THE SPIRIT OF SCOUTING

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 711, 10 July 1929, Page 14

THE SPIRIT OF SCOUTING

ITS UNIVERSAL APPEAL

BY

“BOZZIE”

There has been a noticeable tendency of late in New Zealand to get away from the ideals and methods of working of the British Headquarters Council. These rules and regulations are the outcome of careful consideration and conference with the wisest and best minds connected with the movement. Too great divergence from these principles, merely for the sake of being able to say we are New Zealand and not English Scouts, is to bo deprecated. The spirit of Scouting is universal. There is no sectarian element in its appeal. What is desirable in the Boy Scout Movement is its appeal to the boy in the opportunities it gives for the development of character, the opportunities to freely express the frankness. the ideals and generous ouenheartedness of youth. It gives scope to the imagination, to the intelligence and spirit of adventure, which are things worth developing, not only for themselves alone, but for the building up of a nation of men of vision, of broad outlook and readiness to go forward. All these things are inherent in the principles so wonderfully outlined in “Scouting for Boys.” There is another thing also —the spirit of brotherhood of all mankind, the spirit which we all hope inspires the League of Nations, as we desire that it should inspire the whole Boy Scout Movement—the spirit that is bringing together the very wonderful meeting at Arrow© Park, near Birkenhead in England, of representatives of the Scout Brotherhood from at least fifty of the most important nations of the world—between forty and fifty thousand boys. Such a gathering has never been seen since the, world began. . It is a peace gathering, a gathering in the bonds of brotherhood and friendship. The extraordinary thing about Scouting is the way in which it ap- j

peals to boys of all nationalities, regardless of colour, race or creed. That is one reason why in all parts of the British Empire, if in no other countries, it is so desirable that the rules and regulations which govern the movement should vary as little as possible. Petty differences are irksome to boys. They like to think that, what is done by a Scout in England to attain certain ends is the same that is done in the part of the JSmpire in which they live. The boy, who is tlio only reason for the existence of the movements, resents unnecessary differences, and he has a right to be considered. That is probably the most fundamental principle of modern educational opinion, that we consider the child as an individual and endeavour to understand his point of view. A child is not merely a small edition of an adult, and to treat him as such is to commit a grave and far-reach-ing error. We observe how his play activities work, how they grow from his natural desires and instincts, and encourage him through his games to move in the right direction. The Gang instinct may be good or bad, according to the direction in which it is allowed to develop, and this is one of the fundamental ideas on which Scouting works. The rules must not be too hard and fast: there must be nothing military about them: there must be room for the individuality of the boy and for that of the Scoutmaster. The last people who should tinker with the rules are those who are not in touch with the boy himself, who are grown up with fixed and conservative notions. Only those who have made it their business to know and understand the boy. as the Scoutmaster or the sympathetic schoolmaster have done, are fit to guide such a movement. Boy Scouting is a movement, not an organisation. The moment we crystallise it into an organisation, it loses , its life—the dead hand is upon it. j Keep it young with the youth of I the world and for the youth of the j world. No rule or regulation should j ever be altered or adopted without j the gravest consideration for all who ! are affected by it.