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Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century.
It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking and . A widely recognized movement characteristic is the Scout uniform, by intent hiding all differences of social standing and encouraging Social equality, with neckerchief (known as a scarf in some countries) and (originally) a campaign hat or comparable Headgear. Distinctive insignia include the fleur-de-lis as well as Scout badge. In many countries, Girl Guides, whose members are often called Guides instead of Scouts, use a trefoil insignia instead of the fleur-de-lis.
The original program was for youths between the ages of 11 and 17. Other programs for youths who are too young to be in the main program and take the Scout Promise sometimes exist within an organization. Early examples are Wolf Cubs and Brownies. Programs can also exist for those who are older. Early examples are Rover Scouts or Rangers. The actual names or even existence depend on organization and time period. Speciality programs, such as Sea Scouts, exist.
In 2019, there were over 55 million Scouts and Guides in at least 155 countries. The Scout Movement is a pluralist movement, not a unitary organization. Numerous local, national and international Scout organizations have been formed. The largest international organizations are the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS); some national organization belong to both.
Inspired by the interest in his books on scout training and urged by the Boys' Brigade founder, William A. Smith and leaders, some of whom had adopted Scout training, and by the publishers, C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, Baden-Powell began writing a book for boy readership. Baden-Powell was also motivated by his experience with the Mafeking Cadet Corp and the poor physical standards of recruits and their poor preparation for colonial wars. He studied other youth training schemes. In July 1906, Ernest Thompson Seton, a British-born Canadian raised naturalist, artist and writer living in the United States, sent Baden-Powell a copy of his 1902 book The Birchbark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians and they met in October 1906 and shared ideas about youth training, providing Baden-Powell with a scheme for delivery of scout training.
In August 1907, Baden-Powell led a week-long experimental Scout camp on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset England to test his ideas. Twenty-one boys from various social backgrounds, from boy's schools in the London area and a section of boys from the Poole, Parkstone, Hamworthy, Bournemouth and Winton Boys' Brigade units attended the camp. Following Seton's scheme, the boys organized themselves in small groups with an elected leader. The camp was accompanied by advertising and followed by an extensive promotional speaking tour arranged by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd. to promote the forthcoming book.
In 1908, Baden-Powell's book, Scouting for Boys, was published in six fortnightly parts, followed in April by The Scout magazine. These omitted many military aspects of Aids to Scouting and transferred the techniques (mainly survival skills) to non-military heroes: backwoodsmen, explorers He also added innovative educational principles (the Scout method) by which he extended the attractive game to a personal mental education. and provided descriptions of the Scout method of outdoor activities aiming at Moral character, citizenship training and Physical fitness among youth. Later in 1908, Scouting for Boys was published in book form and a revised edition was published in 1909 and was the basis for the 1910 Boy Scout Handbook of the Boy Scouts of America by Seton. The various editions of the book are now the fourth-bestselling title of all time. The original edition and magazine described a scheme which could be used by established organizations, particular the various Brigade Movement organizations. However, because of the popular image of scouts and desire for adventurous outdoor activities, boys and even some girls formed their own Scout patrols and troops, independent of any organization.
In 1909, a Scout Rally was held at Crystal Palace in London, which 11,000 Boy Scouts and even some Girl Scouts in uniform attended.
Local and national Scout organizations were formed. In 1910, Baden-Powell formed The Boy Scouts Association. The Boy Scouts Association's first census in 1910 claimed 100,000 registered Scouts.
Special interests and programs developed such as Scout bands, cyclist scouts, Sea Scouts, Air Scouts, mounted Scouts and high adventure.
"Before he becomes a scout, a boy must take the scout's oath, thus:
This is the scout's salute".
