The elements of the scout method:
group 4life
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THE ELEMENTS OF THE SCOUT METHOD GROUP LIFE • The Scout Method is an • Group life results from essential part of the Scout the application of educational system the Scout Method • The Scout Method operates • Group life is what makes as a whole young people stay • First, the people: the young • Group life helps to create people, the Leaders and the a learning field relationship between them • Group life creates lifestyles • Second, what the people want and forms moral conscience to achieve: the educational • The intensity of group life objectives and the activities depends on the Leaders which help to attain them • Third, how they propose to achieve it: the other elements of the Scout Method
90 THE ELEMENTS OF THE SCOUT METHOD THE SCOUT METHOD IS AN ESSENTIAL The Scout Method PART OF THE SCOUT may be defined as a system EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM of progressive self-education, which is complementary to the family and the school, and is based on the interaction of several elements. The key elements of the Scout Method are:
progressive system of objectives and activities stimulating adult presence learning by doing adherence to the Promise and Law symbolic framework Patrol System learning through serving others life in nature learning through play Although it is possible to single out these elements, in order to understand the Scout Method we have to grasp how they work together in combination and appreciate the connections and processes between them. The Method is what it is because the elements that make it up are coordinated and balanced. If some instruments are missing from an orchestra, or out of tune or too loud, the ensemble will never sound tuneful and harmonious.
Often the elements of the Method are analysed in an isolated and fragmented way, which hinders our understanding of how the whole works. If we take an equally fragmented approach to applying the Method, we may expect only poor results.
Like any other system, the Scout Method has a certain dynamic complexity, but if we understand the links between the different parts, as Leaders we may gradually become familiar with these mechanisms and incorporate them naturally into the way we do things.
This figure that follows shows the elements of the Scout Method as a whole. We can distinguish three groups of components and an end product which results from the coordination of all of them:
91 FIRST, THE PEOPLE: THE YOUNG PEOPLE, THE LEADERS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM
At the top of the diagram are the young people, and at the bottom are the Leaders, who are adults of different ages; with the arrows representing a two-way relationship between them.
9292 This represents:
The central role of the interests and educational needs of young people in the Scout Method.
The stimulating adult presence, i.e. the Leaders –adults of different ages– who are at the bottom of the diagram, symbolizing their educational and supportive –not hierarchical– role.
The contribution that young people make to group life, whether individually or through their Patrols.
The interactive relationship of educational cooperation and mutual learning between young people and Leaders.
SECOND, WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT TO ACHIEVE: THE EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND THE ACTIVITIES WHICH HELP TO ATTAIN THEM At the sides of the diagram are the activities on the left and the young people’s personal development objectives on the right, joined by arrows showing the relationship between them.
This means:
That in the Patrols and the Scout Unit everything is done through activities which emphasize discovery, in keeping with the principle of learning by doing.
That young people are asked to set themselves educational objectives which, at this age, are agreed between each young person, the other members of the Patrol and the Leader who monitors his or her development.
That the activities give the young people personal experiences which, little by little, enable them to achieve those objectives, with the help and mediation of their friends and Leaders.
93 THIRD, HOW THEY PROPOSE TO ACHIEVE IT: THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE SCOUT METHOD
In the centre of the diagram, all the other aspects of the Method form a continually rotating circle of related elements.
The Scout Law, a code of conduct which sets out the principles that guide us in language that is readily understood by the young people; and the Promise, a voluntary and personal commitment to live in accordance with the Scout Law.
The symbolic framework which, in the Scout Unit, is the adventure of exploring new territories with a peer group.
The Patrol System, which organizes the mechanisms of the informal peer group into a learning community.
Service to others, which is fostered by the habit of individual good turns and consists of activities and projects which bring the young people closer to those most in need, generating a permanent willingness to serve.
Life in nature, a special environment in which to carry out many of the activities of the Patrol and Scout Unit.
Learning through play, which is attractive to young people, facilitates their integration into the group, helps them to discover their abilities and encourages an interest in exploring, adventure and discovery.
94 GROUP LIFE
GROUP LIFE RESULTS FROM THE APPLICATION OF THE SCOUT METHOD
The main result of applying the Scout Method as a whole is that a special environment is created in the Unit and in the Patrols, a particular atmosphere, which we call group life.
This special atmosphere is generated by a combination of things: • the rich experience of life in the Patrol • the welcoming attitude of the Leaders • the attractive activities • the challenge of the personal objectives • the values of the Law and the spontaneous rules which govern shared life • the commitment generated by the Promise • the sense of purpose provided by the symbolic framework • the attractiveness of life in the outdoors • the joy of serving others • the democratic decision-making processes • the sense of belonging that comes from the symbols • the significance of the celebrations • the games and songs. In short, everything that happens as a result of the coordinated application of the Scout Method.
95 GROUP LIFE IS WHAT MAKES YOUNG PEOPLE STAY
Group life is what makes Scouting attractive to young people. This atmosphere is so powerful that anyone coming into the Scout Unit immediately realizes that they are in a different environment that it is worth making the most of. The fact that they perceive this is what makes them stay. The richness of group life leads them to prefer Scouting to any other option. If group life is rewarding, the Patrol System will unfold all its potential, the young people will come to identify powerfully with it and it will never cross their minds to leave.
GROUP LIFE HELPS TO CREATE A LEARNING FIELD
No activity can achieve educational objectives alone; these can only be achieved through the application of all the elements of the Scout Method. And so, when we talk about learning in the Patrol, we say that the spaces in our Scout Unit are not empty, but shot through with an invisible weave of conducts and dialogues which facilitate learning. This learning field is part of group life, and brings together, interlinks and harmonizes all the elements of the Scout Method.
96 96 The learning field is conducive to learning by experience, non-frontal learning with no classes or talks, memorizing or marks, prizes or punishments, with no vertical or authoritarian figures, but with the friendly participation of Leaders who “accompany” the young people’s development process.
GROUP LIFE CREATES LIFESTYLES AND FORMS MORAL CONSCIENCE As well as being a warm and participative atmosphere which enables young adolescents to express their natural tendencies, explore new worlds and satisfy their thirst for discovery and adventure, group life helps them to build up their own personality in the company of a group of friends who have similar dreams and anxieties, monitored by adults who exemplify the values that are offered to them.
In this atmosphere they develop a moral conscience and build a personal scale of values.
Moral conscience is a uniquely human faculty. It is what enables a young person to acknowledge good and evil, and to distinguish those rules and values that steer their actions and are worthwhile precepts on which to base a future life plan. The atmosphere in the Unit helps young people to perceive and identify these values, react to them and opt for those which they consider worth living by. At the same time, they learn to accord each value the importance it deserves, gradually and implicitly establishing a scale of values which will shape their life plan. For example, productivity is a technically useful value, but it is not in the same category as the right to a fair wage, which constitutes an ethical duty, or respect for life, which is a transcendental value. We must not forget that the quality of education is determined by the worthiness, depth and scope of the values that the young person has been inspired to acknowledge and decide to live by. What is original about Scouting in educational terms is that the young people adhere to these values while participating in a genuine process in which they are the main actors. Immersed in this atmosphere, young people live values and widen their awareness without even intending to. This is much more than an intellectual or sentimental bond. It is a lifestyle which they really take in and incorporate, and which will shape their personality for ever after.
97 THE INTENSITY OF GROUP LIFE DEPENDS ON THE LEADERS
We have said that the special atmosphere which constitutes group life is generated by applying the Scout Method as a whole in the Unit. As we will see in chapter 7, applying the Method and ensuring that it remains faithful to Scouting’s mission is a task for the Leaders.
The quality and richness of group life therefore depend on the Leaders and is one of their main responsibilities.
98 The Scout 5Unit
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THE NATURE OF THE SCOUT UNIT
• The Scout Unit supports the Patrol System • The Scout Unit is the guardian of the mission • The Scout Unit is a community moving forward towards a shared vision • The Scout Unit is a space where the Patrols interact 4 Patrols and 32 young people • The Scout Unit ideally consists of • Young people from 11 to 15, depending on individual growth rates • Units can be mixed or single-sex
THE STRUCTURE OF THE SCOUT UNIT
• As well as the Patrols, the Unit structure comprises three other bodies • The Unit Assembly makes basic rules and decides on Unit objectives and activities • The Unit Council organizes the operations and conducts training • The Team of Adult Leaders provides educational guidance, support and assessment
IDENTITY OF THE SCOUT UNIT
• The name of the young people • The name of the Unit • The uniform • The fleur-de-lys • The neckerchief or scarf • Badges • The greeting • A colour • Unit Log or Record Book
100 THE NATURE OF THE SCOUT UNIT
THE SCOUT UNIT The Scout Method is an SUPPORTS THE educational approach which PATROL SYSTEM places trust in the young people and puts confidence in their self- education. In the Scout Section, this trust is manifested in the use of the Patrol System, which encourages and provides the conditions for the dynamics of the peer group to operate as a learning community.
Why do we need a Scout Unit if the Patrols can operate on their own? Because a Patrol requires a minimum of organization behind it to fulfil its dual role as a peer group and as a learning community.
Because Patrols need a space in which to interact with other Patrols, which serve as models and measures of their own performance.
Because the leaders of the small groups need an educational environment in which to learn leadership.
Because the method requires an environment in which the stimulating presence of the adult is perceived, without this interfering “within” the Patrol.
Because the Patrols need a safe territory in which to act, to reduce the potential risks of the system to a minimum.
The first reason for having a Scout Unit is therefore to oversee the free and full operation of the Patrol System. The Patrol is the learning community and the Scout Unit is its support organization.
The Unit must be careful to handle this responsibility without stepping beyond the bounds of its role. The Unit must not invade the territory of the Patrols or create conditions which directly or indirectly inhibit, limit or invalidate them.
101 THE SCOUT UNIT
IS THE GUARDIAN The mission, the “why”, is equivalent OF THE MISSION to the purpose of Scouting. It is shared by Scouts world-over and is expressed in the educational proposal of our Association.
The 35th World Scout Conference, held in Durban, South Africa, in July 1999, established that our mission is to contribute to the education of young people through a value system based on the spiritual, social and personal principles expressed in our Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society. This mission is achieved through the Scout Method, which makes each individual the principal agent in his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person.
What is the role of the Scout Unit with regard to the mission?
All those who participate in Scouting and all its structures at local, national or world level are linked to each other and bound by the mission. But the specific way in which it involves young people of 11 to 15 is through the Scout Unit. The Scout Unit is responsible for fully applying all the elements of the Method in a balanced way, in other words for ensuring that the young people experience that atmosphere we have called group life.
The spirit of the mission permeates the Patrols too, but the young people are not the ones responsible for keeping our boat firmly on course toward it. They are mainly interested in the adventure of “exploring new territories with a group of friends”, as we saw in chapters one and two. It would be odd indeed if they had joined Scouting in order “to be educated”. Their learning comes about as a result of group life, and maintaining group life is the responsibility of the Scout Unit, which acts as the guardian of the mission, highlighting two basic aspects:
the meaning of everything that is done (contributing to the education of young people to help build a better world)
the process through which it is done (applying the Scout Method, which makes young people the principal agents in their own development).
102 THE SCOUT UNIT IS A COMMUNITY The vision is the MOVING FORWARD response to the question TOWARDS A SHARED VISION “Where are we going?”. It is the image that the Scout Unit has of its own future. The vision is normally expressed in the form of one or several annual objectives which the Unit proposes for inclusion in the Plan of the Scout Group to which it belongs.
