Scouting, Volume 60, Number 1, January-February 1972 Page: 16
68, [20] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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for study. When the boy
was invited to demon-
strate the tanning process
at a troop meeting and
spoke with authority, the
other Scouts saw him
with new eyes.
If no talent seems
available, the Scoutmas-
ter will have to invent or
develop one. Like 14-year-
old Chris, unable to bag
a barn door with a shot-
gun at 12 paces, invented
myriads of excuses to get
out of a rabbit hunt the
boys were planning. The
wise Scoutmaster es-
corted him to a near-by
shooting range for pri-
vate lessons. After 4 days
and 7 boxes of .22 shells,
the kid had enough con-
fidence to join the troop
the next Saturday. He'll
never take a marksman-
ship trophy, but at least
he doesn't disgrace him-
self.
These boys need to be
kept out of the spectator
box. Whenever one of my
boys backs out of a
group activity — "I can't
16 do it" or "Let the other
guys try first. I'll just
watch," I see a danger
flag go up, and if pos-
sible, I step in to help.
If a boy refuses to try
water skiing on an out-
ing, I get into the water
with him until he suc-
ceeds. If his handling of
a fishing rod raises laugh-
ter, I direct others' atten-
tion away from his bungling and show
him how.
Let Scouting strengthen a weak self
image. The program itself is a natural
for building ego strength and group in-
volvement—but only if a boy achieves
in it! The Scoutmaster should accept
the responsibility for seeing that he
does. One way to help an insecure,
non-advancing Scout is to arrange
(without the knowledge of the Scout
or his troop-mates) for a respected
man to "volunteer" to help the boy
with his program. Thus the Scout can
experience both the unexpected de-
light of attracting the friendship of a
man and the glory of recognition at a
court of honor.
Though it is possible for the leader
himself to help in such instances, he
risks being accused of favoritism, the
boy of apple-polishing. Sometimes a
change in the relationship between
the leader and the boy is enough—
helping the boy feel more a man, less
a child (which is probably the way he
usually is treated.) The differences in
4
the way a man treats another man
and a boy are often subtle: With a boy
he is more tolerant of mistakes, pa-
tient, doesn't interrupt, doesn't rush
in to help instead of allowing inde-
pendence, takes comments seriously.
The ideal is to eliminate the sergeant-
private relationship—a difficult thing
to do.
Enlist the parents' help. If ap-
proached with tact and once con-
vinced of the Scoutmaster's intentions
to help their son, parents usually will
cooperate. One leader maintained close
relationships with parents for this
very reason. It paid off when he was
able to persuade a couple of stubborn
parents that their skinny, scared kid
needed swimming lessons.
It is important to a boy to have par-
ents involved in some way in a troop
activity, even if they do nothing more
than furnish transportation. During
one year, fathers of my boys have do-
nated to the troop a tent, a flag that
had flown over the nation's capitol
and, of all things, some mistletoe. In
each case I made a big
deal of it; we arranged,
for instance, to have the
flag presented to the
troop at an evening meet-
ing of our church in front
of the whole congrega-
tion.
Enlist the help of the
other Scouts, with or
without their knowledge.
One device I've liked is
pairing off the Scouts for
merit badge work. An
older, well-liked boy is
assigned to help a "mis-
fit." Often the older
Scout, having many hours
of time invested in Scout-
ing, will adopt a protec-
tive attitude toward his
protege and fend off the
jibes of the other boys:
"Lay off, guys! Who was
first up the mountain at
the camporee?" Too,
some of the prestige of
the popular Scout often
rubs off. Result: revived
self image for the pro-
tege.
In extreme circum-
stances a direct appeal to
their better selves may
work. One Scoutmaster
became desperate when
his troop turned upon a
single boy, Joe, torment-
ing him mercilessly. The
leader called the troop
together with the excep-
tion of Joe and detailed
the boy's sordid home
life—alcoholism, cruelty,
rejection. He put the
problem straight to
them: "That's what Joe has to put up
with. Are you going to act like men or
treat him the way the other boys do?"
After a long silence the leader wheeled
and left the room. The behavior of this
group subsequently underwent a re-
markable transformation.
The Scoutmaster, in keeping a boy's
ego built up and his place in the group
secure, can make a small dent in the
delinquency problem. For the more
positive reinforcement a boy can re-
ceive from a non-delinquent group, the
less likely he is to drift or be pushed
into a delinquent group.
But the good Scout leader should
not stop at helping only the seriously
troubled boy. All adolescent boys feel
insecure and scared at times and need
a boost. Sure it's time and work. It's
easier to let the merit badge work ob-
scure the human value of Scouting.
But this could be the best opportunity
anyone will ever have to reach a boy.
No boy should leave Scouting feel-
ing like a zero! yt
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 60, Number 1, January-February 1972, periodical, January 1972; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353658/m1/20/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.