Scouting, Volume 41, Number 6, June-July 1953 Page: 3
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"Now, son, don't forget to write us a card."
"For the luvva Mike! Who's got my sleeping bag?
And so Troop 17 is off on a great adventure. The
locale is Oregon — or is it Virginia? No, on second
thought I guess it's Texas. Maybe they are headed
for their Council Camp. Possibly it is Philmont
Ranch, or a North Woods canoe trip, or an inde-
pendent Troop expedition.
But whether it is Maine or California, North Da-
kota or Texas; whether these boys are headed for
the forests of Washington, the Everglades of Florida,
the mountains of New Mexico, or the blue lakes of
northern Minnesota; whether they are traveling
thirty miles or three thousand, to be away a week
or a month, there is a common pattern.
The first common denominator is FUN. Here are
tens of thousands of Troops and Explorer Units,
numbering hundreds of thousands of boys, all ob-
viously having the time of their lives. We have
heard that sometimes boys have to be coerced into
washing back of their ears, picking up their belong-
ings, and closing doors gently. But where is the
Troop that has to be compelled to go camping?
Scouting has harnessed a boy-interest which has in
it all the power of Niagara.
Another common factor is active parent interest.
This is no simple "sending them to the movies," no
careless turning of boys over to some organization
or agency. Here are groups of parents organized on
behalf of groups of boys. Troop committees help
work out plans for these expeditions. Parents' meet-
ings approve them. Mothers help make tents and
put on pancake suppers. Dads work on waste-paper
drives, help with packframes, and provide cars.
Most important of all, this nationwide program
of camping, all the way from overnight hikes to
transcontinental tours, is a vital and significant part
of Scout training. Most of us think of a vacation trip
as "time out" from the serious business of living, a
little well-deserved relaxation. Let no one think
that camping is time out from the character-build-
ing, citizenship-training objectives of Scouting. On
the contrary, the camping program offers the ideal
opportunity for such training. From the first step
of planning a camping trip, preparing for it and
earning the money to finance it, through the whole
glorious experience of living together in a pocket-
size democracy, giving and accepting leadership, ac-
cepting one's share of responsibility, helping one an-
other, meeting problems, overcoming obstacles, the
whole experience is training in the best possible
setting. Out of such adventures a Scout emerges,
not only with a browner, harder body and a new
skill in outdoor living, but with a new maturity of
outlook, a new spirit of team-play, a new self-reli-
ance. He is better prepared in body, mind, and heart.
Consider some of the factors which make a camp-
ing experience such a potent training tool:
1. We know that learning takes place most effec-
tively when the experience is enjoyable. On that
score camp is ideal. The Scout is in the best possible
mental state to learn and remember.
2. Here the Scout is completely a part of the gang.
Day and night he is surrounded by a group com-
mitted to the Scout way of living. The impact of
this constant group pressure on him is terrific.
3. Teamwork is essential on such an expedition.
A Scout quickly learns that he is dependent on
others, and they on him. The fellow who forgets the
flour, or pokes a hole in that precious canoe, or
sprains his ankle hurts the entire gang.
4. Here is the ideal opportunity for acquiring
some of the skills which make for competence in
the out-of-doors. Tracking, pioneering, mapping,
swimming, etc., are natural activities here.
5. In camp a Scout finds himself living close to
nature and dependent on his own wits and ingenu-
ity. Most of the props and gadgets with which he is
usually surrounded are gone. Within limits of reason
and safety he is left to make his own way. Gradually
he loses that helpless feeling, bred of "too much
civilization," and begins to sense some of the sturdy
self-competence our forefathers knew. An at-home-
ness in the wilderness gives him a deep sense of
security and self-confidence.
6. Learning by doing is the Scout way, the most
effective way, the camping way. Not just talking
about cooking or pitching a tent, not just practicing
it in the park. Putting up your own tent to sleep in
it for a week, cooking your own food because that's
where your meals are coming from — that's some-
thing different. There is a new urgency about get-
ting that tent up so it won't blow down in a sudden
storm — and a new deep satisfaction as you lie snug
and secure in your sleeping bag while the wind
outside does its worst.
The slogan "SCOUTING is three-fourths OUT-
ING" is more than a play on spelling. Our outdoor
program is, in a unique way, the point at which
boy-interest, parent-cooperation, and training op-
portunities converge to create the ideal Scouting
experience, this is preparedness.
FOR ALL SCOOTERS
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 41, Number 6, June-July 1953, periodical, June 1953; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329217/m1/5/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.