At Charterhouse, one of England's most famous public schools, Baden-Powell had an interest in the outdoors. Later, as a military officer, Baden-Powell was stationed in British India in the 1880s where he took an interest in reconnaissance and
In 1896, Baden-Powell was assigned to the Matabeleland region in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as Chief of Staff to Gen. Frederick Carrington during the Second Matabele War. In June 1896 he met here and began a lifelong friendship with Frederick Russell Burnham, the American-born Chief of Scouts for the British Army in Africa. This was a formative experience for Baden-Powell not only because he had the time of his life commanding reconnaissance missions into enemy territory, but because many of his later Boy Scout ideas originated here. During their joint scouting patrols into the Matobo Hills, Burnham augmented Baden-Powell's woodcraft skills, inspiring him and sowing seeds for both the programme and for the code of honour later published in Scouting for Boys. Practised by frontiersmen of the American Old West and indigenous peoples of the Americas, woodcraft was generally little known to the British Army but well known to the American scout Burnham. These skills eventually formed the basis of what is now called scoutcraft, the fundamentals of Scout training. Both men recognised that wars in Africa were changing markedly and the British Army needed to adapt; so during their joint scouting missions, Baden-Powell and Burnham discussed the concept of a broad training programme in woodcraft for young men, rich in exploration, tracking, fieldcraft, and self-reliance. During this time in the Matobo Hills Baden-Powell first started to wear his signature campaign hatBy a happy co-incidence, these hats were already called "Boss of the Plains" hats—or "B-P hats" for short like the one worn by Burnham, and acquired his kudu horn, the Ndebele war instrument he later used every morning at Brownsea Island to wake the first Boy Scouts and to call them together in training courses.
Three years later, in South Africa during the Second Boer War, Baden-Powell was besieged in the small town of Mafikeng (Mafeking) by a much larger Boer army. The Mafeking Cadet Corps was a group of youths that supported the troops by carrying messages, which freed the men for military duties and kept the boys occupied during the long siege. The Cadet Corps performed well, helping in the defence of the town (1899–1900) and were one of the many factors that inspired Baden-Powell to write Scouting for boys. Each member received a badge that illustrated a combined compass point and . The badge's logo was similar to the fleur-de-lis shaped arrowhead that later adopted by Scout. The siege of Mafeking was the first time since his own childhood that Baden-Powell, a regular serving soldier, had come into the same orbit as "civilians"—women and children—and discovered for himself the usefulness of well-trained boys.
In the United Kingdom, the public, through newspapers, followed Baden-Powell's struggle to hold Mafeking, and when the siege was broken he had become a Folk hero. This rise to fame fuelled the sales of the small instruction book he had written in 1899 about military scout training and survival, Aids to scouting, that owed much to what he had learned from discussions with Burnham.
On his return to England, Baden-Powell noticed that boys showed considerable interest in Aids to scouting, which was unexpectedly used by teachers and youth organizations. He was urged to rewrite this book for boys, especially during an inspection of the Boys' Brigade (of which he was vice president at the time), a large youth movement drilled with military precision. Baden-Powell thought this would not be attractive and suggested that the Boys' Brigade could grow much larger if scouting was included. He studied other schemes, parts of which he used in Scouting for boys.
A wide variety of cultures have adopted Scout training. Scouts in the United States use images drawn from the U.S. frontier experience and American native peoples for their connection with nature and wilderness survival skills which can be used as part of the training program. By contrast, British Scouting makes use of imagery drawn from its wider colonial frontiers including Canada, the Indian subcontinent, Australia and Africa and writings such as Rudyard Kipling's.
Frontier and military scouts inspired interest in playing and training as Scouts. Baden-Powell wrote his military training book, Aids to scouting because he saw the need for the improved training of British soldiers and army scouts, particularly in initiative, self-reliance, and observational skills. The book's popularity with young boys surprised him. He adapted the book as Scouting for boys.
"Duty to God" is a principle of the Scout Movement, though it is applied differently in various countries. Scouting America takes a strong position, excluding atheism. The Scout Association in the United Kingdom permits variations to its Promise, in order to accommodate different religious obligations. While for example in the predominantly atheist Czech Republic the Scout oath does not mention God altogether with the organization being strictly irreligious,Štogr, Josef, ed. Význam slibu: sborník. Praha: Libri prohibiti, 2011. 50 s. in 2014, United Kingdom Scouts were given the choice of being able to make a variation of the Promise that replaced "duty to God" with "uphold our Scout values", Scouts Canada defines Duty to God broadly in terms of "adherence to spirituality principles" and leaves it to the individual member or leader whether they can follow a Scout Promise that includes Duty to God. Worldwide, roughly one in three Scouts are Muslim.
Scout principles describe a code of behaviour for all members and characterize the Scout Movement. The Scout method is a progressive system designed to achieve these goals, comprising seven elements: Scout Law and Scout Promise, learning by doing, team system, symbolic framework, personal progression, nature, and adult support. While community service is a major element of both the WOSM and WAGGGS programs, WAGGGS includes it as an extra element of the Scout method: service in the community.