A vision consists of proposals such as “this year we will get a meeting place for all the Patrols”; “the drop-out rate will fall to 10% at most”; “we will spend 20 nights under canvass and be better prepared for camping”; “we will take part in all the district and national events organized by the Association”; “our sponsoring institution will evaluate us as its best educational programme”; “at the end of the year we will have grown by 50%, 90% of the young people will use Logs and all the Patrols will have full kits”; “we will be the best Unit in the District”; and so on. These proposals will depend on the Unit’s level of development, its expectations for the future and its members’ perception of their ability to make them a reality.
To be effective, a vision has to be shared. It has to be a vision that everyone –young people and Adult Leaders alike– feels is representative of them and believes they can build together.
A shared vision is more than an idea. It is an impressively powerful force in the heart of all the members of the Unit. It may grow from an idea, but if it is convincing enough to win everyone’s support, then it is no longer an abstract idea, but has become palpable and begins to be perceived as if it were visible. It imbues the Unit with a perception of common bonds and, however varied the activities of the Patrols, it gives consistency to everything they do.
103 THE SCOUT UNIT IS A SPACE When we talked WHERE THE PATROLS INTERACT about the Patrol, we said that it interacts with other Patrols. The Scout Unit is the space where that interaction happens. It happens in a general and spontaneous way through all the components of group life, but it is particularly marked in a number of specific situations:
In shared variable activities for the whole Unit, which take place when all the Patrols have decided to carry out the same activity in parallel or when they undertake specific tasks within an activity that involves everyone. Shared activities should be spaced out enough to avoid them interfering with the Patrol activities, which have priority.
In projects in which the Patrols undertake different individual activities within a set of activities that form part of a wider initiative.
In camps, games, campfires, competitions and other fixed activities, in the preparation of which the Patrols undertake different responsibilities.
At the Unit Council, which is responsible for reconciling the different interests of the Patrols, represented by the Patrol Leaders and Assistant Leaders.
At the Unit Assembly, where all the members of the Patrols exercise the right to voice their opinion and participate in decision- making.
104104 This interaction enables the Patrols to:
Learn from each other.
Value their own performance and try to do even better.
Experience the benefits of cooperation, solidarity and teamwork.
Take part in democratic life, making decisions and undertaking the resulting responsibilities, and respecting majority opinion.
Exercise social skills in a kind of virtual environment, with defined limits, where they can try out those skills and make mistakes without undue risks or irreversible consequences.
THE SCOUT UNIT IDEALLY CONSISTS OF 4 PATROLS AND 32 YOUNG PEOPLE Experience has shown that a Unit consisting of 3 to 5 Patrols is the ideal number to provide opportunities for interaction and make the shared activities more attractive. In a Unit with only 2 Patrols, interaction is reduced to a minimum and shared activities are not as attractive. A number larger than 5 generates organizational difficulties and thins out the personalized support that the Adult Leaders can give to the Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders and to the young people whose development they monitor.
On the basis of the recommended number of members to a Patrol, the membership of an ideal Unit of 4 Patrols will fluctuate between 20 and 32 young people. In any case, these numbers are secondary to the peer group in importance: it is essential that the Patrols consist of groups of friends, independently of their number. It must not be forgotten that a Unit is a federation of unlike but internally cohesive Patrols.
It is not a good idea to admit more Patrols to the Unit that can be attended to by the number of trained Adult Leaders available. It is unwise to create “giant” Units. These give the impression of being able to field a large number of people and wield power, but offer little possibility of personalized work. If the Unit has more than 5 Patrols, depending on the characteristics of the Scout Group, it is probably best to form 2 Units of 3 Patrols each. Obviously this will create a need to recruit and train enough Adult Leaders to keep up the level of personal attention.
105 YOUNG PEOPLE FROM 11 TO 15, DEPENDING ON The Scout Unit assembles Patrols INDIVIDUAL comprising young people from 11 to 15 years of age. This is a development cycle GROWTH RATES which corresponds to the first stage of adolescence, with common features that set it apart from the previous and following periods. Two age groups may be distinguished within this stage: 11 to 13 and 13 to 15. These groups or ranges correspond to two different columns of objectives that are proposed to young people in all the growth areas, as we will see in chapter 9.
These are generic age ranges and not strict age limits, since each young person has their own rate of development, which is influenced by many different factors. The age at which a young person joins the Patrol, how long he or she stays in it and the point at which one progress stage gives way to another thus depend more on the person’s stage of development than on their age. This is assessed on a case-by-case basis by the young person him or herself, with the help of the Patrol and the Adult Leader who monitors his or her growth.
This means that a young person is not necessarily ready to join a Patrol just when they turn 11. They may be ready a few months earlier, especially girls, who begin puberty one or two years earlier than boys. Girls or boys younger than 10 should not be admitted under any circumstances, since the type of activities and method used are not suitable for them. Children may also join after the age of 11, especially those who have a slower rate of development.
In any case, the maturity of the young person is an important consideration, but admittance to and continued presence in a Patrol depend on the friendship and acceptance of the rest of its members.
Likewise, young people do not leave the Patrol on the very day of their fifteenth birthday, but when they begin to have concerns and interests that will find a more satisfactory response in the next Section. Young people naturally give signs that they are ready and keen to move up, and the Adult Leaders have to learn to perceive these signs in a timely fashion.
106 UNITS CAN BE When we spoke of the Patrol, we said MIXED OR that in some cases Patrols could be mixed, SINGLE-SEX depending on the features of the respective peer group, the ages of the young people, how quickly they generate friendships with members of the other sex and the characteristics of the wider culture. We also said that the fact that it is mixed or single-sex should not be allowed to interrupt the natural dynamics of the peer group or affect the Patrol’s internal cohesion or, in consequence, its performance as a learning community.
Just as the Patrol can be mixed, the Scout Unit can be mixed too. It may consist of single-sex and/or mixed Patrols. This decision is made by the Unit Council and the respective Scout Group, in view of its history, educational options and the cultural characteristics of the wider environment.
A number of basic conditions must be met to run a mixed Unit:
Female, male and mixed Patrols The Unit should incorporate awareness of the differences must be treated equally in terms between the sexes into the educational climate, picking of rights and duties, with no out and highlighting the great potential of being a man or discrimination of any kind. of being a woman.
The activities must not reinforce Group life should ensure that the sexes acknowledge and the cultural stereotypes seen in recognize each other, and respect each other’s intimacy. society. No distinction should be made between activities The interaction between Patrols should promote the “for girls” and activities “for complementary nature of the two sexes. boys”. The process of choosing activities proposed in the The Team of Adult Leaders must be mixed, and it is programme cycle is the best advisable for the monitoring of objectives to be conducted antidote to this tendency, since it by a Leader of the same sex. This enables the young offers each Patrol the opportunity people to observe and learn from the cooperation they see to choose autonomously what it in the mixed Team of Adult Leaders, and to identify with wants to do. models of behaviour relative to their own sex.
107 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SCOUT UNIT
AS WELL AS THE PATROLS, THE UNIT STRUCTURE COMPRISES three other BODIES
These are part of the Unit as a support organization for the Patrol System. They are not a command structure nor is there any hierarchical order between them.
The Unit Assembly
The Unit Council
The Team of Adult Leaders
As shown in the figure, these bodies “orbit” the Patrol System, each playing a different supportive role, but without interfering in the operation of the Patrols.
108 THE UNIT ASSEMBLY MAKES BASIC RULES The Assembly consists of and DECIDES ON all the members of the Unit, UNIT OBJECTIVES who participate as individuals and not as representatives of their Patrols. AND ACTIVITIES It meets at least twice during every programme cycle or whenever circumstances require a meeting. It is presided by a young person elected for the purpose when the Assembly begins. The Adult Leaders participate without the right to vote.
The Assembly determines rules of operation or coexistence whenever the Unit needs to establish them. Since the rules affect everyone, everyone has a say in the decision. This is the Assembly’s main contribution to the operation of the system. It also has a role in other matters which affect everyone:
It determines the annual objectives of the Unit, as they are expressed in the Group Plan. In other words, it establishes the vision.
It decides on the shared activities that will be carried out in a programme cycle and approves the calendar of activities once these have been organized by the Unit Council.
109 THE UNIT COUNCIL ORGANIZES THE OPERATIONS AND CONDUCTS TRAINING The Council consists of the Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders and the Team of Adult Leaders. It meets at least once a month. It is coordinated by the Unit Leader, although the members may fully or partially rotate this coordination among themselves, as an exercise in leadership.
The Council plays a dual role: it is both a governing body and an instance of learning for the Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders. Through their representatives, all the Patrols are involved in the process of taking decisions that concern shared action. For this representation to be effective, the Patrols need to know in advance of the business to be discussed at the Unit Council and express their opinions. Whatever their individual opinions, however, all the members of the Unit show solidarity with the resolutions reached.
As an instance that coordinates operations, the Council deals in general with all the aspects that concern the interaction between the Patrols. This includes a number of key responsibilities:
To prepare the diagnosis and emphasis for each programme cycle and pre-select the Unit activities.
To organize the Unit activities selected by the Assembly into a calendar of activities and help with designing and preparing them.
To evaluate the programme of activities carried out in each cycle and establish the criteria for assessing the young people’s personal progress.
To resolve on the awarding of progress badges at the proposal of the monitoring Adult Leader.
To obtain and administer the resources needed for conducting and financing the programmed activities.
To support the Patrols in their operations and in the integration of new members; and supervise the election of Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders.
To take action to recruit new Patrols when necessary.
To decide, together with the Group Council when appropriate, on whether the Patrols and Unit should be mixed or single-sex, without prejudice to the guidelines discussed in chapter 3.
110 As an instance of learning, the Unit Council’s key responsibilities are:
To reflect on the extent to which its To supply specific training and members are living by the Promise technical information for certain and Law. activities, through its members or third parties. To train Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders to carry out their To recruit and provide guidance for responsibilities. This is essential for external monitors who oversee the the Patrol System to work properly. proficiencies the young people choose It should be remembered that the to pursue. Adult Leaders act as educational mediators, almost always “through” To receive new members and organize the Patrol Leaders and Assistant their introductory period. Patrol Leaders. “The Scout Leader works through the Patrol To determine actions of recognition Leaders.” (Baden-Powell, Aids to or correction when necessary or Scoutmastership, 1919) appropriate.
111 THE TEAM OF ADULT LEADERS provides EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE, SUPPORT AND ASSESSment
The Team consists of one Adult Leader for each Patrol in the Scout Unit. A four-Patrol Unit, which is the most common, requires four Leaders: one Unit Leader and three Assistant Unit Leaders. The Team meets once a week and is coordinated by the Unit Leader.
In general, the Leaders act as educational mediators, as a team or individually, by means of:
Designing the conditions in which the Unit operates.
Keeping the mission alive and promoting the vision.
Ensuring that all the elements of the Method are applied in order to sustain group life; and creating the conditions for learning fields to operate within the Patrols.
Preparing background information for Council and Assembly meetings and ensuring they never take decisions that are properly the responsibility of these bodies.
Individually undertaking the responsibility for monitoring and helping to assess the progress of the members of a Patrol, as we will see when we talk about assessing the young people’s personal progress.
Preparing and giving information sessions for parents on the educational role they are expected to play in relation to the work carried out in the Unit.
Supporting each other in their personal development.
