of mind to ensure the scout promises. We might from different backgrounds regarding
to caste, culture, religion where clash might be arisen, and leader need to motivate fellow scouts to maintain
homogeneous team with intellectual thoughts, words and deeds. Similarly promises to do beneficence and to
abide scout laws, needs the effective and efficient decision to achieve the objectives. That directly
associated with intellectual potentiality of the scouts.
Therefore, scouting helps to develop intellectual potentiality of the scouts being practically involved in
scout operations. Collective brain develops the multiple intelligence and multiple intelligence develops the
ample of efficient techniques to accomplish task.
C= Career
Along with the waves of modernization, the scouting activities are also being advanced and contextual. The scouts, now able to make their career in scouting. Scouting is mass network around the world from where scouts can build up their professional skills and knowledge and also can mobilize their relationship for professional outcome. On the other hand the skills and knowledge taken from scouting curriculum and activities make scouts to become entrepreneurs and succeed officials. As scouting principle aims personality development of youths, the ultimate outcome is to became successful personage and success is a key for the career.
Link with fundamental of scouting
1.Duty to god; scouting principle is guided by the moral ethics and values. So the scouts are always career
headed respecting and tolerating the diversity. This duty bound the scouts to become kind and friend to
others, which helps scouts to become successful personnel.
2. Duty to self; when a scout abide the duty to self s/he focuses on career and self development. Self
development is for successful future. Duty to self is the duty to become self discipline and conducive.
3. Duty to others; working for and with others definitely enhance the skills and capacity to operate and
initiate ideas. That gives opportunities for scouts to develop their career in the field of their interest.
Link with scout laws
All 10 scout laws are directly proportionate to the career development of a scout. Being trust worthy, loyal, helpful, friend, courteous, kind, discipline, brave, thrifty and pure in words, deeds and thoughts are the career objectives to become successful personage.
Link with scout promise
All the commitments to obligate scout laws and principles ensemble the right decision-making capacity of the
scouts. A scout promise is to commit social welfare, social justice, social service and to abide all the scout
laws make scouts career headed being.
Thus, the scouting processes, methods and curriculum are designed to enhance the latent function and
potentiality of scouts. Working in chain of command, the communication system, the work division systems,
reporting systems and coordinating processes help to develop leadership skills, conflict management, risk
management, time management, economic management, communication system, staff management and resources
management skills and techniques, which are essential and indispensable aspects of career development.
E= Emotional
Emotions are the inner feelings based upon our attitudes, values, norms, education, expectations, desires, status needs and decisions. Emotions are expressed or may be in hidden form. It can be positive as well as negative. However, scouting embrace the positive emotions among the scouts and develop the feeling of unity and uniformity among them. As scouting is commonly practiced by the scouts pursuing the scouting curriculum within a unit, thereby the sense of togetherness and the feelings of family is developed. There is the situation of emotionally attached structures among scouts all over the world.
Link with fundamental of scouting
1.Duty to God; is purely concerned with emotional homogeneity that we should treat equally and respectfully to
all religion, culture and ethnicity. Duty to god is duty to our morality, norms and values which should not
harm others. So it is all concerned about the emotional attachment and bond between and among the scouts.
2.Duty to self; ones need to develop the coping mechanism, tolerance, positive attitude and self motivation in
order to adapt in the society. The positive attitude and optimism is the key factor for self maintenance,
which is association of emotional potential.
3.Duty to others; emotions for what? Why emotion? Emotions when? is all related with others. Emotion arises
when we are with others, emotions are expressed to others, emotions are expressed to signify the priority,
importance and cohesion. So, in order to perform duty to others, emotions are primary concerns of scouts.
Link with scout laws
Emotions are mandatory in endurance of all scout laws. To become trust worthy, loyal, helpful, useful, friend, kind, disciplined, brave, economy and pure in thoughts, words and deeds, one need to be emotionally potential and driven by the positive attitudes. Tolerance, respect, positivity, optimism dedication, unity and support are prior to emotional potential which is precise by the scouting laws.