The Scout Law and Promise embody the values of the Scout movement and bind all Scouts together. The emphasis on "learning by doing" provides experiences and hands-on orientation as a practical method of learning and building self-esteem. Small groups build unity, camaraderie, and a close-knit fraternal atmosphere. These experiences, along with an emphasis on trustworthiness and personal honor, help to develop responsibility, moral character, self-reliance, self-confidence, reliability, and preparedness; which eventually lead to collaboration and leadership. A program with a variety of progressive and attractive activities expands a Scout's horizon and bonds the Scout even more to the group. Activities and games provide an enjoyable way to develop skills such as dexterity. In an outdoor setting, they also provide contact with the natural environment.
Since the origins of the Scout Movement, Scouts have taken a Scout Promise to live up to ideals of the movement, and subscribe to the Scout Law. The form of the promise and laws have varied slightly by country and over time, but must fulfil the requirements of the WOSM to qualify a National Scout Association for membership.
The Scout Motto, "Be Prepared", has been used in various languages by millions of Scouts since 1907. Less well-known is the Scout Slogan, "Do a good turn daily".
Camping is most often arranged at the unit level, such as one Scout troop, but there are periodic camps (known in the US as "") and "jamborees". Camps occur a few times a year and may involve several groups from a local area or region camping together for a weekend. The events usually have a theme, such as pioneering. World Scout Moots are gatherings, originally for , but mainly focused on . Jamborees are large national or international events held every four years, during which thousands of Scouts camp together for one or two weeks. Activities at these events will include games, Scoutcraft competitions, badge, pin or patch trading, aquatics, woodcarving, archery and activities related to the theme of the event.
In some countries a highlight of the year for Scouts is spending at least a week in the summer engaging in an outdoor activity. This can be a camping, hiking, sailing, or other trip with the unit, or a summer camp with broader participation (at the council, state, or provincial level). Scouts attending a summer camp work on , advancement, and perfecting Scoutcraft skills. Summer camps can operate specialty programs for older Scouts, such as sailing, backpacking, canoeing and whitewater, caving, and fishing.
Scout promote international harmony and peace. Various initiatives are in train towards achieving this aim including the development of activities that benefit the wider community, challenge prejudice and encourage tolerance of diversity. Such programs include co-operation with non-Scout organisations including various NGOs, the United Nations and religious institutions as set out in The Marrakech Charter.
While designed for smartness and equality, the Scout uniform is also practical. Shirts traditionally have thick seams to make them ideal for use in makeshift stretchers—Scouts were trained to use them in this way with their staves, a traditional but deprecated item. The leather straps and toggles of the or Leaders' could be used as emergency tourniquets, or anywhere that string was needed in a hurry. were chosen as they could easily be used as a sling or triangular bandage by a Scout in need. Scouts were encouraged to use their garters for shock cord where necessary.
Distinctive insignia for all are Scout uniforms, recognized and worn the world over, include the Wood Badge and the World Membership Badge. Scouts use a fleur-de-lis emblem while members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) use a trefoil.
The fylfot (now more commonly called a swastika) was used by the Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom and others in early thanks badges from 1911. Lord Baden-Powell's 1922 design for the Medal of Merit added a swastika to the Scout Arrowhead to symbolize good luck for the recipient. In 1934, Scouters requested a change to the design because of the connection of the swastika with its more recent use by the Nazi Party. A new Medal of Merit was issued by the Boy Scouts Association in 1935.
Scouts are youths between the ages of 11 and 17. In most Scout organizations, this age group composes the Boy Scout, Girls Scouts or Guides. Some organizations developed other programs for those who had become too old to remain Scouts or were too young to be Scouts and take the Scout Promise (e.g. Cubs for ages 6 to 10). Many organizations split training of Scouts and Guides into "junior" and "senior" groups. The age ranges vary by organization.
| + Traditional age groups as they were between 1920 and 1940 in most organizations: | ||
| 8 to 10 | Cub Scout | Brownie Guide |
| 11 to 17 | Boy Scout | Girl Guide or Girl Scout |
| 18 and up | Rover Scout | Ranger Guide |
The national programs for younger children include Lions, Tigers, Wolfs, Bears, Webelos, Arrow of the Light Scouts, Cub Scout, Brownies, Daisies, Rainbow Guides, Beavers, Joey Scouts, Scouts Aotearoa, and Teddies. Programs for post-adolescents and young adults include Rover Scout the Rangers and Young Leaders, Rover Scout, Senior Scouts, , Explorer Scouts, and the Scout Network. Many organizations also have a program for those with special needs, often known as Extension Scouting. The Scout Method has been adapted to specific programs such as , , Mounted Scouts and Scout bands.
