Scouting, Volume 39, Number 5, May 1951 Page: 32
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THE
OMMI SSIONE
i
By W. BteuH&n,
Scout Executive, Cincinnati Area Council
LOOKS AT
EXPLORING
IN THE TROOP
To the Neighborhood Commissioner, as to the
Scoutmaster, the older fellows in the Troop rep-
resent the growth of Scouting — they are the prod-
uct of the Troop. The Commissioner knows that a
successful Troop is bound to have older fellows,
and he, too, has pride in its record for building
young men. He is interested in seeing that the
Troop has an Explorer Crew to give older fellows
genuine Explorer experiences.
The Commissioner Knows the Need
Sometimes a good Scoutmaster may be so close
to his boys that he fails to recognize they do grow
up. The Commissioner, however, being a coach
looking on, can see these changes in maturity as
well as age and stature. He knows, and must show
the Scoutmaster many times, that his young men
will only stay in the Troop if they have a man-
size program, or if they have a challenging lead-
ership job, or both.
The Commissioner Points Out Leadership
The best Scoutmaster is not the one who stands
out in front, but the one who makes Scouting by
as well as for boys and young men. That means
the use of the Patrol Method and the Troop Lead-
ers' Council, with many responsibilities carried by
junior leaders. The alert Commissioner knows,
and may point out to the Scoutmaster, that the
Explorer Crew in the Troop is the reservoir of
junior leadership — Patrol Leaders, Senior Patrol
Leaders, Junior Assistant Scoutmasters, instructors,
hike leaders.
The Commissioner Recruits Leadership
Knowing that leadership is the greatest product
of Scouting, the Commissioner looks to the Crew
in the Troop, as well as in Explorer Units, for young
manpower. Explorers can be of great help, for
instance, in supplementing inexperienced adult
leaders of a Troop, as Den Chiefs in a Cub Pack,
in conducting a Troop installation ceremony, as
instructors in junior leader training courses, as
camp junior leaders, camporee aides, and for Emer-
gency Service and Civil Defense service. The Com-
missioner is the logical one to appraise the Scout-
master of these opportunities for his young men.
The Commissioner is Interested in Results
Yes, our Neighborhood Commissioner, as he looks
at his job of helping institutions and Units to carry
on the program of the Boy Scouts of America, is
alert for the tangible results of the Scouting expe-
rience and its effect on the lives of boys and young
men. He knows that Exploring is our final oppor-
tunity with these fellows — some of whom started
in the Pack, graduated into the Troop, and now
are young men in the Explorer Crew.
He knows that most young men want to stay
with Exploring if Exploring will stay with them. If
there is a young man-size program of social, out-
door, service, and vocational activities, Explorers
will stay. But if Exploring does not provide outlets
in these fields, the older fellows will leave.
Yes, we must stay with them, the Commissioner
realizes and tries to convince Scoutmasters — even
though the young men change, become sophisti-
cated, "difficult," jittery and hard-boiled, and reck-
less and seemingly hopeless at times. They need
the guidance and influence of Scouting, of Scout-
ing's real men; for these young fellows are the
men of 1960 or sooner. In a few years they will
lead our communities and our nation and, if nec-
essary, fight our wars.
Commissioners know that with these young men
of fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen years of
age we are playing for keeps. We must be practical.
We must give young men young-man opportuni-
ties. Oh yes, and we may need some good Scout-
masters a few years hence — why not grow more
of our own!
32
SCOUTING
EXPLORER SECTION
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 39, Number 5, May 1951, periodical, May 1951; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329196/m1/34/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.