Link with scout promises
Scouting promise itself is a emotional commitment to endure the scout laws, to respect and treat equal to
others and to do the beneficence. Scout promise seeks the emotional dedication or commitment of the scouts to
maintain the law and order in scouting. Love, affection, care, mutual respect, coordination, tolerance and
responsibility to others are prior to scouting, which are emotional potential to be produced or maintained in
scouting.
The regular crew/unit meeting or continuing the scouting multiply the emotional attachment with the teams or
unit. Similarly, the patrol system in scouting creates a strong bond between the members. Scout believe in
thought of “one for all and all for one”, which is a key to lock the emotional sentiments
associated with scouts.
S= Spiritual
Spiritual aspects are considered as the wisdom and metaphysical knowledge of the human soul. The ontological
and cosmological ground of reality is preferred in order to live within the meaning of life. Our knowledge are
constructed i.e. whatever we shows, practice and behave are constructed by the society, family and norms. The
spiritual thinking goes beyond such constructed knowledge, which is abstract, which is based on novel truth,
which argues about validity and the issues of origin. Being a spiritual potential a scout can generate the
wise pattern of practicing scouting, behaving people and leaving the materialistic lives.
A scout should avoid greed, temptation, allurement, power hungry, materialistic world or physical satisfaction
to become diligent and wise.
Link with fundamental of scouting
The fundamental of scouting is based on the spiritual potentiality of the scouts. A scout should yield the duty to god, self and others, in which s/he needs to goes beyond the materialism and rigidity. Duty to god is the duty to maintain morality, norms and values, that doesn’t mean to follow the bad traditions blindly or within the knowledge that are constructed in our mind. A scout should separate the truth and lies of our life. While abiding Duty to Self a scout need to explore the hidden negativity and chaos and throw them up. The false imitation of others often lead to destructive outcome. Pursuing the materialistic world or physical satisfaction mislead self to seek more and more pleasure, which guides self to the wrong path and become an obstacle while bearing Duty to others. The sense of allurement, temptation, greed, power hungry leads to prejudice, discrimination, negative stereotypes and falsehood to the behaviour and attitude of a scout. The spiritual potentiality of a scout cope up such situation being wise and neutral personage.
Link with law of scouting
Law of scouting is the ethical values that are underpin by the principle of trust worthy, loyalty, uniformity, helpful and kind, friend, brave, thrifty and purity, in which the spiritual thinking and values plays a significant role or we can take spiritual knowledge as roadmap or guidelines or basis for those principles. The sense of tolerance, togetherness, objectivity, optimism, mutual respect and progression are based on spiritual thinking.
Link with scout promises
A mindful commitment of a person is necessary to become deserved scout. The feeling of self worth,
universality, conscious interaction, wise interpretation, moral sensitivity and positivity are fundamental
aspects of spiritual potentiality, that outlet the feelings of dedication, devotion and devolution to scouts,
and so does the scout promises.
On the other hand, various scout activities aim to develop the spiritual potential to the scouts. Meditation,
yoga, B.P exercises, games, pioneering etc. Are some tendencies to enhance the spiritual aspects of scouts.
Therefore, we can say that overall activities and methods of scouting attempts to increase spiritual
potentiality of scouts.
So, the SPICES, the ingredients of the scouting is the objectives of scouting which focuses to develop the
social, physical, intellectual, career, emotional and spiritual potentiality of scouts to make them to
contribute efforts for the nation as an capable and worthy active individuals. Basically 5 aspects social,
physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual are taken as the primary aspects that scout aims to develop,
however along with the development and transformation of the traditional practices into modernization career
aspect of scouts should be keep in priority. The objectives of rover/ranger scouts should equally give
priority to their career development. However, ample of research and logical frameworks needed to be conduct
and designed to meet the respective objective.
Right is right, even if no one else does it. - B.P
In scouting, you are combating the brooding of selfishness. - B.P
Life without adventure would be deadly dull. - B.P
Success in training the boys depend largely on the scoutmaster's own personal example. - B.P
Trust should be the basis for all our moral training. - B.P
A boy on joining wants to begin scouting right away. - B.P