Depending on their personal characteristics, the Adult Leaders allocate among themselves the tasks deriving from these responsibilities and from their position as members of the Unit Council. It is advisable to make this distribution of tasks flexible and variable, and not subject to strict rules. The Association’s description of positions and responsibilities should be taken as a general guide and not as law.
In chapter 7 we will analyse in greater depth the responsibilities of the adults as educational leaders.
112 One of the main problems in all Units is finding enough suitable Adult Leaders. Sometimes we can’t find them because we are looking in too small a circle. It is a good idea to widen the search to other fields:
Friends, colleagues and relatives of the members of your Team of Leaders, who are motivated by the example of the person they know in Scouting.
Former leaders of the Scout Group who wish to return to their Scouting activities. A refresher training period will avoid the tendency to do things “the way we did in my day” which is not always a good thing.
Parents and relatives of the young people, who are often enthusiastic about the results they see in their children or young relatives.
People linked to the Scout Group’s sponsoring institution, who have a stake in the success of the Group in the interests of their own organization.
Teachers and specialists in the teaching and psychology professions, or other professionals from the schools the young people in the Unit attend.
Students at university, further education or technical institutes, especially those studying courses related to education. They are at a stage in life in which, if suitably motivated, they can devote a lot of time to voluntary work.
People who work in all areas of social and community development organizations, in non-governmental organizations, or in service or charity institutions, and whose occupation disposes them to educational work with young people.
It is not necessary to have been a Scout before to be a Leader. The Association’s training, on-the-job practice and the constant support of the Team of Leaders will provide the knowledge, experience and personal development needed for the job.
113 IDENTITY OF THE SCOUT UNIT
THE NAME OF THE YOUTH MEMBERS The young people in this section are called “Scouts” because in 1907 Scouting began with youngsters of this particular age group, who were known by this name even before Scouting adopted it officially.
Robert Baden-Powell used this word because it was a general term for explorers, mountaineers, pathfinders, sailors, missionaries, discoverers, investigators; in short all those who “go before” to open up paths for others to follow.
THE NAME Units often have a name linked to the symbolic OF THE UNIT framework of explorations, expeditions and discoveries, or the area or institution of the Scout Group to which the Unit belongs. If there is a single Unit, it may take the name of the Group. The name may also refer to an outstanding historical figure or a significant place or event. A choice that is suitable and in good taste helps the young people to identify with the Unit.
THE UNIFORM Scouts wear a uniform that identifies them to the community. The Scout uniform has been simplified over time. Today’s uniform was designed by the Association to allow us to carry out our activities comfortably. It also avoids dress being a source of difference between the young people. Some Units wear a simple T- shirt with a badge for many of their non-formal activities.
A number of other symbols can be represented on our uniform, such as the fleur-de-lys, the scarf or neckerchief and the Group, Association, Promise and progress badges, as well as badges denoting proficiencies and events.
THE FLEUR-DE-LYS
This is a universal Scout symbol and comes from the ancient maps in which it figures in the compass rose pointing North. In the words of Baden-Powell, it represents “the good path that all Scouts should follow”.
114114 THE NECKERCHIEF OR SCARF
This is a triangular cloth that is folded around the neck, held in place by a ring or woggle which can be made of different materials. It has the colours of the Scout Group the Unit belongs to and serves to identify Scouts all over the world. It also has lots of practical uses in activities and in the outdoors.
BADGES
The badges that identify our Association and the Scout Group the Unit belongs to show that the Scout Unit is part of the local community and of a national organization.
The Promise badge is worn by all Scouts who have made their Promise, in other words those who have made a commitment to live in accordance with the Scout Law.
The progress badges indicate the stage the young person is currently pursuing in his or her personal objectives. The proficiency badges bear witness to the specific knowledge and skills that a young boy or girl has acquired in the Unit.
Event badges are worn temporarily on the uniform, while the event lasts and for a certain time afterwards.
All these badges and their position on the uniform have been defined by our Association and can be found in the badge leaflet, together with other nationally authorized badges.
It is not a good idea to wear more badges on the uniform than those stipulated. Otherwise, their meaning is lost and the overall effect may not even be attractive.
115 THE GREETING
Scouts greet each other with the right hand, placing the thumb over the pinkie and raising the other three fingers. The arm is bent slightly backward and the hand is held at shoulder height, with the palm facing forward. Many Units have other traditions, depending on the occasion, on how to hold the arm and hand. However, any form which may give the greeting a militaristic aspect, such as raising stretched fingers smartly to the side of the forehead, should be avoided.
Scouts usually shake each other’s left hand too. There are many legends about the origin of this custom. The most convincing of these comes from the tradition of the Ashanti tribe. Ashanti warriors normally shook each other’s right hand so as not to let go of the protective shield they carried in their left. But when they were greeting a trusted friend, they would lay down their shield and offer their left hand, as a token of confidence.
A COLOUR
The first badges that Baden-Powell had made were embroidered in yellow on a green background, and those two colours came to be recognized as the colours of Scouting. Since the Scout Section was the first to be created, it kept the colour green, and the Cub Section later adopted the yellow. This tradition is maintained today in many Units around the world, which often use a green Unit flag too.
UNIT LOG OR RECORD BOOK
Although this is not a symbolic element as such, it is a good idea for the Unit to keep a simple book for resolutions, in which to record the decisions taken by the Assembly and the Council. As well as serving as a testimony of what has been agreed, this book serves as a written record of the Unit’s history, which helps to maintain its identity.
116 Lawand 6Promise
117 Contents
SCOUTING’S EDUCATIONAL PROPOSAL • Scouting contributes to the education of young people through a value system • The values proposed are a lifelong project for all Scouts THE SCOUT LAW SOME REFLECTIONS ON • The rule of law is a central issue THE SCOUT LAW in early adolescence • Children realize that rules are a function of • A Scout is trustworthy mutual consent from about the age of 10 or 11 • A Scout is loyal • Before the age of 10 or 11 • A Scout is helpful to others morality is conventional • A Scout shares • Children start to make the shift with everyone to moral autonomy from the age of 10 or 11 • A Scout is kind • Young people learn the value of rules from • A Scout protects life the example of their “models” and from and nature the experience of relating to their peers • A Scout is organized and • Young people assimilate the Scout Law does nothing by halves the same way they internalize rules: • A Scout takes life cheerfully through leaders who are examples • A Scout takes care of his or of the law and through the experience her things and values work of group life in the patrols and unit • A Scout is clean in thought, • The Scout Law proposes living by our values word and deed
THE scout PROMISE • The Promise • Making the Promise is a very important is a voluntary commitment moment in the life of a Scout • Through the Promise, • The young people decide if they are we make a commitment ready to make the commitment to be the best we can be • The motto reminds us • Our fi rst commitment is to God of the promise we have made • We make a commitment to • The good turn is a demonstration our country and to peace of the commitment undertaken • We promise to make the Scout Law • The Scout prayer asks for the strength an integral part of our life to meet our commitment
118 SCOUTING’S EDUCATIONAL PROPOSAL
SCOUTING CONTRIBUTES TO THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH A VALUE SYSTEM
The mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people so that they can help build a better world, where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society.
This mission is achieved through the use of the Scout Method, which makes the young person the principal agent in his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person.
An essential aspect of the Method is an invitation to young people to adhere to certain spiritual, social and personal principles. These principles constitute a value system that is shared by Scouts all over the world, and Associations express it in different ways in their educational proposals.
THE VALUES PROPOSED
ARE A LIFELONG PROJECT These principles FOR ALL SCOUTS constitute a proposal that is undertaken personally by each individual and they represent a challenge for all of us who are Scouts. They invite young people and adults alike to strive constantly for fulfilment.
Some national associations have different wordings for the educational proposal, but the different versions all express the same value system. The text on the following page proclaims the values of Scouting using a tone that gives them a certain distinction, as an indication of the standing of the ideal we seek to achieve.
119 EACH MAN AND WOMAN WHO SHARES THE EXPERIENCE OF SCOUTING AIMS TO DO THEIR BEST TO BE:
A person with freedom and integrity, clean of thought and true of heart, strong of will, responsible and self-reliant, with a personal commitment for their life constant and true to their word.
Ready to serve others, involved with their community, defender of other people’s rights, pledged to democracy and committed to development, lover of justice and promoter of peace, who values human labour, and builds their family on love, aware of their own dignity and that of others, sharing with everybody joyfully and affectionately.
A creative person who leaves the world better than they find it, and strives for the integrity of the natural world, learning continually, and searching for ways still unexplored, who does their work well and, free from the hunger to possess, is independent of material things.
A spiritual person, with a transcendental sense of life, who opens their heart to God, lives their faith joyfully and makes it part of their daily life and who, open to dialogue and understanding, respects others’ religious beliefs.
These principles are contained in the Scout Law, to which young people of 11 to 15 make a commitment through their Promise.
120 THE SCOUT LAW
THE RULE OF LAW IS A CENTRAL ISSUE IN EARLY ADOLESCENCE
The rule of law constitutes one of the major issues of the early stage of adolescence. At this stage it is important to develop a positive and responsible attitude to rules and build one’s own personal moral values.
An initial feature of adolescence is a lack of discipline and a tendency to question the authority of parents and of adults in general, particularly from the perspective of the adults who, at first, are often disconcerted by the young people’s new attitudes and react inflexibly. Rules which were readily accepted during childhood are now questioned. This is a necessary and instrumental stage in a young person’s progress towards moral autonomy. Rather than trying to suppress this questioning attitude, our role as educators is to encourage and support it. A great deal of importance is attached to this point in the Method of the Scout Section, for the failure to establish moral autonomy in adolescence may have serious consequence for the future equilibrium of the personality.
CHILDREN REALIZE THAT RULES ARE A FUNCTION OF MUTUAL CONSENT FROM ABOUT THE AGE OF 10 OR 11
Simple observation of how children view and accept the rules of play sheds some light on the development of the concept of rules.
At play, rules are the result of a compromise between two contradictory desires: on the one hand, the desire to win, to be the strongest, to affirm oneself vis-à-vis the others; and, on the other, the desire to continue playing “with” the others. If I want to win all the time, the other children will become frustrated and will not want to play with me any more. For the game to continue, I have to allow others the possibility of winning too. I have to be capable of “putting myself in their place”, and accepting rules that objectively define the rights and obligations of each player and determine how the game is won.
Until the age of 2 or 3, children have no sense of rules at all. They use toys as the whim takes them, throw them around, bury them, lose interest in them, and pick them up again. Children of pre- school age play “alongside” each other but not “with” each other. This is clearly seen in nursery schools and kindergartens, where children can be seen playing beside each other but their games are not really interactive.
From the age of 5 or 6 and up to 9 or 10, rules are present in children’s minds as something sacrosanct. They are viewed as emanating from adults and therefore unalterable. Children at this age are not yet able to internalize rules, because they are still too gripped by their desire to affirm themselves and they are not yet able to put themselves in the place of others, although this varies as they grow. They imitate the rules imposed by their elders, but they still do not genuinely respect these rules. There will always be a player who cheats because the desire to win is too strong. When this happens, everyone fights, the game comes to a halt, they sort out the disagreement and the game recommences, only to stop a few minutes later amidst new quarrels.
