THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SCOUTER

There are two fundamental points to be considered in dealing with Scouts. The first is that the only woman who can hope for real success as a trainer of Scouts is the one who can be their elder sister. The “Commanding Officer” is no good and the “Schoolmistress” is doomed to failure (though in neither case probably would the woman recognise it herself nor admit it). This fact is being proved daily by the successful results already gained by our Captain. By the term “elder sister” I mean one who while commanding their respect can place herself on terms of comradeship with her girls, entering into their games and laughter, herself thereby winning their confidence and putting herself into that position which is essential for teaching, namely, where by her own example she leads them in the right direction instead of merely pointing the way.

The Psychology of the Girl

The second item to recognise, although as a point it is of first importance, is that the girl of eight to ten is psychologically quite different from the girl of ten to fifteen. I don’t mean that the change comes about with a bang in the tenth year; but the younger girl is growing relatively in mind and body more rapidly than the elder one, and the transition gradually comes about approximately at those ages in the average girl. The age at which crime begins among the poorer class of children points to the age at which character begins to form itself, and it appears much earlier in life than is usually supposed; that is to say, the crime returns show a good deal of juvenile depravity at the early age of ten and eleven, and at twelve it has mounted to its highest point in the young generation up to twenty. Between the ages of eight and nine, therefore, seem to be the right time to get hold of the girl when the seeds of character may begin to sprout into pliant tendrils ready to trail off in the wrong direction, but easily taken in hand at that time and trained aright.

Under eleven the following are common attributes in the average child: make-believe, appreciation of fairy tales, eagerness for new experiences, collection of stamps and other curios, mental restlessness, physical restlessness, thoughtlessness, untruthfulness, etc. Over eleven the following attributes may be generally counted on: constructiveness, hero-worship, liking for team games, dawning conscience, sense of humour, of pathos and of sympathy.

Character

In any case sense of honour, truth, self-control, fairness, discipline, responsibility and good humour have been too little inculcated among girls in the past, and this important omission we endeavour to make good in the practices and activities of the Scout work adapted to the psychology changes as they come.

The Patrol System for Scouts

I remember when we first started the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Movements in England, I received some valuable advice from a prominent business man with regard to organising the Headquarters Office.

He told me that women were far the best clerks to employ in preference to men, but he said the pity of it was that they only rose to a certain height in their work and they could not be made managers of departments because they could not take responsibility.

War conditions have since shown that if he meant this as a rule he was wrong. Women have risen splendidly to the occasion, and in very many cases have shown themselves perfectly qualified to take higher duties upon themselves.

At the same time there is no doubt that if more of them were prepared for it early in life, many more of them would be so employed in ordinary times of peace.

In the Girl Scout Movement, as in the Boy Scouts, we also have the small unit—the Patrol—commanded by its own girl Leader.

This in the first place conduces to the Patrol Spirit among its members, where each of them considers the honour of her unit to be always at stake, and that it is up to her among its other members constantly to uphold its reputation.

This brings the development of self-discipline, sense of duty and selflessness down to the individual. Emulation between Patrols in a Troop make for a higher standard of efficiency and collective discipline all round; and this is a great help to the Captain.

But also there is the Patrol Leader. She is the responsible officer for leading her Patrol to victory and for keeping each member of the unit up to the mark so that the Patrol as a whole does not fall behind any other.

To do this effectively she soon discovers, if it is not otherwise pointed out to her, that she has to be a Leader not only in name but in fact and in act.

She has to be an all-round efficient, and she has to use her brain and thought, her initiative and power of command to hold and lead those under her.

With a little practice this rôle becomes a habit. Having learnt how to obey and how to restrain herself she develops the power of command and her own sense of responsibility, thereby unconsciously preparing herself to take higher positions of trust in real life later on.

But above all this means for each individual the development of character. And that is our aim.

The Court of Honour formed by Patrol Leaders and their Assistants (“Corporals”) is also of untold value in founding and developing the strength of the Scout spirit and the sense of responsibility to a further degree among the girls.

For these reasons the Patrol System is the most important element in the Girl Scout Training, and it is, as far as I know, the only step so far made available towards educating girls practically in two points which have long been missing in their upbringing—namely, in the sense and practice of Self-discipline and Responsibility.

How the Scout Training Appeals

From the parents’ point of view Scout work gives character to the girls, also skill at handicrafts; thirdly, service and helpfulness to others; fourthly, physical health and development.

From the teacher’s point of view it provides a healthy environment outside the school, and activities which tend to develop in practice many of these attributes inculcated theoretically in the girls’ lessons.

