Lord Robert Baden Powell
The founder of Scouting Lord Baden Powell (BP) of Gilwell, was born in 1857 in England. He lived a busy and adventurous life, and as a boy spent much of his spare time in open–air pursuits hunting in the woods, joining his brothers in expeditions by land and in their boats. Thus he developed his powers of observation, resourcefulness and was helped to acquire many useful skills.
He won a scholarship which gave him entry into the British Army, where he was sent to India and served for many years. He tried out his ideas of training soldiers in "Scouting" and taught them how to develop experience in stalking and fending for themselves; and to be observant of all signs that would give them an advantage as soldiers. He set down his ideas in the book "Aids to Scouting", which was used as a textbook for many years.
As a soldier, BP rose to public prominence during the war against the Boers in Africa at the end of the 1800's. Most noteworthy was BP's leadership of the defending force in the seige of the South African town of Mafeking. Baden-Powell returned to England as a national hero in 1899 having successfully defended the town against the Boers.
History Of Scouting
The seeds of Scouting began in Mafeking, South Africa, where Baden Powell served as the commanding officer during the Boer War of 1899 - 1902. Baden-Powell defended the town against the Boers (Afrikaners), who outnumbered his troops eight to one. He formed the Mafeking Cadet Corps to help support the troops. The Corps consisted entirely of boy volunteers. Baden-Powell trained the boys and they acquitted themselves well, helping in the successful defence of the town (1899 - 1900). Each Cadet Corps member received a badge, a combination of a compass point and a spearhead. This logo eventually became the fleur-de-lis, which Scouting adopted as its international symbol.
As a result of his status as a national hero, acquired as a result his determined defence of the Siege of Mafeking, Baden-Powell's military training manual, Aids to Scouting (written in 1899) became something of a best-seller and was used by teachers and youth organisations.
In 1906, Ernest Thompson Seton sent Baden-Powell a copy of his book entitled The Birchbark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians. Seton, a British-born Canadian living in the United States, subsequently met Baden-Powell and they shared ideas about youth training programs.
Baden-Powell was encouraged to re-write Aids to Scouting to suit a youth readership By 1907 he had finished a draft called Boy Patrols. The same year, to test out some of his ideas he gathererd together 22 boys of mixed social background and held a week long camp, beginning July 29, on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. His organizational method, now known as the Patrol Method, the key to the Scouting method, allowed the boys to organize themselves into small groups with an elected patrol leader. In the fall of 1907, having his draft publication and a successful camp behind him, Baden-Powell went on an extensive speaking tour arranged by his publisher, Pearsons, to promote his forthcoming book. Beginning in January 1908 its initial publication appeared as six installments in a boys fortnightly magazine. The parts were subsequently published in book form as Scouting for Boys, now commonly considered the first edition of the Boy Scout Handbook. At the time Baden-Powell intended that the book would provide ideas for established organisations, in particular the Boys' Brigade. However, boys spontaneously formed Scout patrols and flooded Baden-Powell with requests for assistance. In this manner the Scouting movement unintentionally arose and developed by the weight of its own momentum. As the movement developed Sea Scout and Air Scout units were added to the program options. Baden-Powell could not single handedly advise all the youth who requesting his assistance. To provide for adult leadership training was required. The Wood Badge was developed to recognize adult leadership training. In 1919 Gilwell Park was purchased as an adult training site and scouting campground. Baden-Powell also wrote a book for the assistance of leaders entitled Aids to Scoutmastership.
Early history
A small number of Scout groups founded in 1908 have the right to wear a green neckerchief in recognition of their membership of those founding groups.
Scouting began to spread throughout Great Britain soon after the publication of Scouting For Boys. The Boy Scouts quickly became an organization in and of itself. Scouting moved swiftly throughtout the British Empire. The first recognized overseas unit was chartered in Malta. Canada became the first overseas Dominion with a sanctioned Boy Scout program, followed by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Chile was the first country outside of the British Dominions to have a recognized scouting program. The first Scout rally was held at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1910. It attracted 10,000 boys, as well as a number of girls, who turned out for this exhibtion of scouting. By 1910, Sweden, Denmark, France, Finland, Norway, Mexico, Argentina, Greece and the United States had Boy Scouts.
The First Scout Camp
BP was encouraged to set down his views on how he would apply Scouting to the training of boys. So he first conducted an experimental camp in 1907 on Brownsea Island off the Dorset coast of the UK. With some 20 boys from all walks of life and suitable adult leaders, Baden–Powell taught the boys what he meant by Scouting. They lived in tents, cooked their own food and learnt many valuable skills through games.
A Best Seller!