121 From the age of 7 or 8, children gradually become better at cooperating in a group situation and sharing out the responsibilities involved in pursuing a shared objective, as they come to acknowledge rules. The learning process at this age consists of obeying and following rules. That is why the Cub Scout law begins with the proposal to “listen to and respect others”. But, as there is still no reasoned acceptance of rules, there cannot yet be full cooperation. Therefore, at Pack level, the six basically facilitates group organization and monitoring. It does not become a “life community” in the way that the Patrols and, to an even greater extent, the teams of the Senior Sections do.
It is only from about the age of 10 or 11 that this changes: children begin to perceive that rules spring from mutual consent. From then on, they are of the opinion that rules do not emanate from adults. They themselves have invented the rules and they can change them if they all agree to.
BEFORE THE AGE OF 10 OR 11 From the rules of MORALITY IS CONVENTIONAL the game, we move on to moral rules. Until the age of 7 or 8, children do not judge acts for themselves. They are content to label them “good” or “bad” or “right” or “wrong” on the basis of cultural norms. Children submit to authority only for immediate personal gain and to avoid punishment. They are likely to consider, for example, that the more unlikely a lie is, the worse it is. Doing something silly is serious only to the extent of the material damage it causes. The intention is not what counts. Punishment is viewed as expiatory: the guilty party must suffer a punishment of a magnitude that is in proportion with the seriousness of the fault.
The ages of 7 or 8 to about 10 or 11 constitute the stage of conventional morality. Children adjust their behaviour to the expectations of their parents or the social group, according to what they perceive a “good boy” or a “good girl” to mean. Law and order and respect for authority are seen as absolutes. Sometimes people can remain blocked at this level into adulthood if they are not exposed to an adequate breadth of social experience or if they are subject to an education that is excessively rigid or authoritarian. In terms of the figure that follows, we could say that these adults are trapped in the submissive behaviour of childhood and –since they are adults and not children– their behaviour could be defined as neurotic.
122 CHILDREN START TO MAKE THE SHIFT From the age of 10 or 11, TO MORAL AUTONOMY as they become capable of logical FROM THE AGE OF 10 OR 11 reasoning, children gradually move into the stage of moral autonomy. They are able to judge people on the basis of their actions and pick out very personal features of their character. They can perceive shortcomings and weaknesses and no longer have blind faith in their authority. Thus they begin to judge for themselves their own actions and those of others.
Moral principles are accepted on a personal basis as a way of sharing rights and duties within the group they belong to. Towards the age of 12, children accept rules as a kind of contract between individuals. Rules are no longer untouchable but can be changed by mutual consent. Little by little –especially in the second stage of adolescence, towards the age of 15- the young person comes to grasp the concept of universal values: justice, reciprocity, equality and dignity. Moral principles are associated with a “social ideal” rather than with the social reality. “Right” is defined on the basis of a personal and conscious adherence to moral principles. It is, in fact, the threshold of the “adult” concept of law, which entails “discerning respect” and a democratic attitude, as shown in the figure below.
123 YOUNG PEOPLE LEARN THE VALUE OF RULES FROM THE EXAMPLE OF THEIR “MODELS” AND FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF RELATING TO THEIR PEERS However, this shift does not continue to completion automatically. As our figure shows, there are many points at which development can be blocked or diverted, actually preventing the individual from reaching moral autonomy and an adult understanding of rules and the law. Certain individuals can exacerbate these difficulties when placed in the position of educators, as they themselves do not have an adequate level of maturity in relation to the law. As we have said, authoritarianism and excessively strict control can imprison people in an attitude of childish submission: “I obey all law and all authority without question”. Overprotecting children and limiting their social interaction with their peers can have a similar effect.
Authoritarianism and overprotection often cause young people to rebel fiercely and reject all forms of law. The rebellious adolescent challenges authority with provoking behaviour and by taking risks. Convinced that “all laws are bad”, the individual in this position is heading for maladaptation and even delinquency.
On the other hand, an overly permissive attitude deprives the young person of the opportunity to develop structure. This type of attitude will keep the person in a state in which the only “rules” are base impulses and personal pleasure. Parents and educators who have suffered too authoritarian an education as young people tend to educate their children and pupils in a laissez faire environment, which can lead to various self-referring sociopathies and fascistoid behaviour.
The famous psychologist Jean Piaget distinguished two “engines” that lead the young person toward moral autonomy, to reach an adult level of “discerning respect” vis-à-vis the rules and the law. One is unilateral respect, which refers to the respect young people have for their elders and the influence of the adult on the young person; and the other is mutual respect, which refers to the reciprocal influence that two people of equal status have on each other. The harmonious development of a young person, especially during adolescence, requires both these influences: “models” with which to identify, which uphold life values, and the opportunity to progress through debate and the development of rules within a group of peers.
124124 YOUNG PEOPLE ASSIMILATE THE SCOUT LAW THE SAME WAY THEY INTERNALIZE RULES: THROUGH LEADERS WHO ARE EXAMPLES OF THE LAW AND THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF GROUP LIFE IN THE PATROLS AND UNIT
These two engines are essential in the Scout Section. They are represented on the one hand by the Scout Law as a code of values, sustained by the testimony and example of the adults; and on the other by the system of “self-government” offered by the Scout Method through its small autonomous teams (the Patrols), the Unit Council (the “executive power” of the young people’s society) and the Unit Assembly (the “legislative power”) in which group life is evaluated to define and review the rules of life in common, in the light of the Scout Law.
As Piaget put it, these two elements enable the young people “to learn by experience what it means to obey the law, to belong to a social group and to accept personal responsibility”.
The Promise also reinforces the process of experiencing and internalizing values through group life. The Scout Promise is a personal decision, through which young people express their adherence to the values they have discovered, and their commitment to “do their best” to be true to these values and learn more about their meaning as time goes on. THE SCOUT LAW PROPOSES LIVING BY OUR VALUES
The Scout Law lays out in an orderly manner the values that are proposed in Scouting’s educational proposal and that young people of this age can understand and experience.
But the Law is much more than an orderly arrangement of ideas. It is a code of conduct that is offered to young people to choose and steer their course in life. What is more, it is an invitation to make those values part of their personality. If we are to be consistent, we need to think and act in accordance with our values. Only this way can our values become instruments through which to observe, interpret and experience the world.
125 The Scout Law is proposed, not imposed. It is a wholly positive and non- arbitrary proposal, expressed in language that is approachable for young people and founded on reasons that are an enticing invitation in themselves.
Through the Scout Promise, at the point in time when he or she feels ready to chose an option, each young person makes a commitment to the values proposed in the Law and pledges to make them part of his or her life.
A scout Is trustworthy Is loyal Is helpful to others Shares with everyone Is kind Protects life and nature Is organized and does nothing by halves Takes life cheerfully Takes care of his or her things and values work Is clean in thought, word and deed
126126 SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE SCOUT LAW
We will go on to discuss the proposals contained in the Scout Law, which may help you to:
broaden your understanding of them,
think about their impact on your own life; and
find the words and images to present them to the young people in your Unit.
A person is trustworthy when his A SCOUT IS or her words and deeds are consistent TRUSTWORTHY with what they carry inside. A man or a woman whom we can trust, who believes what he or she says, and says what he or she believes. It is an inner openness that enables us to come face to face with the person just as they are.
It is sincerity, genuineness, coherence, good faith. It is the opposite of hypocrisy, lies, double standards, inconsistency and bad faith.
To be trustworthy we have to love the truth and be true to what is true. It is about living and thinking –as far as possible– in truth, even if that should cause pain or misfortune. It is not lying to oneself nor to others. It is knowing that genuine sadness is better than false happiness.
A real Scout stakes his or her honour on deserving trust. On the fact that when they say “yes”, it means “yes”, and when they say “no”, it means “no”. Their honour is not staked on money, name, success, power or any of the other trappings of which people are often proud.
All their honour is based on the fact that others can trust them because their deeds are true to their words.
127 A SCOUT Loyalty –or fidelity, which is the same– is the durability of our faith in what is important. It is living in recognition IS LOYAL of what is permanent and lasting. It is the endless perpetuation of the fight against oblivion or denial. Through loyalty, we reconcile our existence with our history and our personality becomes stable, firm and consistent.
It is not a question of being faithful to anything at all: that would not be loyalty but rather routine, obstinacy, evasion or laziness. Loyalty depends on the values you are being faithful to. Faithfulness to stupid things is just a perpetuation of stupidity. You don’t change friends like you change shirts, and it would be as absurd to be faithful to a shirt as it would be reprehensible not to be loyal to your friends.
Loyalty does not pardon all sins: being loyal to something bad is worse than failing to admit complicity. Torturers swear loyalty to each other in the complicity of their work, but their fidelity in crime is criminal, because fidelity to evil is evil fidelity. And no-one can say that resentment is a virtue, for all the resentful person holds fast to his hatred.
Loyalty is the active belief in the constancy of our values. It is the full and conscious devotion to a cause, in principle and in practice, and also to the links we forge with other people as depositories of shared values. It is persistence in those of our acts we believe to be important.
For Scouts, the things that deserve our loyalty are expressed in the synthesis of our promise: love for God; service to our country, its land and its people; and the abiding effort to be true to the values contained in the Scout Law, such as truth, solidarity, protection of life and nature, cheerfulness, and cleanliness of heart.
Our personal identity is founded on this fidelity. Human beings change constantly and we are not always the same, but however intense these transformations, as Scouts, our identity is based on the loyalty we have promised to ourselves, to others, to the world and to God.
Only through loyalty is it possible to have a life plan, to project our present commitment as a way of life that we want to follow always.
128128 A SCOUT IS HELPFUL TO OTHERS By our very essence, as men and women, we are individuals who relate to each other all the time. In different ways and in differing degrees, our lives are constantly altered by the presence of other people, just as our acts have an impact on the lives of those around us.
Living in society is much more than coexistence; it is an invitation to live constructively by putting our best efforts towards attaining happiness and helping others to build their own happiness.
Scouts believe that this fulfilling experience of sharing with others is expressed in one of its most meaningful ways through service. We believe that serving others means looking upon other human beings with care and respect, it is discovering others just as they are, putting ourselves freely at their disposal so that each person can be all they are called upon to be, based on their own dignity.
We do not believe in the kind of subservience that humiliates both the giver and the receiver, nor in disdain disguised as false compassion. We believe in love born of respect, channelled into a constant and deeply-rooted attitude of solidarity, of being with others and being oneself with them. We are convinced that everything we do in benefit of others helps us to grow spiritually and be more fulfilled, it helps us to view life with hope and brings us closer to the mystery of humankind.
That is why Scouts encourage service, because we understand that through it we can find others and through others we can find God.
129 A SCOUT SHARES WITH EVERYONE
Serving others and sharing with everyone are, in a sense, two sides of a coin. How can we serve others, meaningfully and freely, unless we share with them? How can we share with others without that encounter leading us to an attitude of service and generosity?
Sharing means practising generosity. On the one hand, material generosity, by putting our goods and possessions in the service of others. But in a deeper sense, sharing is having an open attitude towards other people and their particular way of seeing the world and living their lives.
Sharing is not simply devoting time to others, it is making a space for them in our lives. Men and women who share are brave people who have dared to overcome their fears, who have trusted others and been capable of looking beyond their prejudices to really discover others and discover themselves.
Someone who shares discovers that we all have something to communicate, we all need spaces in which to express ourselves, we all deserve to be respected and appreciated. Someone who shares lives in tolerance, practises friendship and cultivates love.
130 A SCOUT IS KIND At its most humble level, kindness is the gentleness of good manners, respect and goodwill towards others. The ancient Greeks saw kindness as synonymous with humanity, the opposite of barbarity.
