Scouting, Volume 38, Number 2, February 1950 Page: 31
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EXPLORER SECTION
WHY
EXPLORING in Your Troop
If your Troop has just a few Explorers who
all seem busy and content as Junior Leaders,
you may wonder why bother to give them special
Explorer activities. The answer lies not merely
with these fellows — at least not yet.
But look back a year or two. Can't you remember
a few older Troop members who didn't care for
a leadership assignment, or couldn't seem to handle
one, or were too numerous for the jobs at hand,
and so drifted out of the Troop and out of Scouting
completely? That's a long question and deserves
long thought to answer it carefully.
Now look ahead a year or two. How long will
your present Explorers be satisfied with only Junior
Leadership work, mingling most of the time with
younger Scouts and with little or no chance for
separate activities related to special interests of
young men? Assuming that today's Explorers con-
tinue to be happy in their jobs, what are you going
to do to hold tomorrow's Explorers?
If you can't spread leadership responsibilities
enough to interest both old and new Explorers,
how many will you lose — and how fast? Is it
possible that practically the whole bunch may "out-
grow Scouting" or "lose interest" at about the
same time? If you increase the number of Junior
Leaders, will the Troop become top-heavy with
them and cause the younger Scouts to feel they
haven't much to say about the Troop, or much
chance to become leaders.
Granted that what possibly happened last year
or might happen next year is "iffy," those possible
situations are helpful in pointing to action before
it is "too little too late." They merit looking now
into the remedies offered by the new Explorer
program in the Troop.
Explorer activities that differ from the Troop
program are what young men tend to do elsewhere
if they don't have a chance to do them in Scouting.
First on the list of special attractions are social
affairs with the girls, mostly informal. Second, are
high adventures — cruises, expeditions, encamp-
ments, all as far from the home base as possible.
Third, are vocational explorations (not technical
guidance) to direct attention toward life work.
Fourth, is service that will give young men a
feeling of belonging to the community.
Men who believe in Scouting so much they invest
their valuable time and ability in it must believe
it should hold young men as long as possible.
However, successful Troop Scouters may be giving
all they can afford to the Troop. If they have
reached their limit, more manpower is needed to
do the Exploring job that will keep fellows longer
A EXPLORER SECTION
in Scouting. In any case someone willing and able
must pay particular attention to Explorers on their
own level of interests.
Thus the Troop Committee should faithfully see
that the Explorer Advisor in the Troop is the best
man available for young men. Usually a mature
man, old enough to be an Explorer's father, is best.
Seldom does anyone have a greater incentive than
an Explorer dad to be the Advisor to his son and
his son's friends. The Advisor may be found among
the Troop Committeemen and Scoutmaster. Then a
replacement for his old position must be recruited.
The Scoutmaster's recommendation about a new
Advisor should receive careful consideration; he
and the Advisor will have to work hand in hand
without stepping on each other's toes. The Ex-
plorers themselves should be consulted because
they are the "customers" who must be satisfied.
Suggestions available to the Troop Committee
in recruiting an Advisor are the chapter on What
Advisors Do in the Hints On Explorer Leadership
and the two filmstrips The Explorer Advisor and
Exploring — What Is It? How Does It Work? What
Do We Do? The Advisor's duties and qualifications
will be presented to the committee in these printed
and visual aids.
The National Explorer Service has a two-page
Plan For Recruiting Explorer Advisors to be used
by Local Councils. Copies have been sent to Scout
Executives, but additional copies may be had upon
request.
When the Advisor is appointed, he takes over
with the help of the Local Council Training Com-
mittee, the professional staff, and the Explorer
literature. A capable Advisor is the key to the
door of successful Exploring in the Troop, Explor-
ing that will build both the Troop and the Explorer
Crew in the Troop.
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TROOP COMMITTEE
Cooperation
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PATROL PATROL PATROL PATROL
FEBRUARY, 1950 31
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 38, Number 2, February 1950, periodical, February 1950; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth313161/m1/33/?q=%221777%22&rotate=180: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.