The camp was a great success and proved Baden-Powell's ideas, so he tackled the task of writing down his experience in a book. Scouting for Boys was first published in fortnightly parts, beginning 15 January 1908. Every issue sold out as soon as it hit the news stands, despite the cover price of 4d which was expensive at the time. In fact, Scouting for Boys ranks third in the world's best sellers after the Bible and Shakespeare.
The 1 August 1907 is regarded as the beginning of the Scout Movement worldwide.
Every other Wednesday until the end of March, boys (and girls) all over England eagerly awaited the next issue of Scouting for Boys.
The Movement is Born
It was suggested that boys form themselves into Patrols within other organisations but boys didn't want to be school-Scouts, cadet-Scouts or brigade-Scouts, they simply wanted to be Scouts. Long before the last instalment had hit the book stands, Scout Patrols and Troops had magically appeared all over Britain. Baden-Powell finally bowed to the inevitable and accepted that Scouting would have to become a Movement in its own right.
Two years later, Baden-Powell retired from the army as a General to devote his life to this new Movement called Scouting. A rally at the Crystal Palace, London, drew together 10,000 boys. For Scouting memorabilia, click on the form at the top of this page for a camp in 1908.
Scouting Expands and Grows
The Girl Guides were formed in 1910 after which in quick succession came the Sea Scout Branch in the same year, Wolf Cubs in 1916, Rover Scouts in 1918 and the Special Test (now "Extension") Department in 1926. The Group system of Cub Scouts, Scouts and Rovers under the leadership of the Group Scoutmaster was established in 1927, Deep Sea Scouts in 1928, Air Scouts in 1941 and Senior Scouts in 1946 (now known as Venturer Scouts).
Meanwhile Scouting spread to Australia, New Zealand and India in 1908 and other countries followed shortly after. Chile, in 1909 was the first country outside the British Empire to start, followed closely by France, the Scandinavian countries and the United States in 1910. In 1937, 2,500,000 Scouts from nearly 50 countries were affiliated with the International Bureau which was set up to safeguard Scouting and to prevent control drifting into the hands of the purely religious, political or military bodies. Wood Badge Training of leaders commenced in 1919 at Gilwell Park, England and has over the years become established as the method of leader training throughout the Scouting world.
World Chief Scout
Lord Baden-Powell was proclaimed World Chief Scout at the first Jamboree at Olympia in the UK in 1920; he was raised to the peerage in 1929 (given the title of Lord); and was awarded the order of Merit in the Coronation Orders in 1937. He travelled widely, encouraging Scouting in every country he visited. He came to Australia three times, in 1912, 1931 and to the first Australian Jamboree in 1934-35.
Meanwhile Scouting had become established as a most successful scheme for the training of boys, and in many countries including Australia it spread rapidly because it was what boys wanted to do. Soon a headquarters was set up and leadership provided by recognised leaders in the community. Honours were showered upon the Founder by many countries but his last acclaim was the World Jamboree in Holland in 1937. He retired to Kenya, where he spent several happy years with his family. He died there on 8 January 1941.
He was described as The Piper of Pax because of his tremendous contribution to boyhood and world peace.
Today, the World's Largest Youth Organisation
From its English origins Scouting struck an enthusiastic chord among boys in so many countries that we now have a World Scout Committee. The World Scout Committee provides unity amongst the National Associations with a World Bureau operating from Geneva in Switzerland, and independent national organisations in 155 countries with a Scout membership of over 28 million. Adapting to the general changes in Australian society, Scouting admitted girls and young women to its Venturer Scout and Rover Sections in 1973 and its Cub Scout and Scout Sections in 1988. The Joey Scout Section commenced on 1 July 1990 and is open to boys and girls aged between six and seven-and-a-half years of age.
Breakaway organisations
The first schism within Scouting was right back in November 1909, when the British Boy Scouts (later the Brotherhood of British Scouts, and known internationally as the Order of World Scouts) was formed, initially comprising an estimated 25 percent of all Scouts in the United Kingdom, but rapidly declining from 1911 onward. The organisation was formed due to perceptions of bureaucracy and militaristic tendencies in the mainstream movement. With several smaller organisations, such as the Boy's Life Brigade Scouts they formed the National Peace Scouts federation. The British Girl Scouts were the female counterpart of the British Boy Scouts.
In the years following the First World War, ex-Scout John Hargrave, who had broken with what he considered to be the Scouts' militaristic approach, founded a breakaway organisation that in 1925 would become known as The Woodcraft Folk.
Baden-Powell Scouts were formed in 1970, initially in the United Kingdom but now also elsewhere, when it was felt that the "modernisation" of Scouting was abandoning the traditions and intentions established by Baden-Powell.
Lord Robert Baden-Powell's last message to Leaders:
B-P prepared a farewell message to his Scouts, for publication after his death.