But it can also be seen in a much more noble context, as the ability to reach out and embrace others just because we wish them well. Kindness to the poor is something akin to generosity; kindness to the unfortunate is goodness; and shown to the guilty it can be expressed as pardon and understanding.
From this perspective, kindness becomes sweetness and develops into a force for peace, courage without violence, sensitive valour. It is the opposite of war, brutality and aggressiveness.
Kindness is the tangible expression of solidarity and love. How could we serve and reach out to others without being kind?
Being truly kind comes from within; it is never a strategy or a pose. There is nothing more false than self-seeking kindness, when someone is kind in their own interests, because they want to seduce or be successful. That is not real kindness – it has no sweetness, only narcissism and artifice. Kindness is a gift in itself and cannot be faked like an art of seduction or adulation. It is no longer kindness if it is a pretence in order to gain power over others.
The virtue of openness, patience, adaptability. A virtue that is at the very roots of Scouting, which brings together people from very different backgrounds. A virtue which is a legacy from the very soul of the Founder and which, of course, has to be practised without going against any of the other duties which come before it. Kindness is only good when it does not sacrifice the requirements of justice and love. How could we be kind to a despot and forget the rights of the persecuted? How could we smile at the hangman and ignore his victim’s pleas for protection?
Also, we must not confuse kindness and sweetness with courtesy, which is more of a formality. Courtesy is only skin-deep. A courteous Mafioso does not mitigate in the least the horrors of the Mafia. A cheat is no less worthless for being courteous and perhaps even more so. A courteous cheat is all the worse, for pretending to be something he is not.
While courtesy can be form only, the appearance of virtue and only that, kindness and sweetness are lasting and capable of transforming people, because they are deep qualities of the soul.
131 A SCOUT PROTECTS LIFE AND NATURE Life is an extraordinary phenomenon, awe-inspiring and unique. Life is the space and time of our dreams, our hopes, our passions and our efforts. Life is the beginning of our story and our story is the encounter with life.
Life is in the freshness of the morning. It is present even in the pain of disease and the horror of war. Life is present in the encounter with our friends and the longing for their warmth when they are absent. Life is the sound and silence of men and of nature. Life is in our achievements and in our failures. In men and women who forge ahead to challenge the mysteries of science and technology. Life makes human beings and human beings are called upon to respect life.
To respect and protect life is to protect and empower humanity, men and women, children, young people, adults and the elderly, without distinction as to lineage, race, creed, political thought or social condition, recognizing them as possessors of an intrinsic dignity and equal and inalienable rights which allow all the members of the human family to live in freedom, justice and peace.
To respect and protect life is also to be aware of the relationship between humankind and other animal and plant species. It is to respect nature and make an active commitment to the integrity of the environment. It is to understand that sustainable development needs people who are concerned about the future and willing to show solidarity with the destiny of humanity and of the other species which are part of the world’s ecosystem.
For Scouts, protecting life is part of our Promise and a reflection of the principles which guide us. We have made a commitment to love God, the Creator of life –human life and nature– and to serve humankind, making this world a better place for everyone, for those who are here now and those who will inhabit the planet in the future.
132 A SCOUT IS ORGANIZED We sometimes consider AND DOES NOTHING BY HALVES organizational skills to be a lesser value, having to do with order and possessed by particular people. From this perspective, we are all too willing to tolerate promises that are never kept, uncompleted projects and irresponsible statements. But Scouting’s affirmation is about much more than this: it is an invitation to use our capacity for commitment. When a Scout makes a commitment, he or she acts in keeping with it. That means keeping our word because we are trustworthy, completing what we have begun because we value work. A Scout knows that commitments are something we undertake in the eyes of other people who have trusted our word.
A person who makes a commitment organizes their time in order to attain the proposed objective. He or she respects the needs of others, is willing to take the task forward, and tackles the work he or she has embarked upon without excuses. Just because they said they would do it, they set about the task with resolve and energy, with generosity, knowing that there is nothing to boast of in discharging a task that has been committed.
The Scout is organized because he or she appreciates teamwork and understands that, for a project to be successful, everyone must play their part in it. Completing a project as a joint undertaking also entails accepting that there always has to be someone responsible for coordinating or directing the actions of the rest. Cooperating to ensure that nothing is left half-done means knowing how to work as a team: listening, reviewing one’s own mental models, delegating responsibilities, directing the work, undertaking the promised tasks and following recommendations. A person who has proven him or herself capable of obeying will have many more tools for leadership and will certainly be more effective when it is his or her turn to cooperate.
For Scouting, the value of being organized is that it reflects a person’s ability to undertake commitments, both to a task and to the people who are working towards achieving it. Those of us who are Scouts have great respect for the given word and when we have made a commitment to do something, we try to do it well.
133 A SCOUT TAKES LIFE CHEERFULLY A normal healthy child shouts aloud with joy when the class is over and a new part of the day begins. A child loves novelty, the unexpected, an adventure. A child embraces life like someone biting hungrily into an apple. This is how life deserves to be lived.
The joy of living does not preclude a serious attitude to our obligations and relationships. But this seriousness should not be confused with moroseness. Life taken with cheerfulness has a certain taste of triumph about it and transmits the feeling that the person is making the most of their existence. Maybe this is because cheerfulness is an expression of happiness and the search for happiness is what we devote our best efforts to.
There is no shortage of reasons to feel sad or angry, and there are plenty of reasons to be disconcerted or sometimes even desperate. Sadness, anger, confusion and desperation are deeply rooted in fear. Fear of the future, or fear of not being able to control everything that might happen to us, fear that our reactions will not live up to expectations. And perhaps that fear originates in a great vanity, in believing ourselves to be too important or too powerful.
Cheerfulness does not mean laughing at others’ misfortune. That would be vain humour, empty and irresponsible laughter. A person who approaches life cheerfully starts by laughing at their own pretension and their own absurdities. They understand not only that the strength to face difficulties comes from the will, but that the will works better when accompanied by a smile. Cheerfulness is more than passing comic amusement. It is a permanent disposition to see the bright side of things and not the gloomy side, as Baden-Powell enjoined us.
Cheerfulness is not laughing at others. That is sarcasm, derision or irony, which is hurtful and not constructive, since it is laughing at the expense of others. Instead, cheerfulness is about laughing with others and inviting them to laugh too, sharing in the good cheer.
Knowing how to laugh is also a sign of good health. It is healthy to be able to look upon even the most desperate situation with a smile. It is health of the body and also of the soul. It is even a sign of wisdom, because can anyone really be wise without a good dose of humour?
Optimism gives us a shield against fear, heightens our curiosity about the uncertain, pushes us to take risks and embark upon adventures. Good humour is an engine which not only benefits ourselves, but also passes on a contagious enthusiasm and goodwill to those around us. Cheerfulness makes us kinder and more lucid, and increases our ability to give friendship and service to others.
134 A SCOUT TAKES CARE OF HIS OR HER THINGS Humankind is called AND VALUES WORK upon to continue God’s work of creation in the world. For this we have to discover our potential and use it to do our part in building the world. Giving the best we can give, creatively and in full awareness of the diversity of human skills and expressions.
The history of human effort –and profound social and economic, and scientific and technological changes- has given us the false impression that progress and development consist of the advance of science or mastery of technology, including information technology. Certainly, put to good use, science and technology –like other branches of knowledge– help us to improve our quality of life. But these are nothing without human effort.
Change, progress and development come about thanks to the thoughts, hearts and hands of people. Very few things would be possible without human work and effort. Human work has enabled us to overcome diseases, build cities, establish rapid and efficient forms of communication and technify the production processes. In other words, to make our dreams of progress a reality and improve our quality of life.
Scouts value work because we value humankind and we respect the dreams and utopias of thousands of men and women who unstintingly pour out their efforts day after day. And Scouts take care of things because things are born of human effort.
We are not interested in the mere accumulation of goods, because we know that these are not enough for human happiness. We do not allow ourselves to be caught up in the consumer society, because we know that human truth does not lie in having, but in being. And that is why we strive to do our best every day and prepare ourselves to help build a world that shelters the hopes of humanity and discovers the potential of each of its children.
135 A SCOUT IS CLEAN in THOUGHT, This part of the Scout Law, WORD AND DEED which refers to integrity and purity, was an addition to the original text made later by Baden-Powell. In itself it does not add anything new to the rest. Its only purpose is to ask us to examine the spirit in which we accept and practise the other proposals in our lives.
We often associate purity with sexual matters, and this is understandable, because purity is closely related to love. Love, or the lack of it, and purity or impurity affect much more than sex, however.
Something is pure when it is free of anything that could alter or adulterate its basic nature. So purity, understood as cleanliness of heart or rectitude of conscience, is the opposite of interest, selfishness, avarice, and anything sordid that could contaminate our words or deeds.
Anything we do unwillingly or with evil intentions is impure. Anything that profanes, lowers, corrupts or makes vile is impure, and anything that twists the sense of what we think or do. It is impure to tell the truth only when it suits us, to feign loyalty, to use others while pretending to help them, to share only with those from whom we can gain something, disguise derision as humour, to do things only because we have to.
In our sexual lives purity does not mean the absence of desire –which would be a disorder– nor is it synonymous with ignorance or naivety. It is not bad to love each other; but it is bad to love only oneself, to love the other as if he or she were an object, to seek to enjoy rather than to love, taking pleasure rather than gladdening, enjoying as one would enjoy food or wine, possessing and consuming. Impurity is not an excess of love, but a lack of love.
Purity is loving the other truly, as a person, respecting them, defending them, even against our own desire. Love which gives and protects, the love of friendship, of benevolence, the love of charity, pure love.
For that reason this last proposal of the Scout Law invites us to take a good look at ourselves, to constantly question the integrity of our souls, and of our thoughts, words and deeds. It is not an externally-imposed prescription for good behaviour and still less a ban on bad language. It is a burning question which brings us face to face with the significance of our commitment: “Are the values which live in us really what we think they are?”
136 THE scout PROMISE
THE PROMISE IS A VOLUNTARY COMMITMENT
The Promise is a voluntary commitment made to oneself, to others and to God, to keep the Scout Law. Its words and concepts are simple and set out the commitment in a way that a young person might say it naturally.
I PROMISE TO DO MY BEST TO LOVE GOD, SERVE MY COUNTRY, WORK FOR PEACE AND BE TRUE TO THE SCOUT LAW.
137 THROUGH THE PROMISE, WE MAKE A COMMITMENT TO BE THE BEST WE CAN BE
The Promise is a voluntary offering and not an oath. When they make their Promise, young boys and girls freely undertake a commitment. They do not renounce anything nor do they take a vow of military or religious nature.
In addition, boys and girls do not promise never to fail in the commitment they have undertaken. That would be impossible and contrary to human nature. They simply promise to give the best of themselves to keep their word. But it is a promise that they make in complete sincerity, with the firm intention to do their best.
For the same reason, the leaders should exercise good judgement when they refer to the young people’s commitment. Mention of the Promise should be as natural and clear as possible, with no irony or veiled allusions. They should never use words or gestures that suggest they have any doubt about the sincerity of the commitment. They should never reproach an individual or a group in any way over the Promise and any discussion with a young person on aspects that he or she could try to improve should be conducted in a personal and private manner.
