Scouting, Volume 26, Number 1, January 1938 Page: 6
34, [2] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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ofbe Educational Value
of the UNIFORM
THERE are many unique factors
in the Scout Program of educa-
tion and character building that
are unlike those adopted by other
agencies dealing with youth. We have
the Patrol and Troop method by
which the boy is influenced by the
group — a powerful leverage for
good character habits. Our trained
volunteer leadership plan is unique
and so is our system of activity with
recognition.
Among the unique and powerful
educational factors of our Scout Pro-
gram, something different from that
used by other organizations, is the
Uniform, a basis for democratic com-
panionship. We provide the boy with
the opportunity, almost the respon-
sibility (although it is not a require-
ment) of wearing the Uniform.
Experience through the years in-
dicates that boys intensely desire to
wear the Scout Uniform. Indeed, the
evidence of surveys indicates that
this is one of the reasons that boys
come into Scouting, — to have the
privilege of wearing the Scout Uni-
form. It is a responsibility to them,
it is something to be coveted, which
they as Scouts, and no other boys,
can have.
Basts of Democratic Companionship
But we in Scouting know that
there are deeper underlying values
in the education of the boy through
the use of the Scout Uniform. We
give the boy the opportunity to wear
a Uniform not for the purpose of
making him look dressed up, but in
reality as a basis for democratic com-
panionship. Rich boys and poor boys
meet as equals in the Scout Uniform.
Hence a Uniform gives the boy a
better chance of self-expression.
Ycu probably have heard the story
of Baden-Powell's first experiment in
his traveling throughout Europe and
Canada with a group made up of
three Patrols. One Patrol was made
up of boys in the upper group. In
England they have class distinctions
— not as bad as it is in India where
they still have the "untouchables"
— but they still have the "upper
group," the "aristocracy" so to
speak, who go to private schools and
By DR. JAMES E. WEST
Chief Scout Executive and Editor of
BOYS' LIFE
whose leisure time is so arranged that
they come in contact with boys in
their own 'social class." Then, there
is the "middle class" — professionals,
tradesmen, etc. Then there is the
"lower class," made up of the work-
men and the artisans. Baden-Powell
to demonstrate the effectiveness of his
idea as to what the Game of Scout-
ing should be, put these three Patrols
all in the Scout Uniform and, as he
traveled about the country, it was
his custom — tactfully, of course —
to tell the story, and ask the audience
to pick out which was which. He
contends, as we contend, that with
the aid of the Uniform we have not
only the physical outward appear-
ance of equality, but we have also
the inward consciousness on the part
of the boy, no matter what his home
conditions may be, that he is on the
same level with the other Scouts,
which is a tremendous factor in the
game of Scouting. This same experi-
ment may be tried in thousands of
Troops in different communities
throughout the United States today
with the same results.
Developing Self-Reliance
When the boy wears the Uniform
he feels just a little more important
than the boy who does not wear a
uniform. This encourages the Scout
to secure the definite Scout training
which will justify this feeling. It en-
courages him to advance in Scouting.
He is more ready to step forward
in the event of an emergency, be-
cause he has confidence based upon
his proven ability The Scout Uni
form helps to develop his sense of
responsibility and his initiative.
Development of the Group Idea
Another very important reason
why we give boys the Uniform is
that we want the boy to be helped
in submerging his own individuality
in the interest of the Troop and the
Patrol so that he may become "group
minded" instead of "individually
minded." When he becomes respon-
sive to the influences of what goes
on in the Patrol and the Troop, he
unconsciously and subconsciously de-
velops a spirit of comradeship, a
fellowship, a desire to cooperate for
the good of the others, for the good
of the Patrol and the Troop and the
(Continued on page 32)
Page Six
A Scoutmaster*s best silent assistant is BOYS LIFE
SCOUTING
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 26, Number 1, January 1938, periodical, January 1938; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth313034/m1/6/: accessed May 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.