By Gilcraft
If the popular acceptance of Scouting as a part of the national life of a
country is at the same time a valuable tribute and a tremendous
responsibility. It has been possible for Scouting to achieve results which
otherwise could not have been accomplished. It has a danger, perhaps, in
influencing an attitude of complacency which leaves those who are responsible
for Scouting's welfare to imagine that the movement can progress without the
need for any serious attention on their part. As is well known, difficulties
invoke struggle, and struggle and opposition - as history shows are steps
towards continuous success.
I believe that the next ten years are going to prove the most difficult ones
for Scouting in every country where Scouting exists. We are coming to a crisis
in the world's history, and we are coming to a crisis in the history of
Scouting. The passage of well over a quarter of a century means that a new
generation is coming into leadership in our movement. This new generation has
not only to prove itself, but also to contend with difficulties non-existent in
the pioneer days of Scouting; difficulties brought about by modem civilization
and modem inventions; difficulties brought about in part by the success of
Scouting itself, with the result that many of its methods and activities have
been adopted and adapted by other organizations as well as by the whole process
of education.
We have to face two very important questions: "Is it necessary to change
Scouting, its activities and its methods, so as to bring it into line with
modern developments and thought?" or, "Is it best to hold fast to the
original conception of Scouting and its fundamental aims, purposes and
methods?"
I personally believe that the greatest contribution Scouting can make to the
world to-day is to hold firm to its original ideas, and, by so doing, to secure
the continued development of boys through the exercise of their own powers and
their own leadership - as exemplified by the Patrol System - and to enable them
to grasp the value and happiness of participation in the simple pleasures of the
Great Out-of-Doors. This is the one particular contribution that Scouting can
continue to make for the welfare of mankind through its boyhood. It must never
be forfeited under the false plea that Scouting must keep up with the times and
changing conditions. Boys are fundamentally the same as they have always been.
I would, therefore, in all seriousness invite the attention and thought of
those responsible for the leadership of our movement to the real and present
necessity for a re-statement of the simple truths of Scouting, and to the
continued necessity of keeping it as originally conceived: an Outdoor Game for
Boys, led by Boys, and worked by Boys.
One of our immediate objectives must be to put more emphasis on the outdoor
atmosphere of Scouting, so as to produce the self-reliance and resourcefulness
which Scouting is out to produce.
The main purpose of Scouting is so to develop a boy's character and
competence that he can stand alone and be truly independent. There is a danger,
however, of Scouting coddling and restricting its members - Scouts and Scouters
to such an extent that this main purpose cannot possibly be achieved. I am
tempted to quote to quote from an article, "What Length Apron-Strings?" by Farnsworth Crowder that appeared in a shortened form in The
Literary Digest, and I fall to that temptation.
"But what we take to be the amazing sophistication of Modern Seventeen
is a deceptive mask. For Seventeen, until he has worked at a job in order to
subsist, made money and spent it, lived alone or among strangers, built or
fashioned something with his hands; until he has felt, directly or
sympathetically, trouble, fear, grief and pain, and until he is able in some
measure to comprehend that misery, uncertainty and irony are ingredients of
human life - until then he is a simple and callous child.
"We glory in telling how a Lincolnian character is chiseled out of the
rough by harsh circumstances. But the last thing in the world we want for our
children is subjection to similar knocks. We are determined to make their
environment painless and well-oiled. Is this a wise generosity, or is it a
subtle way of deadening individual defiance and will?
"Who if not the parent is to take the responsibility of urging children
into life? Parents may quake at the thought and ask, 'How are we to offer
Johnnie more freedom and yet know he will not run into dangers and
difficulties?'
"Does not such anxiety signify a guilty awareness that the child has not
been prepared to meet life? Are we afraid he will drown because the water is
deep or because we haven't taught him to swim? Will he fall sick because there
are sicknesses to be had or because he hasn't learned the laws of health? Will
hard corners bruise him because they are sharp or because he is tender or naive?
One day, when we least expect it, he will discover he has been fooled and
pampered and then it will be too late.
"Parents should exert themselves to bridge for their children the chasm
that separates irresponsible youth from responsible adulthood. It is better, at
12, to know something about sex, work, money, poverty and evil than to be torn
suddenly to pieces on encountering these things at 18 or 20. It is better to pay
out the apron strings gradually than to have them slashed unexpectedly in a
spirit of revolt.
"This is dangerous advice, but life is a dangerous and wonderful
business. It is not at all a service to children to try, out of affection, fear,
or inertia, to make them think otherwise."
These are hard words, but words which must make us pause and think Scouting
has placed itself in loco parentis, and has even claimed that it can lead
parents to come in touch with, and train, their own children. Scouting must
beware that it does not lead both parents and children down a false trail.
Scouting must make every effort to train BOYS to become MEN.
My firm belief is that Scouting the world over needs to get back to the
simple, original idea of Scouting as a Game that will help boys to develop
themselves with the least possible amount of adult supervision. It is most
difficult to turn back, and find out what the simple truths of any movement are,
and to trim off all the additions that have been made. "Did the guy who
suggested the Patrol System know anything about it?" is a very common
question asked by most of us in varying forms, with the result that we so alter
and prune the original tree of Scouting that its shape is lost and it becomes
unrecognizable.
A very definite and simple re-statement of the original conception and
practice of Scouting is required.
Scouting is a simple matter, but in many ways it has been made a complicated
business. Simplification is possible - even in these modern complicated days
-and the main contribution Scouting can make to-day is to prove the value of
simple things.
The Boy himself is in essence a simple being, proud to show the results of
his own actions, proud to try out his growing powers, ready to follow where he
is led, anxious to please, and desirous to help. Those of us who have elected
ourselves to the high office of becoming his leader must realize the
responsibilities we have taken on ourselves, and not fail in our trust. We have
elected to exercise our leadership through the Scout method and following the
Scout principles and it is these that must guide us in our task, not any other weird and
wonderful inventions of our own.
If we all set out in our daily lives and in all our Scout activities to
remember the boy, we would do our work better and achieve better results.
Scouting has come of age; it has passed the quarter-century; it is
approaching middle-age. This is not an achievement in itself, nor a reason for
resting on our laurels. It entails all the responsibilities that come to one who
attains adult age. It is not enough to convince people that Scouting is a
wonderful thing; we must educate them to know why and how it becomes useful, and
then it will become too vital for them to dismiss lightly.
We must turn to our ideals for future guidance. The Scout Promise and the
Scout Law must become in reality the guiding principles of the lives of all
Scouts and of all Scouters. They are subjects for practice rather than
preachment, but that practice must be intensified so as to affect others outside
our ranks as well. That is possible locally, as has already been illustrated in
many parts of the world. The Good Turn and its universal practice are guarantees
that Scouting is promoting a spirit of unselfish concern for the welfare and
happiness of others.
Boy Scouts of America (1938)
More Gilcraft
Gleanings