Reference to the young people’s Promise should be reserved for use as an educational support tool for more open and intimate moments in the group. It is a means to bring into the midst of the community the memory of the values that justify its existence and to which its members have made a commitment. It is not advisable to use this resource too often, as it will lose its power if it becomes common currency. In any case, if the leaders find that they need to evoke the Promise frequently, this may be a sign that something is far amiss in the system.
OUR FIRST COMMITMENT IS TO GOD God is always present in the day-to-day existence of a Scout Unit, and it is to be hoped that He is also at the heart of the young people’s new concerns and projects.
As in any other activity, therefore, it is natural that God’s name appears in the Promise. How can we make such a serious commitment without inviting God to witness it?
God is much more than a witness, however. He is not there just to ensure that the Promise is made before the greatest presence in a young person’s life. His presence at the Promise is part of the personal relationship that each young person establishes with Him. It is a gesture of acknowledgement of the link between them. As the Creator of all things, God is the first addressee of the Promise, which is made before Him and in Him.
138 Furthermore, the Promise contains an implicit commitment to deepen our relationship with God. Thus the first thing we promise is to love God. Love is a gift that comes from God, it is the greatest of all virtues and Scouts believe that it is present in everything that we do. How could we fail to return this gift to God? How could we fail to return His love in the same way?
When young people promise to love God it does not mean that God is the only recipient of their love, but that they promise to steer their lives with love: love for others, for their family, for their friends, for created things and for their country. Love is everything. Love is enough. That is why a person who loves grows as an individual and grows closer to Him.
Of course young people’s vision of love for God will vary depending on their religion. In most religions, however, love for God is seen as it has been presented in these paragraphs.
WE MAKE A COMMITMENT TO OUR COUNTRY AND TO PEACE A country is above all a territory, a piece of land where we were born or that took us in at a given moment of our lives, or which we have chosen for one reason or another. To serve my country is thus, first, to serve the land in which we live, the natural space that we occupy in the wider world. Serving our country therefore means protecting nature, making the soil more fertile, keeping the air pure and the water clean, eliminating waste, not polluting, in short, protecting the surroundings in which we live.
139 A country is also a people who live on the same piece of land as we do. How could we serve our country without making a commitment to its people? To serve my country is therefore also a commitment to justice as the basis for peace, a commitment to those who suffer, to the poor, the marginalized, to those who are segregated or left aside. This is how the expression to serve my country becomes solidarity with its people.
A country is also a cultural heritage, a way in which people have built their history around the piece of land that they inhabit. We cannot love our land and its people unless we also love the cultural roots and origins. Therefore serve my country also means love for the music, traditions, language and cultural styles that form part of our identity. It means acknowledging them, encouraging and taking pride in them.
140 There is always a risk that pride in our own country may be construed as an exclusive sentiment, as a love that is justified by the childish fiction that our country is the best or that our race is better than all the others. But we can be true to our own roots without discriminating against or looking down upon the culture of other peoples. The Promise is also a commitment to work for peace. Working for peace means opening ourselves to international realities, valuing diversity, understanding other cultures and overcoming racist or nationalist tendencies.
When they make their Promise, young people must be invited to try to understand all the dimensions of these expressions and to make a commitment to their deeper meaning. A person who serves their country and works for peace is not created overnight. Such a person is formed in a culture that allows them to experience these dimensions from childhood.
WE PROMISE TO MAKE THE SCOUT LAW AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR LIFE
Finally, the Promise is the way in which young people make a commitment to the Scout Law. Their commitment does not consist of knowing the Law by heart, or reciting it without hesitating or tripping up, or knowing the strict order or number of its articles, or even respecting or just “keeping” it, as if it were an external rule like a set of traffic regulations.
The commitment to the Scout Law is something more. It is about living the Scout Law –making it part of our convictions and of our make up, as if it were in our muscle fibre and our bloodstream. If values are embodied in this way, then the Law will be a natural reflection of our personality, attitudes and behaviour, with no need to pretend or make an effort to “keep it up”. This is making the shift from conventional morality to moral autonomy. And that is what the Scout law is all about.
Also, living the Scout law is not just a promise we make for our youth or while we remain in Scouting. The commitment is for life, in Scouting and outside it. It is for our youth and for carrying into our adult lives. This is what many former Scouts mean when they say “once a Scout, always a Scout”.
141 MAKING THE PROMISE IS A VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT IN THE LIFE OF A SCOUT
The Promise is not made at just any time. The young person’s request must be given the importance it deserves, by setting aside a special time, in a suitable place, with due preparation. The Unit, friends and family are given notice of when the Promise is to be made and a little ceremony is organized.
This ceremony should not be excessively serious or complicated. It should certainly not resemble an initiation rite in any way. It is simple and solemn. It is a genuine celebration in which the Unit and the players in its environment celebrate the fact that a young girl or boy is willing to undertake and fulfil a commitment which he or she has freely chosen to make.
Sometimes there is a tradition of giving the neckerchief only after the Promise has been made, but this is not really a good idea. The neckerchief is part of the uniform and does not symbolize commitment. The only suitable symbol to give on this occasion is the Promise badge, which the young person wears on his or her uniform to signal their commitment.
THE YOUNG PEOPLE DECIDE IF THEY ARE READY TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT
There is no particular right time to make the Promise. It is not linked to the young person’s personal progress stages. The young person simply makes his or her Promise when he or she has finished the introductory period, feels ready and asks the Patrol Council to accept the request. The leaders should not doubt or question the purpose of the request. Likewise, they should never postpone a promise which has been proposed by the Patrol Council, even if they feel there is a good reason for doing so.
142 THE MOTTO REMINDS US OF THE PROMISE WE HAVE MADE
The Scout motto is closely linked to the Promise:
BE PREPARED!
It is almost a shout, a cry of alert, a reminder of the Promise, by which young people remind themselves that they have made a commitment to the Scout Law.
It is not a good idea to overdo the motto by getting the young people to shout it out all the time. It is for important moments: a farewell, the close of a meeting, setting off for camp, beginning a new day. Chorusing the motto is like renewing the Promise, and this symbolic renewal must be afforded the importance it deserves.
THE GOOD TURN IS A DEMONSTRATION OF THE COMMITMENT UNDERTAKEN
The good turn that Scouts try to do every day is closely linked to the Promise and motto.
The good turn is an invitation to act, to turn the commitment into concrete action. It is not enough to shout the motto aloud and remember that one has made a commitment. You also have to do things that show you are acting on that commitment and that motto.
The small services which young people can offer others and the modest help they can give on a day-to-day basis are an invitation to show their spirit of service, a demonstration that they are living up to the motto be prepared.
Daily good turns may not seem very significant from the adult point of view. But the adult perspective is not at issue. This educational instrument was not intended to make Scouts solve complex social problems, but rather to keep alive within them a permanent willingness to serve others. It is about combating indifference and showing that other people are important.
At first it may feel a little artificial to have to carry out a good turn every day. This does not matter much either since, little by little, this activity will generate an attitude and, when that happens, the spirit of service will have become a natural expression of the young person’s character, an integral part of his or her personality.
143 THE SCOUT PRAYER ASKS FOR THE STRENGTH TO MEET OUR COMMITMENT
Whatever their religious beliefs, Scouts throughout the world have made this beautiful prayer their own:
Lord teach us to be generous, to serve You as You deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to fear harm, to work and not to ask for rest and to seek no other reward than that of knowing we do Your will.
The words of the prayer denote total devotion to the concept of love, which imbues all the proposals of the Promise and Law, and asks God for the strength to carry out what we have promised.
144 The role of the scout 7leaders
145 Contents
SCOUT SCOUT LEADERS LEADERS AS EDUCATORS
• Beyond • There are some basic requirements the traditional perspectives • Knowing the young people on Adult Leaders • Being able to establish • The Leaders design empathic relationships the Scout Unit • Being willing to learn • Scout Leaders and to grow as a person as guardians of the mission • Knowing how to run • Scout Leaders and evaluate activities administer the vision • Helping someone else to grow • Scout Leaders motivate • Being involved with the community • The Scout Leader • Working as a team generates commitments • Having the time • The Scout Leader • Knowing how to perceive is an educator and control risk
146 SCOUT LEADERS BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON ADULT LEADERS In order for the symbolic framework, the Patrol system, group life, objectives, activities, programme cycle and other elements laid out in this Handbook to produce the desired effects, the Unit needs Adult Leaders who are capable of implementing them with creativity and giving life to a Scout Unit.
The first thing we have to do to obtain these Leaders is to look beyond our traditional perspectives on leadership.
We usually picture a Scout Leader as a special person who shows the way, takes crucial decisions, musters the troops, solves problems everywhere at once and draws a mass of followers behind him or her. These leaders of our dreams are based on supposed parallels with other people’s impotence, their lack of personal vision, their inability to solve problems for themselves, their lack of skill in handling processes of change – shortcomings which it might appear that only great leaders can remedy.
As we fail to recognize the great leaders of our dreams among the human resources we have available, we impose a cumbersome code of restraints and “regulations” on the actions of our leaders and run the risk of generating mere “programme operators”, who have a routine approach and lack creativity. This lowers the level of the leaders we recruit, makes them more dependent on “instructions”, reduces the relevance and excitement of the programme of activities and tires even the best and most enthusiastic Leaders.
147 What are the leaders we need really like? Simply willing men and women, adults of different ages, who are mature and balanced, and know the Scout Method well enough to enjoy being free to innovate; they are able to share a project for the future, they can motivate others and generate commitments and they realize that they are responsible for an educational task that benefits young people and helps the Leaders themselves to grow as people.
THE LEADERS DESIGN What do we mean by THE SCOUT UNIT “designing” a Scout Unit? The Scout Method is not a grid of boxes and arrows. It is not like the manual for an automatic washing machine with pre-set programmes, which shows us which button to press for the wash cycle we want. It is a set of inspiring principles and useful techniques that require to be understood as a totality and then adapted and integrated into the daily life of a Scout Unit, taking into account the particular environment of the Unit and the individuals who comprise it.
The essence of design consists of seeing how the parts fit together to work as an integrated whole in a determined situation. It is by nature an integrating activity, because its purpose is to make something work well in practice. It calls for knowledge, imagination and freedom.
148 A car that has the best engine, the best gears and the best seats, but cannot be safely driven on wet roads would not be well designed. The purpose of Unit design is to make the Scout Method work well on wet roads... or twisty lanes, on loose gravel or in heavy traffic.
Only the Unit Leaders hold the key to this “field” information. So –armed with a good knowledge of the Method and how it works- they alone have to use their imagination and apply the Method to suit the reality. There are no two identical situations nor two Units exactly the same. That is why we cannot expect recipes for instant success or magic formulas from people who do not know that reality. The most magical formula of all for the Unit is the one that is designed and built by its own Leaders.
What tasks are involved in designing a Unit?
It is impossible to make an exhaustive list, since reality presents us with challenges that are changing constantly. We can provide some examples, however, that help to understand this first role of Scout Leaders.
Design includes, for example, the processes of initiating and making changes. In a small Unit that has recently been created, it may not be a priority to invest too much time in making sure that every element is working properly. These can be consolidated gradually as the Unit grows. But it is important to ensure that the Patrol System works well from the start, to create a “culture” that respects the autonomy of the small groups. In a longer established and more numerous Unit, which the leaders suddenly realize has always worked like one huge Patrol, the Patrol System will have to be established gradually otherwise the “shock” may threaten its stability. No rule book can tell us how to do this; rather, it is a process that has to be managed by Leaders with vision.
