Scouting
 The logo of the scouts |
Quick Facts
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Scouting (Sometimes called the Scout Movement) is a youth movement. It was started in 1907 as a movement for boys by Robert Baden-Powell.
Baden-Powell took many ideas from the experiences he made with the Mafeking Cadet Corps. This corps was a paramilitary group made of boys. It was formed during a siege in the Second Boer War. The boys mainly carried messages; that way the soldiers coud focus on defending the city.
Today, the scout movement is for boys and girls, aged about eight to about twenty. Originally, the movement was for boys only. A movement for girls, called "Girl Guides" was started in 1910. Today, both the movement for boys, and that for girls are part of the scout movement.
In the scout movement, people learn to work together to achieve a goal. They also train their character, to become better adults.
Usually when they start in the scouts they give a promise to live by certain rules, and to help others when they can.
Scouts spend their time outdoors, whenever possible.
Baden-Powell took many ideas from the experiences he made with the Mafeking Cadet Corps. This corps was a paramilitary group made of boys. It was formed during a siege in the Second Boer War. The boys mainly carried messages; that way the soldiers coud focus on defending the city.
Today, the scout movement is for boys and girls, aged about eight to about twenty. Originally, the movement was for boys only. A movement for girls, called "Girl Guides" was started in 1910. Today, both the movement for boys, and that for girls are part of the scout movement.
In the scout movement, people learn to work together to achieve a goal. They also train their character, to become better adults.
Usually when they start in the scouts they give a promise to live by certain rules, and to help others when they can.
Scouts spend their time outdoors, whenever possible.
Origins Of Scouting
Baden-Powell (22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941)
Baden-Powell was a military officer. He was stationed in India and Africa in the 1880s and 1890s. Since his youth, he was fond of woodcraft and military scouting. He therefore showed his men how to survive in the wilderness. He noticed that if he taught the soldiers to develop independence, they would no longer follow the orders given by their officers blindly.
In 1896, during the Second Matabele War, Baden-Powell first met and became friends with the American-born British Army Chief of Scouts Frederick Russell Burnham. From Burnham he learned the ways of cowboy and indian scouts of the Western United States, he started to wear a scout hat like the one worn by Burnham, and he discussed with Burnham a scout training program for boys.
Three years later during the Second Boer War, Baden-Powell was besieged in the small town of Mafeking by a much larger Boer army (The Siege of Mafeking).The Mafeking Cadet Corps was a group of youths that supported the troops. The cadets carried messages. This freed the men for military duties. It also kept the boys occupied during the long siege. The Cadet Corps performed well, helping in the defence of the town (1899–1900). This experience was one of the many factors that inspired Baden-Powell to form the Scouting movement.Each member received a badge that showed a combined compass point and spearhead. The badge's logo was similar to the fleur-de-lis that Scouting later adopted as its international symbol.
In the United Kingdom the public followed his struggle to hold Mafeking through newspapers. After the siege, Baden-Powell had become a national hero. This pushed the sales of a small instruction book he had written about military scouting, Aids to Scouting.
On his return to England he noticed the large interest of boys in this book, which was also used by teachers and youth organizations.Several people suggested to him to rewrite this book for boys, especially during an inspection of the Boys' Brigade. This brigade was a large youth movement, drilled with military precision. Baden-Powell thought this would not be attractive and suggested that it could grow much larger when scouting would be used.He studied other schemes, parts of which he used for Scouting.
In 1896, during the Second Matabele War, Baden-Powell first met and became friends with the American-born British Army Chief of Scouts Frederick Russell Burnham. From Burnham he learned the ways of cowboy and indian scouts of the Western United States, he started to wear a scout hat like the one worn by Burnham, and he discussed with Burnham a scout training program for boys.
Three years later during the Second Boer War, Baden-Powell was besieged in the small town of Mafeking by a much larger Boer army (The Siege of Mafeking).The Mafeking Cadet Corps was a group of youths that supported the troops. The cadets carried messages. This freed the men for military duties. It also kept the boys occupied during the long siege. The Cadet Corps performed well, helping in the defence of the town (1899–1900). This experience was one of the many factors that inspired Baden-Powell to form the Scouting movement.Each member received a badge that showed a combined compass point and spearhead. The badge's logo was similar to the fleur-de-lis that Scouting later adopted as its international symbol.
In the United Kingdom the public followed his struggle to hold Mafeking through newspapers. After the siege, Baden-Powell had become a national hero. This pushed the sales of a small instruction book he had written about military scouting, Aids to Scouting.
On his return to England he noticed the large interest of boys in this book, which was also used by teachers and youth organizations.Several people suggested to him to rewrite this book for boys, especially during an inspection of the Boys' Brigade. This brigade was a large youth movement, drilled with military precision. Baden-Powell thought this would not be attractive and suggested that it could grow much larger when scouting would be used.He studied other schemes, parts of which he used for Scouting.
International Organizations
Today at the international level, the two largest umbrella organizations are:
- The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920 By Robert Baden-Powell , and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland. It is the counterpart of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
- The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England.
The Scout Promise & Scout Law
The Scout Promise
The Scout Law
- On my honour I promise that I will do my best
- To do my duty to God and the King (or to God and my Country);
- To help other people at all times;
- To obey the Scout Law.
The Scout Law
- A Scout’s honour is to be trusted.
- A Scout is loyal.
- A Scout’s duty is to be useful and to help others.
- A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout.
- A Scout is courteous.
- A Scout is a friend to animals.
- A Scout obeys orders of his parents, Patrol Leader or Scoutmaster without question.
- A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties.
- A Scout is thrifty.
- A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.
Movement characteristics
Scouting is taught using the Scout method, which incorporates an informal educational system that emphasizes practical activities in the outdoors. Programs exist for Scouts ranging in age from 6 to 25 (though age limits vary slightly by country), and program specifics target Scouts in a manner appropriate to their age.
Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports.
Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports.
How many scouts there are and where ?
As of 2008, there are over 31 million registered Scouts and 10 million registered Guides around the world, from 216 (161 countries with internationally recognised National Scout Organizations + 26 main territories where Scouting exists, often as overseas branches of member Scout Organizations + 29 countries where Scouting exists (be it embryonic or widespread) but where there is no National Scout Organisation which is a member of WOSM) countries and territories.Only in six countries was there no scout movement in 2006. They were Andorra, People's Republic of China, Cuba, Laos, Myanmar and North Korea.
In Cuba, there was a scout organisation, but the Communist government replaced it by the José Martí Pioneer Organization, which is similar to scouts, but without the international brotherhood and the peace mission. Scouting organisations have been banned in China. They have been replaced by Young Pioneers of China and Communist Youth League of China. There was Scout Association in Hong Kong , Macau and Republic of China (Taiwan). These organisations are similar to scouts, but without the international brotherhood and the peace mission. There are no scouting organisations in Myanmar, but there are a few boy scouts and girl scouts (headed by the US scout movement) in Yangoon.