Some Scout organizations use the local Scout Group structure which contain units operating programs for different ages.
Scout units are usually operated by adult volunteers, such as parents and carers, former Scouts, students, and community leaders, including teachers and religious leaders. positions are often divided into 'uniform' and 'lay' positions. Uniformed leaders have received formal training, such as the Wood Badge, and have received a warrant for a rank within the organization. Lay members commonly hold part-time roles such as meeting helpers, committee members and advisors, though there are a small number of full-time lay professionals.
A unit has uniformed positions—such as the Scoutmaster and assistants—whose titles vary among countries. In some countries, units are supported by lay members, who range from acting as meeting helpers to being members of the unit's committee. In some Scout associations, the committee members may also wear uniforms and be registered Scout leaders. (1990). 9780839565055, Boy Scouts of America. ISBN 9780839565055
Above the unit are further uniformed positions, called Commissioners, at levels such as district, county, council or province, depending on the structure of the national organization. Commissioners work with lay teams and professionals. Training teams and related functions are often formed at these levels. In the UK and in other countries, the national Scout organization appoints the Chief Scout, the most senior uniformed member.
In the United States, the Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs of the BSA were for boys only until 2018; it has changed its policies and is now inviting girls to join, as local packs organize all-girl dens (same uniform, same book, same activities). For youths age 14 and older, Venturing has been co-educational since the 1930s. The Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is an independent organization founded in 1912 for girls and young women only. Adult leadership positions in the BSA and GSUSA are open to both men and women.
In 2006, of the 155 WOSM member National Scout Organizations (representing 155 countries), 122 belonged only to WOSM, and 34 belonged to both WOSM and WAGGGS. Of the 122 which belonged only to WOSM, 95 were open to boys and girls in some or all program sections, and 20 were only for boys. All 34 that belonged to both WOSM and WAGGGS were open to boys and girls.
WAGGGS had 144 Member Organizations in 2007 and 110 of them belonged only to WAGGGS. Of these 110, 17 were coeducational and 93 admitted only girls.
| + Top 20 countries with Scouts and Guides, sorted by total male and female membership of all organisations.Full tables on List of World Organization of the Scout Movement members and List of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts members. (1979). 9782880520014, World Scout Bureau. ISBN 9782880520014 (1997). 9780900827754, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, World Bureau. . ISBN 9780900827754 |
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Alternative organization have formed since the origins of the Scout Movement. Many early organizations were formed on religious, gender, ethnic or language lines or differed on the influence of militarism or pacifism. More recently formed alternate organizations often differ on social, political and/or organizational issues. Some believe that other Scout organizations have moved away from original intents and want to return to earlier, simpler, traditional methods. Others do not want to follow all Scout principles or those of particular international organizations and their national member organizations but still desire to participate in Scout activities.
In 2008, there were at least 539 independent Scout organizations around the world, Only 367 of them were members of WOSM or WAGGGS. About half of the remaining 172 Scout organizations are only local or national oriented. About 90 other national or regional Scout organizations have created other international Scout organizations:
Some Scout-like organizations are also served by international organizations, many with religious elements, for example:
The Boy Scouts of America was the focus of criticism in the United States for not allowing the open participation of homosexuals until removing the prohibition in 2013.
such as the Soviet Union in 1920 and fascist regimes like Nazi Germany in 1934 often either absorbed the Scout movement into government-controlled organizations, or banned Scouting entirely.
The works of painters Ernest Stafford Carlos, Norman Rockwell, Pierre Joubert and Joseph Csatari and the 1966 film Follow Me, Boys! are prime examples of this ethos. Scout are often portrayed in a humorous manner, as in the 1989 film Troop Beverly Hills, the 2005 film Down and Derby, and the film . In 1980, Scottish people singer and songwriter Gerry Rafferty recorded I was a Boy Scout as part of his Snakes and Ladders album.
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