Designing means adapting our expectations to the social, economic and cultural conditions in which we are acting. A state-run school in a marginalized community in a low-income city cannot be expected to provide Patrol meeting places immediately after the Unit starts up, even if the meeting place is an essential part of the Patrol’s identity. It is necessary to “design” a means to earn that space, to build trust in the community and to think up alternatives in the meantime.
Designing a Unit entails the ability to perceive subtleties that can account for certain situations. For example, the Leaders of a Scout Unit in a Catholic parish who complain about the lack of support they receive from the priest, may have failed to realize that they have been programming most of their excursions on precisely the days when that community celebrates important religious festivals.
Design includes assessing the actors and needs in each situation and implementing strategies which are suitable in terms of time and place. It will be difficult to implement the Patrol System in an upper-middle class school if the Patrol Leaders are so influenced by the competitive social environment and so keen to see results that they fail to take the time to let the Patrol become a learning community.
149 Design involves preparing and improving the learning processes of the Patrol Leaders, adapting the processes to the situation of the people, to help them to learn to deal productively with critical situations. Otherwise, the Adult Leaders will create a relationship of dependency from the start, in which they will be doing the tasks that the young people should be doing as part of their learning process. Handbooks and courses are no substitute for this aspect of designwork; however good their content, they cannot take account of the particular needs of the Patrol Leaders in any given Unit.
Design means thinking out and implementing the changes that are involved in a Patrol’s decision to be mixed or single-sex, or anticipating the effects of such a decision, or regulating the imbalances that are often caused by changes in the make-up of Patrols, either when new members join or when old members leave to join the next Section.
Design is a responsibility that Adult Leaders often neglect. Design responsibilities are behind the scenes and have a relatively low profile. Just as the way the Unit works today is the result of decisions that were made or tasks that were carried out in the past, what we do today will yield benefits only in the medium term.
Those who like to see instant results will find the quiet and patient work of design rather unattractive. But there is no substitute for design and it rewards those who are persistent. And in design you have to be persistent, because it is not something you do “once and for all”. It is an ongoing task, which obliges us to rethink and redesign every time circumstances make it necessary.
We have said that a full understanding of the Scout Method is essential for the success of the ongoing process of adaptation involved in design. Otherwise, these adaptations may easily become “diversions”. It is fear of such diversions that sometimes prompt the Scout authorities to turn the Method into a cumbersome set of regulations, weighed down with rules about what we can and cannot do. This scares Leaders off, bores the young people and restricts the freedom of design. It places the Unit in danger of becoming obsolete.
Consequently, the first responsibility of the Team of Adult Leaders is design, and the task is ongoing. To design well it is necessary to:
understand the Scout Method in its entirety;
gauge the reality of the environment in order to adapt effectively;
know the members of the Unit to successfully integrate all the components of the Method.
150 SCOUT LEADERS As GUARDIANS OF THE MISSION
When we discussed the Scout Unit we said that young people are also involved in the mission of Scouting, but not consciously, since they do not join the Unit to find help in building their personality. They join Scouting because they are attracted to the adventure of exploring new territories with a group of friends. As they experience this adventure in the atmosphere of the Unit, the learning process –which is the mission of Scouting– follows as a natural consequence of that environment, in other words, of group life.
We already know that group life is achieved by applying the elements of the Scout Method in an integrated way. We have also said that group life is the responsibility of the Scout Unit, which constantly pinpoints the sense of what is being done and how it is being done.
To say that the Unit is responsible for group life is the same as saying that the Leaders are responsible, since in the structure of the Unit they are the ones responsible for educational support. No other agent in the Unit can undertake this task. That is why we say that the Leaders are guardians of the mission.
Being a guardian of the mission does not mean preaching it, promoting it with posters on the walls or getting the young people to recite it. That would be boring, inconsistent and not conducive to any kind of learning whatsoever. Overseeing the mission means overseeing that all the elements of the Method are applied fully, creating the conditions that generate group life.
Overseeing the mission also means being an example of it. No Scout Leader can conceivably believe that the Scout Law is applicable only to the young people. Scout Leaders cannot impose activities as they please or condense life in the outdoors to a couple of picnics because they do not like camping or have no time for it.
151 SCOUT LEADERS ADMINISTER THE VISION
In chapter 5 we also mentioned that the vision –which is expressed in the Unit’s yearly objectives– is the Scout Unit’s image of its own future. We also said that when it is shared it becomes an impressively powerful force in the hearts of all its members, creating a shared link that infuses the Unit and affords consistency to all that it does.
The vision grows and expands like a self-reinforcing spiral of communication and energy. As we speak about the vision and more people adhere to it, it becomes clearer and enthusiasm grows. The first successes towards achieving the vision swell the enthusiasm. But the visionary process is not hitch-free and is necessarily subject to certain constraints:
As more people join in or Leaders change, more “future ideals” are added, the focus becomes hazier and conflicts may be generated. Leaders and Patrols ask themselves if the shared vision cannot be altered, if personal or Patrol visions are unimportant or if those who do not agree should change their standpoint.
Closing ourselves to all these possibilities slows the process of shared vision, brews conflicts and means that people only accept the group decision rather than really sharing it. The best approach is to investigate the diverging visions, give them space and allow the shared vision to be broadened or deepened, seeking to “harmonize” the diversity.
The gap that begins to be perceived between the vision and the reality is another limiting factor. The Unit Council may become discouraged by the apparent difficulty in making the vision a reality, which means that the Adult Leaders have to boost individual capacities to sustain adherence to the vision.
The vision can also wither away when the leaders feel overpowered by the “day-to-day” reality and lose sight of it. In this case, they need to spend less time on routine matters and hold more conversations about future projects.
152 In all these cases, the leaders act as “administrators” of the vision. They make sure that it grows in strength and tackle the factors that threaten to erode it. If the leaders neglect the vision, they run the risk that the Patrols forget their mutual bonds, which is when people begin to lobby for personal points of view or the action becomes routine or bureaucratic.
In order to play their part as administrators of the vision, the Unit Leaders must ensure that they never lose sight of the history of purpose, understood as the general explanation of why we are doing what we are doing, how the Unit needs to evolve and how that evolution is part of something bigger, part of a “wider” history. This gives the vision depth and creates a horizon where dreams and personal goals stand out as milestones on a longer journey.
History of purpose does not come from the universal values of Scouting alone. Other factors that are part of it include: the history of the Scout Group to which the Unit belongs, the values passed down from the sponsoring institution, the style of the community in which it acts, the struggles and conquests of the past, the “legends” that are passed on about the great moments of the Unit or Scout Group and many other things that are relevant to its development. History of purpose contextualizes the reason for what we are doing and maintains the stability of the Unit.
SCOUT LEADERS MOTIVATE Through their example and their many dialogues with the young people, the Leaders invite them to develop their behaviour in a certain way and pass on enthusiasm about the Unit’s shared vision and about exploring new territories, strengthening the Patrols, completing the programmes of activities and committing to their personal growth.
Through communication, understood as a process of sharing meanings, there is a gradual enchantment which generates accord (from acordis, a single heart) and which motivates the young people to act in a certain way (from moto, to move). In other words, to move as a single heart.
153 One of the areas in which the Leaders’ role of motivating is most important is in promoting activities. The young people think up and propose Unit or Patrol activities, but often the Leaders have to stimulate their imagination, slip them ideas, suggest initiatives and help maintain the enthusiasm for the activity to be attractive, adventurous and exciting. And they have to do so without standing on the front line, leaving the spaces that correspond to the young people and reappearing when they are needed. It is of little use to a Leader to be an expert in the psychology of the age group and in the Scout Method if he or she has not built up skills for encouraging activities.
154154 To act as a motivator it is necessary to prioritize relationships, genuinely helping others to understand and discover things for themselves, giving them full freedom to choose. The Scout Leader shows, reveals, invites, and smooths the way for others to discover for themselves.
For this to be an authentic relationship it must be free of any desire to impose. It means motivating without controlling or being demagogic. It means motivating without manipulating, without weaving an emotional trap into the proposal that makes it impossible for the other person to say no. It means motivating without adulating and without celebrating fictitious successes merely to gain adherence.
The image which most drastically contradicts what motivation should be is that of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who bewitched the rats with his music drawing them out of the city to plunge into a river gorge.
The idea which best shows what a Scout Leader can be as a motivator was captured by the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran. Speaking about parents and children, he grasps the special sense of responsibility without possessiveness:
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable. THE SCOUT LEADER GENERATES COMMITMENTS
Motivation is in the Leaders’ front line of action with the young people, but motivation is not enough. The objective of motivation is to get the young people to make choices freely.
Possible options for the young people arise at different levels:
Some options are objective and collective, such as the option on the Unit’s shared vision of the future, through which the young person contributes his or her personal vision to the shared vision adopted by the Unit Assembly.
Other options are subjective and personal, such as when to make one’s Promise, which will imply a commitment to the Scout Law. This is a key option within the young person’s participation in Scouting.
155 Another option of this type is to commit to educational objectives that will help him or her to grow as a person. Here the Scout Method proposes a series of objectives to the young people, which are based on scout values and cover all the areas of their personality. They have the option of modifying or widening this proposal, until it fits what they want to achieve. They make this choice after considering it with the Patrol and the Adult Leader who monitors their progress. We will look at this in detail when we discuss the educational objectives.
The young people also address operational options, such as the activities they want to carry out. These are the simplest options of all and take place in the heart of the Patrol and at the Unit Assembly.
The whole Scout Method represents a constant encouragement for the young person to exercise his or her capacity for choosing options and making decisions, such as which Patrol to join, the election of the Patrol authorities, the tasks to undertake in an activity and the proficiencies he or she will pursue.
Once an option is taken, the Leader tries to get the young people to make the shift from motivation to commitment, encouraging them to assimilate these options as part of their lives.
To achieve this commitment, the Leaders help the young person to constantly return to the meaning of the option they have taken. A job that has no meaning does not generate commitment; it might gain acceptance at the most. Like Sisyphus, whom Greek mythology condemns to push a rock up a hill eternally only to have it roll down again every time he reaches the summit.
Lastly, commitment is a word which implies reciprocity. It alludes to the creation of mutuality in the relationship. The etymology of the word –“together on a mission”– refers to precisely this reciprocity. The Scout Leader is not a professional “commitment-maker” who can remain apart from the commitment generated. On the contrary, to invite someone to undertake a commitment is to undertake it oneself. The one who “commits” the other undertakes the commitment of being an example of that which gives meaning to the commitment.
If you ask someone to adhere to a vision, there and then you are implicitly affirming your own commitment to that vision. When you invite young people to commit themselves to achieving the educational objectives for which they have opted, you are making a commitment to support them in their growth. When you ask for a task to be carried out responsibly, you make a commitment to work jointly to achieve that task. The young people’s commitment and leaders’ example are a single undertaking.
THE SCOUT LEADER IS AN EDUCATOR This is the best known, central and most evident role of the Scout Leader, but it is not the only one and it is not carried out in isolation from the other roles. The Scout Leader acts as an educator as a culmination of his or her roles as designer, guardian of the mission, administrator of the vision, motivator and generator of commitments.
156 Learning is not possible in a badly designed Unit, in which the proceedings are interrupted every five minutes because things have not been well thought out or done properly. There can be no learning in a Unit that lacks a sense of mission and an educational space that is generated by group life, in other words, by the interaction among all the elements of the Scout Method. The Scout educational process will not work if there is no shared vision of the future that we are building together. Likewise, there can be no learning if the young people are not motivated and do not make a voluntary commitment to their own personal growth. Thus the Scout Leader discharges the role of educator in combination with all the other roles.
