George Washington and the Scout Law

I love it when things connect!  We are currently studying United States History and, more specifically right now, Colonial Times.  I found a great way to connect the past with the present in George Washington's personal code of conduct.

Even though Washington died long before there was such a thing as Scouting, he personified the Scout Law in a set of rules he created for himself when he was 15 years old:

A Scout is trustworthy.

GW:  "Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise."

A Scout is loyal.

GW:  "Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.  Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust."

A Scout is helpful.

GW:  "Wherein you reprove another be unblamable yourself, for example is more prevalent than precepts.  In visiting the sick do not play the physician, if you be not knowing therein."

A Scout is friendly.

GW:  "Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.  Let your conversation be without malice or envy."

A Scout is courteous.

GW:  "Be not forward, but friendly and courteous, the first to salute, hear, and answer.  Speak not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not when others stop, turn not your back to others, especially in speaking; lean not on anyone."

A Scout is kind.

GW:  "When a man does all he can, though it succeeds not well, blame not him that did it."

A Scout is obedient.

GW:  "Honor and obey your natural parents although they be poor.  Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty."

A Scout is cheerful.

GW:  "Speak not of doleful things in times of mirth; nor at the table; put on a cheerful countenance, for good humor makes one dish of meat a feast."

A Scout is thrifty.

GW:  "Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.  In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accommodate nature rather than to procure admiration."

A Scout is brave.

GW:  "Fight to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience."

A Scout is clean.

GW:  "Use no reproachful language against anyone, neither curse nor revile.  Let your recreations be manful, not sinful."

A Scout is reverent.

GW:  "When you speak of God, or His attributes, let it be seriously in reverence."


I loved finding this little gem of a lesson!  It shows the timelessness of the values espoused by Scouting.  It shows that someone who had a great mission to fulfill, who became one of history's most important and famous figures, started out as a goal-oriented youth.

I also love the language he used; the words and phrases aren't common to today and so this lesson expanded vocabulary and made us think about why Washington would say things the way he said them and what he truly meant.  The language also lifted us from modern, often too casual language to a more refined way of expression. It made for great discussion on the connections between the "Scout word" and the "Washington rule."  Why would he make this or that rule for himself?  And for whomever matched these Washington maxims to points of the Scout Law, why, of all things, would he match "brave" with "Fight to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience"?  It's simply terrific.