From the girls’ point of view Scouting puts them into fraternity gangs among jolly comrades and it gives them a smart dress and equipment, it appeals to their imagination in results, and it engages them in an active open-air and healthy life.

Our aim is to give equal chances to all and to give the most help to the least fortunate.

The training applies equally well to girls of all classes and can be carried out in towns just as well as in the country.

Camps

Camping, which a few years ago was looked upon as impossible for girls, has now become an institution in very many centres—or one that has brought the very best results. It is what the girls look forward to with intense joy, and it gives the Captains their greatest opportunity.

Large camps are, for training purposes, a mistake: one troop of three or four patrols is as much as a Captain and Lieutenant can manage with due regard to the health and training of the girls. They may be carried out in tents or in barns and farm buildings, empty houses, etc.

Religion

Two authorities from very different points of view have gone so far as to describe Scouting and Scout work as “a new religion and a practical one.” One of these was a clergyman and a schoolmaster, and the other a statesman of strong human sympathies.

We have not ourselves pretended to claim any such standing for the teaching, but we do find from experience that where rightly handled it can put the right spirit and the right grounding into children for developing religion through their inner consciousness instead of having theology imposed upon them through surface instruction of morality taught them through fear of punishment.

Nature Study and Good Turns

To interest the child is our method of training in the Scout movement, whatever may be the subject taken up. It can equally be used in the development of the elements of religion without in any way trenching on the teaching of any particular denomination—indeed it is helpful to all.

We use, therefore, the study of Nature as a first step to the realisation of the Creator. The dissection of a plant or bird, the observation of the habits of an animal or an insect, or the study of the stars and planets all command the eager interest of the girl, and if properly applied, reveal to her with absorbing force the miracle laws of Nature; it gives her a sense of the beautiful; it gives her an uplifting instinct of reverence for the power of God.

Then, on the moral side, to be good is of little interest to the child; to do good is another matter. She has an innate predisposition to the active practice rather than to the passive reception, and the Scout encouragement to do the daily good turn meets her inclination and eventually leads her—bit by bit—to the practice of kindness and of self-sacrifice for others as her natural habit of mind and action. In other words, the germ of the Divine Love that is within her is developed along lines which appeal to her, till it blossoms out as an integral part of her life and character, as her soul. In this way the soul is educated, that is, self-expanded from within: it cannot be developed artificially by the application of book instruction and rules from without.

Nature study should not be the mere formal class teaching of the school, but should be the interested pursuit of each individual girl in that branch of it which particularly appeals to her, through practical handling and dealing with it.

Through such Nature investigation, and the consequent appreciation of God the Creator, the Captain can lead the girl on to a right understanding of biology and of her own position in the order of nature; to realise how she can be associated with the Creator in His work and how she can have her part in the romance of reproduction and the carrying on of the race; also that good motherhood is a wonderful gift of God, at once a sacred and a patriotic privilege and duty.

Many a girl has been ruined by ignorance on the subject, and by the wrong or debased views picked up haphazard. Parents to a great extent evade their duties in this direction, and yet they are apt to resent other people trying to remedy their neglect. So it is often desirable for a Captain to consult the mother before talking to a girl, but the girl should not be left to slide in ignorance. Then it is not a thing to deal with before a number of girls, but with the individual according to her psychology.

One of the objects in a Captain being “an elder sister rather than an officer” to her girls is precisely that she can talk to them intimately and naturally on this very vital topic.

Rallies

Rallies are useful for bringing together a number of Troops to see each other and be seen by others whom it is desired to interest in the Movement. For either or both purposes it is a good thing to have displays of Scout activities by the different patrols and companies, and also to have competitions between them in various Scout practices.

A too common fault about Rallies is that the stage-managing is faulty—the way in which the thing is presented is as important as the thing presented, so far as the outside impression is concerned. The other fault is that generally the displays are chosen too much with a view to training the girls and too little with a view to interesting the onlookers. This is a bad fault if you are trying to spread the Movement and to get people keenly interested in it. The two points can perfectly well be combined. Let the programme err on the short side, and let it be full of variety, novelty, incident, and interest. Long signalling tests and bandaging exhibitions are intensely boring to the onlookers who don’t understand them. Whereas a realistic accident, a pretty dance, good acting, and graceful gymnastics, and exhibitions of work done, or girls at work, are pleasing and attractive.

Let it go with a snap—short, sharp and sweet.

Often the Rally includes inspection by a Commissioner or other officers.

Inspection of Troops by Commissioners

There was in the early days of the Movement a tendency to look upon the inspection of a Troop rather in the light of a military parade or a social function, when in point of fact it should be neither.

