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An Overview Of The Boy Scout Movement
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A
camp organized for about twenty boys in England, in 1907 by a British army
officer, turned out to be the beginning of a world-wide movement, with the
number of members belonging to the movement running into tens of millions.
Robert
Stephenson Baden Powell was born in London, in the year 1857. He attended
the Charterhouse School and later joined the British Army in 1876. During
his days in the Army, where he went on to become the Major General, he
realized the need for boys joining the army to have more exposure to
outdoor life. He strongly felt a need for the boys to be physically and
mentally better trained and prepared. This prompted him to start the Boy
Scout movement in the year 1907, with an outdoor camp for twenty boys. The
movement gathered such a momentum in its early stages itself that Sir
Robert, along with his sister Agnes, founded the Girls Guide movement on
similar lines. The movement is now popular in more than one hundred
countries, with nearly fifteen to twenty million members.
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The
Scout movement is one whose main thrust is to teach young boys to be good
citizens and good leaders. Duty is the byword for its members – duty to
God, to the country and to fellow citizens. In fact, it was one such
gesture that led to the movement being taken from England to the United
States. An American businessman, William D. Boyce was lost in a London fog
and was helped by a Boy Scout. On learning about the movement and having
experienced for himself how the values were indeed being instilled in the
boys, Boyce imported the Boy Scout movement to America in 1910.
Law
and motto
Generally,
boys in the eleven to eighteen age group are eligible to become Boy Scouts. On joining the movement, he learns his oath and promises to abide
by the Scout Law. The Law emphasis twelve points – loyalty,
trustworthiness, helpfulness, courtesy, kindness, obedience, cheeriness,
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friendliness,
bravery, reverence, cleanliness and thriftiness. The Scout’s motto
is: Be prepared and Learning by
doing. In other words, the Scouts are trained to be in a state of
alertness and openness, two qualities imperative to developing into
successful personalities and successful leaders too.
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The
Oath
The
Scout Oath sums it effectively. A Scout promises to do his best always, to
do his duty to God and his country, to obey the Scout Law, to help others
and to keep himself mentally, physically and morally strong.
How
they perform
Groups
of five to eight boys together form patrols, which is led by a patrol
leader. Four such patrol
groups together from a troop and a troop is led by an adult Scoutmaster,
who is assisted by one or more adults. Most of the activities and camps
are outdoors.
The
ranks
The
first rank in Boy Scouting is Tenderfoot. A member is eligible to become a
Tenderfoot only if he has participated in troop activities for at least
two months. As part of his responsibilities, a Tenderfoot is expected to
recite the oath and explain each point in the 12-point Scout Law in his
own words, to show that he has understood them and that he follows them.
There are other ranks too such as Second Class, First Class, Star
Scout, Life Scout and Eagle Scout. Eagle Scout is the highest rank in Boy
Scouting.
What
they do
Doing
a good turn daily is the slogan of the Scouts. Troops generally
participate in community projects, conservation projects, collect food and
funds as part of a project towards helping needy members of the social
community and help during times of emergencies.
Scouting,
as mentioned earlier, is a world-wide movement today. The World Scout
Conference co-ordinates world-wide Scouting activities. Every national
Scout organization is a member. It is the World Scout Conference that
admits new member countries, arranges for international meetings and
provides a platform for exchange of ideas. It elects a twelve-member World
Committee to execute delegated tasks. The headquarters of the World Scout
Committee is located at Geneva in Switzerland.
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