Also, the Scout Leader’s role as an educator cannot be exercised in the classic manner we are accustomed to seeing in other educational environments. When we analysed the Patrol as a learning community we said that all learning is a process of change. That is why acting as an educator makes the Scout Leader an agent of change.
157 How does Scout education relate to change?
Participation and anticipation are both basic features of learning through the Scout Method.
Participation is understood to be a voluntary and momentum-gathering process of cooperation and dialogue between the young people in shared Patrol or Unit matters, in which they learn by discovering things “together”.
Anticipation implies a future perspective, a look ahead at events which are coming. It is expressed collectively as a vision and individually as a set of activities directed at the achievement of certain personal objectives.
This type of learning generates both integration and autonomy, which are two poles of the same axis. Through integration the young person learns to live in society, and through autonomy he or she learns to differentiate him or herself from others, by means of a personal project that is conducive to self-fulfilment.
Unlike traditional learning, which is largely targeted at adapting people to their environment and preparing them to resolve known situations, Scout learning revolves around change, renovation, restructuring and reformulation of problems. This prepares the young people to act in the new situations that arise in a world which is constantly changing. Hence the close relationship between change and Scout learning.
To bring about this innovative learning, as well as encouraging commitment, the Scout Leader generates a certain tension between the reality and the future ideal. This tension prompts the young person to act in pursuit of a vision of a better future, of a better way of being.
This creative tension is present in everything that attempts to move human beings in a certain direction. There is no change without clarity of mission and vision. If there is no mission, why change? If there is no vision, where would change take us?
On 28 August 1963, at the mass civil rights rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, the Baptist Pastor Martin Luther King began his historic speech with the words “I have a dream”. He went on to unfold his vision of the egalitarian American society of which he dreamt. The tension that King created between the reality of the time and his shared dream led to the United States Government passing the Civil Rights Act in favour of racial minorities in 1964.
By means of the creative tension they generate in the young people, Scout Leaders show them the future and make it possible. In the words of Martin Luther King, it consists of “making the issue too dramatic to ignore any more”. Educating is affording importance to the issue of personal growth. Educating is showing possible futures, accompanying the young people towards what they can and want to be. It is passing on the values they need to gain access to the future, to change the present reality.
By generating this creative tension in the young people, the Leader sows in them the capacity to enter the desired future by themselves. There is no need to push them, hurry them or pressure them towards that future, just accompany them. In this sense the role of the Scout Leader is to transcend, by getting the young people to make progress as a result of the conditions that have been created, but by their own efforts.
158 If they are to educate through anticipation and generate a creative tension between the present and the future, the Team of Leaders cannot consist only of people close in age to the Scouts. It must include adults of different ages who have enough experience of life to give them a “preview” of what is coming.
However, if the Team is formed exclusively of older leaders, activities may be less dynamic and it may be difficult to establish a horizontal relationship with the young people. It is therefore advisable to form multigenerational teams, to generate a balance between the different skills that are required.
159 SCOUT LEADERS AS EDUCATORS
THERE ARE SOME To be able to carry out BASIC REQUIREMENTS their responsibilities, Leaders must have or acquire certain prerequisites or basic conditions of an educational nature that will enable them to undertake the functions we have described. administers the vision
oversees the mission motivates The role of the Scout Leader… designs generates commitments educates perceiving knowing the and controlling young people risk
establishing having empathic the time relationships and the “musts” for a Scout being willing Leader… working to learn and to as a team grow as a person being knowing how to involved in the run and evaluate community activities helping someone else to grow
160 KNOWING THE YOUNG PEOPLE Knowledge of the young people involves two aspects: first, the general characteristics of girls and boys between the ages of 11 and 15, in all the dimensions of their personality; and second, the individual and unique way of being of each young person, which depends on innumerable factors relating to their nature, their family, the environment in which they act and their personal history.
BEING ABLE TO ESTABLISH EMPATHIC RELATIONSHIPS Empathy is the ability to feel someone else’s feelings and thus understand both the feelings and the person by “putting yourself in their place”.
A relationship based on empathy supposes above all inner silence, time and willingness to listen. It also requires maturity and personal balance to understand and value what you are hearing. It requires the ability to observe and, above all, to control anxiety and let the other person take the initiative.
161 Empathy with young people also involves the ability to share their amazement about things, be enthusiastic about their projects and “get into the spirit”, identifying with them and revelling in the atmosphere of exploration which imbues the Unit. This ability is necessary in order to be able to enter into the game without losing one’s adult status, and without becoming confused with the young people. While sharing in the adventure with them, the Leader helps them to see things that they might not have seen otherwise.
Empathy also means letting the young people take the time they need to progress. You must resist giving in to frustration or aggressiveness, or to feeling that you have failed. You have to be willing to start again, and try over and over again. As we have seen, you have to know how to disappear when you are not needed and be ready to reappear at the right time.
BEING WILLING TO LEARN AND In a learning-centred system like the Scout Method, those TO GROW AS A PERSON who apply it should be the first to demonstrate their willingness to learn all the time. Fortunately, we never stop learning and everything in life offers us the opportunity to do so, so it is to a large extent up to us to learn, unlearn and relearn continually, thinking about our task in a self-critical way.
The attitude of learning gradually forms educational ability, which is reflected not only in the information we know, but also in our skills for sharing meaning, listening, coordinating processes and doing things well. Not just getting better at the job, but growing as a person, for the sake of the young people and your own.
This continuous learning is achieved by learning from the young people themselves, from other leaders, from the parents, the Association’s training system, the community, social realities, from what you read and from your experiences.
162 KNOWING HOW TO RUN AND EVALUATE ACTIVITIES
When we discussed the Leader’s role as a motivator we said that he or she had to encourage the young people to take the initiative in generating activities. He or she must also be able to run and evaluate the young people’s activities jointly with them. This adds the requirement for the skills of organization and analysis.
In particular, it is not only these skills that are needed, but also the ability to help others to organize themselves and to learn to conduct and evaluate activities by themselves. This implies learning to keep up the young people’s efforts while generating the individual and team abilities to make them progressively more autonomous.
HELPING SOMEONE The activities that the ELSE TO GROW young people carry out give them personal experiences. Over time, these experiences lead to the achievement of the educational objectives in a gradual, sequential and cumulative manner. But this process is neither automatic nor unconscious. The young person needs the dialogue, company and support of peer group, family and Scout Leaders.
This means that the Leader needs to have the ability to help the young people in many tasks such as setting personal objectives, keeping up the effort to achieve them, knowing how to admit and acknowledge shortcomings and progress, tolerating failures and being willing to start over. In short, to have certain attitudes and skills that enable young people to recognize and accept him or her as a valid interlocutor with respect to their personal growth. Clearly, this also calls for personal development on the part of the Leader.
163 BEING INVOLVED When we spoke of the WITH THE COMMUNITY Patrols we said that they do not learn in isolation, but that the Scout Method invites them to become involved in the nearby community and take an interest in the wider community, the globalized world in which we live today.
The Leaders who serve as a model for these Patrols have to set an example of this proposition. How can we expect young people to take an interest in the world and play a constructive role in society if the Leaders themselves are not actively involved in the community?
People who have failed to reach maturity and use their Scout leadership as a way to compensate for unresolved personal frustrations have nothing to offer Scouting. Neither do people who have no commitment to developing society. Still less is Scout leadership suited to people who do not even play an active role in society, however small, and who appear to need to escape their responsibilities by taking refuge in what they perceive as the sheltered environment of Scouting.
WORKING AS A TEAM
A team is a group in which the behaviour and performance of one person is influenced by the behaviour and performance of the others. When two or more join their efforts they generate synergy, which means that performance is boosted, and the result is more than the sum of two individual performances.
The team dynamic cuts across the whole of the Scout Method. So a Scout Leader must be capable of working with others, contributing his or her personal talents and accepting and valuing the contributions of the others.
Working as a team is not just working alongside others, but working in an integrated manner with them. This requires the personal ability to tolerate and handle differences and ultimately to make individual points of view converge.
164 HAVING THE TIME
The tasks of the Leader in a Scout Unit demand time. This needs to be quality time, freely given. Try not to have other things on your mind, and you will be able to give the best of yourself, without doing things by halves, falling behind or doing things hurriedly or unprepared.
A Leader should make a commitment to the post for a pre-established period, ideally for 3 years. This will give the work continuity, produce palpable results and enable better observation of the personal development of the young people you monitor and assess. On a personal level, it will enable you to “grow into the job” and enjoy doing it better and better.
A stable Team of Leaders gives the Unit stability.
PERCEIVING AND CONTROLLING RISK Like in any human undertaking, the activities of the Unit are subject to a certain level of risk. Even more so in a system of trust, which encourages the young people to learn by letting them use their liberty more freely. Outside the limits of their normal controls, young people become more independent, but this does not mean that they have the autonomy to handle that independence. Of course, there can be no question of experimenting with trial-and-error learning in any situation which could imply physical or life-threatening risk.
Scout Leaders must take the time to imagine and detect potential risks in their activities, by identifying risk-minimizing conducts and establishing clear limits.
Limits should be clearly defined in the Scout Unit, in order to reduce risk to the minimum. To achieve this, the Leaders must transfer to the young people the ability to perceive and control risks themselves, and to respect the limits absolutely.
165 Baden-Powell said that the role of a leader is to “...put him or herself on the level of the older brother or sister, that is, to see things from the young people’s point of view, and to lead and guide and give enthusiasm in the right direction.” (Aids to Scoutmastership, 1919).
It would be difficult to find a better image that the “older brother or sister” to represent the educational role of the Scout Leader: encouraging adventure, setting an example of values, and accompanying growth.
An older brother or sister shares the adventures of their younger siblings without pretending to be younger than they are, without being childish, and with the admirable capacity to reduce their own strengths so the younger ones can develop theirs. Older siblings always want the best for the younger ones, so while they play they give guidance and protection and correct without punishing. And an older brother or sister is always admired because of the model they represent: the younger ones aspire to share adventures with them, they love them, respect what they say and feel they can open their hearts to them.
We must never forget that young people do not come to the Scout Unit to learn subject matter nor to receive grades; they go to school for that. They don’t come to receive fatherly love or bask in maternal affection; they have their home for that. They don’t come to receive religious instruction; they have their place of workship for that. They don’t join the Unit to develop competitive physical skills; for that they can join a sports club. They don’t come to learn rigid discipline or obey orders; if they wanted that they would join a military organization.
This is why Baden-Powell said that the role of the Scout Leader is not that of a teacher, nor a parent, nor a pastor, nor a sports instructor, and still less a military officer. It is much more akin to a big brother or sister.
People who work with youngsters are not only responsible from an educational point of view. They are also obliged by law to respect certain rights and duties.
Young Scouts are legal minors, and they have rights that must be respected. Anyone who violates those rights or is negligent in any way must take full responsibility for his or her acts before the law. Therefore, the members of the Team of Leaders must all be at least 18 years of age.
Before bringing a new person into the Team of Leaders, adequate checks must be made on their: a) mental health; b) emotional stability; c) moral suitability; d) control of aggressiveness; e) lack of authoritarian tendencies; and f) respectful and tactful treatment of others, especially young people.
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