A cursory review by a visiting officer is bound to induce training for outward effect and appearance, an entire perversion of our aims and methods.

I have seen it suggested, even quite recently, that the girls in the Troop should be ranged for inspection in order of size so that they may please the eye of the inspector!

The up-to-date inspecting officer is not likely to be taken in by eye-wash. Her aim is to ascertain to what extent results have been attained by the Captain among the girls in each Patrol in her Troop in the four main branches of our training.

She will generally take each Patrol separately, or if there is not time for this, one Patrol selected at random from each Troop.

She will then, by questioning the Patrol Leader and some of the Scouts, judge for herself to what extent the leader is capable of responsibility and leadership, and to what extent the girls are efficient, keen, and smart.

She can, by a few simple tests, soon see whether they have really earned their badges, and she can offer them simple personal advice which will sink in and be valued.

The Scout Spirit and Scout proficiency are to her the important points to look for.

Accurate drill, neat bandaging, quick and legible signalling, smart uniform, are excellent steps, but they are only steps among others towards the attainment of womanly efficiency on the part of the individual girl.

That is the aim of our training.

Happy, smiling face, ready resourcefulness and quick intelligence in carrying out any job that may be given is the evidence of keen esprit de corps in the Patrol, are by far the best indications to the inspecting officer as to whether or not true Scout training is practised by the Captain in her Troop.

Give Us the Young!

As Benjamin Kidd has written, let our cry be:——

“Oh! you wise men who would reconstruct the world! Give us the young. Give us the young. Do what you will with the world, only give us the young. It is the dreams which we teach them: it is the Utopias which we conceive for them: it is the thoughts which we think for them, which will rebuild the world. Give us the young before the evil has held them and we will create a new Heaven and a new Earth.”

Transcriber’s Note:

Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.

Some of the layout forms in the book were unable to be followed exactly. Changes are noted below.

Page 13, “thy” changed to “they” (they must always wash)

Page 19, “simultaneuosly” changed to “simultaneously” (two pairs playing simultaneously)

Page 48, “throughtout” changed to “throughout” (reign throughout India)

Page 65, “salue” changed to “salute” (the salute, otherwise)

Page 74, “strips” changed to “stripes” (thirteen stripes symbolize)

Page 80, “AB” was originally positions with the A directly above the B.

Page 80, “split” changed to “splint” (tie on a splint)

Page 85, “parellel” changed to “parallel” (chin parallel with floor)

Page 89, the following line was the final line on the page but does not fit in the text and was deleted:

not feel it at the time, but it may lead to illnesses years

This line may be found on page 84.

Page 100, “lettter” changed to “letter” (choose a letter of the)

Page 106, “anl” changed to “and” (and slugs as food)

Page 125, “plans” changed to “plants” (any ordered plants)

Page 149, “find” changed to “five” (Boer five pounds for)

Page 154, “says” changed to “say” (stick, say, six feet)

Page 156, “which” changed to “when” (when you hold it)

Page 158, “mackeral” changed to “mackerel” (are the herring mackerel)

Page 158, “warking” changed to “working” (keep a hard-working man)

Page 159, “strip” changed to “string” (string to your package of)

Page 161, “bright” changed to “bring” (overnight, bring to boiling)

Page 169, “medal” changed to “medals” (received medals for saving)

Page 176, “stragihtened” changed to “straightened” (straightened and bound to)

Page 178, “suck” to “sucked” (spirit is thus sucked in)

Page 179, “away” to “awake” (be kept awake if)

Page 180, “tonsilitis” changed to “tonsillitis” (suffer from tonsillitis)

Page 180, “vitrol” changed to “vitriol” (throwing vitriol over)

Page 194, “angles” changed to “ankles” (the ankles, should be)

Page 204, “dulll” changed to “dull” (play these dull games)

Page 206, “Madge” changed to “Badge” (a certain Proficiency Badge)

Page 217, “Committe” changed to “Committee” (of the Local Committee)

Page 217, “000” changed to “65” (See p. 65.)

Page 223, “teach” changed to “teacher” (helping a teacher)

Page 224, “Groud” changed to “Group” (Group 2. Arts and Crafts.)

Page 229, “Associaton” changed to “Association” (adopted in the Association)

Page 230, “mapority” changed to “majority” (majority of the people)

Page 236, “back” changed to “black” (gold and black hat cords)

Page 236, “Form” changed to “From” (From a troop, through)

Page 239, “corporation” changed to “coöperation” (the coöperation of the)

Page 242, “withdrew” changed to “withdraw” (withdraw her badges)

Page 250, “it” changed to “its” (uphold its reputation)

Page 251, “unbringing” changed to “upbringing” (in their upbringing)