The Scouter November 1955 Vol. XLIX, No. 11 By T E CHIEF SCOUT THE OUTLOOK H In June, when talking about the Queen’s Scout I congratulated us While “Boy Scouts’ Hunting Knives,” to use the words of the all on the fact that the very young Queen’s Scout seemed to have Attorney-General, were not intended to be included in forbidden disappeared, and that we were getting much more maturity in those weapons under the Provisions of the Prevention of Crimes Act of who were coming up to the receptions. I am afraid I spoke too soon. 1953, it is as well to ensure that no cause is given to reverse that I don’t know what is the cause of it but there were a lot of very exclusion. young ones indeed, far under 16, at the last party. Was it an effort to I have just seen the report of my own County, Ayrshire. It’s always get them ready and wearing their Badge before the Jamboree? or a bit humiliating to find how everything booms after I have left- was there some other reason behind it? Whatever may have been the there must be a conclusion to be drawn from that but it’s one of cause, I hope it was only a temporary lapse and not a permanent those conclusions which are most damaging to the ego. They also return. Let me repeat again that the Queen’s Scout is the culminating have no County Commissioner and haven’t had one for a number of point of Scout training, and not merely a halfway house. I can years, thus confirming the suspicion of recent correspondence in imagine nothing more likely to reduce the number of 17 and 18 THE SCOUTER. It is a most remarkable report. Cub Packs up; Pack year-olds in the Senior Troop than to have all the 15 year-olds Scouters up; Cubs under 10 up; Cubs over 10 even more up; more wearing the Queen’s Scout badge. Where do they go from there? Leaping Wolves, Second Stars and First Stars; more Boy Scout What do we do with them to hold them in the atmosphere where Troops; more Troop Scouters; more Scouts of 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 psychological development will be encouraged? It is just crazy, but and 17 years old; then the only blacks - 3 less Queen’s Scouts, 3 less it is being done. Do please think it out and realise that the 15-year- 1 8-year-olds. More First Class, more Second Class, more Scouts old cannot really have reached the top, and we are merely than Cubs. More Rover Crews (numbers are still too low to bear destroying that very edifice which we are trying to build up. You repetition), more Rovers under 21 and the same number exactly 21- might just as well give a Cub the Leaping Wolf Badge before he is 25 and 25 plus. 8½. A fat lot of fellows we would have going up into the Troop I think you will agree that such figures must be almost, if not quite, then, wouldn’t we? Let’s get the thing into proper focus. Make unique. Parents’ Committees have been strong for many years and greater demands on the brighter boys and see that our Queen’s more Groups have, with their help, been able to build their own Scouts have reached that stage of maturity, particularly mental and Headquarters. The selection of Scouters is taken very seriously and spiritual, that is required before we have achieved all that we can high standards are demanded. A drive has been made on preliminary achieve when the training goes the full course. Training Courses with conspicuously successful results; a high The question of sheath knives has been worrying us a good deal of proportion of Scouters have passed through the hands of the late. They have been worn by Scouts from the early days and “the Training Team. Although they have no County Commissioner, Scout knife” has been the subject of many jokes and cartoons. Colonel I. G. Collins, their County President, has done magnificent Unfortunately some of these jokes are no figment of the work over and above his Presidential duties in visiting Groups, imagination, and the barked tree, the careless throwing, to the Training Courses, Patrol Camps and every kind of activity, while the detriment of the knife itself and nearby property, and accidents Deputy County Commissioner has served since 1908. Their Badge caused by the blade coming out of its sheath, have from time to time Secretary keeps in constant touch with the Districts. A lack of come to our notice. demand for Second Class is not passed by for too long, and no boy We don’t want to forbid its use and we see no compelling reason to has to wait for his badge after he has won it. do so, but it is necessary to stop its abuse in the hands of the They have suffered a sad blow by the death of their A.C.C. irresponsible. Many Groups already have a local rule that the sheath Training, only 46 years old, who by his personal example - how knife may only be worn by those Scouts who have passed their often I write and speak those words - of fervid belief in Scouting and Second Class and presumably can be trusted not to cause damage devotion to its cause, and still more by his way of life passed on the and to take the knife off their belts before starting on active games. spirit from his own rich store. Such men cannot be spared. They are This should, I am sure, be enough with the further proviso that far too few in any community, but their influence while they are blades should not exceed 6 inches in length and that the wearing of with us sows a rich seed from which shall be reaped in due course a the clasp knife should be the rule for those who are only Tenderfoots rich harvest. So it was and is with Jim Harkiss: the seed he sowed or for those who, though Second Class, have shown that they are not will flower for many a year to come in the hearts of Scouters, Scouts responsible enough to be trusted with what is in careless hands a and Cubs in the County he served so faithfully. dangerous weapon. The making of extra rules is always undesirable and it is far better, to use B.-P. ‘s own expression, to “leave it to the ROWALLAN. commonsense of the Scoutmaster.” The December 23rd issue of The Scout would make a nice Christmas card for any Cub or Scout who so far doesn’t take it. Only 6d. Order in advance from your newsagent or from The Editor at LH.Q. PDF Created by BRIANJ [email protected] WHY ALL THIS FUSS ABOUT YOUTH? By T. M. HIGHAM What sort of an adolescence did you have? Did you pass from How many pass through the physical and emotional changes of childhood to maturity like a ship on a holiday cruise - an easy puberty without crisis? How many find the going hard? From the voyage on the whole, bar the occasional squall? Was it a nightmare evidence available, the number of problem children is probably less passage which seemed endless, through a Bay of Biscay or a tropical than is often suggested. storm? Perhaps you were rebellious, religious, spotty or political - or even Transition Crises all four. Did you discover an -ism? Or, may be, you just grew up These reflections are prompted by a query from the King George’s without noticing it much. A reading of some of the current literature Jubilee Trust, which has been studying the influences affecting about adolescents in industry prompts these personal questions. For young people. One of the Trust’s Working Parties has been at times, when I read about the problems and stresses, the difficulties considering the influence of employment on young people, and has and crisis periods which beset adolescents, I wonder how anyone asked for comments on various points, of which the last is as ever comes through their ‘teens alive, let alone normal. follows:- And that is why I began by asking, “What sort of adolescence did (f) That all the agencies influencing the development of young you have?” For we need to know just how many adolescents do people - home, school, church, voluntary organisation, Press, radio, make heavy weather of growing up, and how many do not. Of the employers, trade unions, etc.,. must recognise a joint and continuing numbers of young school leavers that pass through the Personnel responsibility to prepare all young people for the crisis periods in Manager’s Office, how many are problem children? There will their development, e.g. transition from school to work, from work to always be some - but how typical are they of adolescents as a National Service, and from National Service back to work, and whole? thereby to make these transition stages as smooth and natural as possible. Growing-up Trouble There are a good many comments which could be made about this, If probability is truly our guide we would expect about 10% of but there are at least four which must be made. For this particular adolescents to have considerable trouble in growing up; another point is one made by a distinguished body, whose motives are 20% to have more than average trouble; 40% to have neither sincere, and which has had access to a lot of outside evidence.