The message follows...
"Dear Scouts - If you have ever seen the play "Peter Pan" you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of good-bye.
Remember, it is the last time you will ever hear from me, so think it over.
I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have as happy a life too.
I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man.
Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.
But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. "Be Prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die happy- stick to your Scout Promise always when you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you to do it.
Your friend,
Robert Baden-Powell"
Scouting - 100 Years Old in 2007
There are more than 28 million Scouts, young people and adults, male and female, in 160 countries and territories. Some 300 million people have been Scouts, including prominent people in every field.
This is impressive considering that Scouting began with 20 boys and an experimental camp in 1907. It was held during the first nine days of August in 1907 at Brownsea Island, near Poole in Dorset, England.
The camp was a great success and proved to its organiser, Robert Baden-Powell, that his training and methods appealed to young people and really worked.
In January 1908, he published the first "Scouting for Boys", a book issued in fortnightly parts at four pence each. It was an immediate success. Baden-Powell had only intended to provide a method of training boys, something that existing youth organizations such as the Boys' Brigade and Y.M.C.A. could adopt. To his surprise, youngsters started to organise themselves into what was destined to become - and is today - the world's largest voluntary youth movement.
The Scout Promise
All members of the Scout Movement are required to adhere to a Scout Promise and a Law reflecting, in language appropriate to the culture and civilization of each National Scout Organization and approved by the World Organization, the principles of Duty to God, Duty to others and Duty to self, and inspired by the Promise and Law conceived by the Founder of the Scout Movement in the following terms:
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
1. A Scout’s honour is to be trusted.
2. A Scout is loyal.
3. A Scout’s duty is to be useful and to help others.
4. A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout.
5. A Scout is courteous.
6. A Scout is a friend to animals.
7. A Scout obeys orders of his parents, Patrol Leader or Scoutmaster without question.
8. A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties.
9. A Scout is thrifty.
10. A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.
The Mission of Scouting
The mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society. This is achieved by:
involving them throughout their formative years in a non-formal educational process
using a specific method that makes each individual the principal agent of his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person
assisting them to establish a value system based upon spiritual, social and personal principles as expressed in the Promise and Law.
The Vision for Scouting is:
As a global Movement, making a real contribution to creating a better world.
We see Scouting entering its second century as an influential, value-based educational Movement focussed on achieving its mission, involving young people working together to develop their full potential, supported by adults who are willing and able to carry out their educational role.
We see Scouting world-wide as attracting and retaining more and more young people (especially adolescents) of both genders and coming from broader segments of society.
We see Scouting as attractive to adults, women and men, in all cultures - a Movement through which they can make a significant contribution to society by working with young people.
We see Scouting as a dynamic, innovative Movement with adequate resources, simple structures and democratic decision making processes where organisation, management and communication are effective at all levels.
Educational Methods is a term used in Scouting that encompasses our approach to education for our members (Scouts) and our approach to the training of our volunteer leadership.
For young people and adults we use the term 'education' in its broadest sense; as a life-long process that enables the global and continuous development of a person's capacities both as an individual and as a member of society.
Each National Scout Organization is responsible for:
developing a Youth Programme, based on the fundamental principles of Scouting, that is attractive to and meets the needs of young people in their country
training volunteers to deliver the Youth Programme and manage the association.
The Educational Methods Committee (EMC), a Sub Committee of the World Scout Committee, is responsible for supporting the development and delivery of Scouting in NSOs; through networking, sharing good practices, supporting innovations and developing partnerships.
The Educational Methods Committee is chaired by John May and a plan for 2008-2011 has been developed.
An educational Movement for young people
As an educational movement for young people, Scouting's purpose is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.
It includes all four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be, the last two requiring a particular emphasis.
It belongs to the category of non-formal education since, while it takes place outside the formal educational system, it is an organized institution with an educational aim and is addressed to a specific clientele.
In addition, Scouting’s educational approach is characterized by the following:
it adopts a holistic approach to a young person’s education;
it seeks to achieve its educational purpose on the basis of an educational proposal;
as a non-formal educational agent, it plays a complementary role to that of other educational agents;
it recognizes that it can only make a contribution to the education of young people.
More information on Scouting's approach to education is available in The Essential Characteristics of Scouting
Training and support to Volunteers
Scouting recognises that volunteers play an essential role in the Movement and the Adults in Scouting model sets out an approach to the overall management; the recruitment, appointment, support and training and recognition, of its volunteers.
The Strategy for Scouting challenges NSOs to develop new approaches to broaden the base of volunteers that are willing and able to support Scouting. Approaches to volunteering vary from country to country. The EMC will help NSOs to explore volunteering from their perspective and make plans to extend their base of volunteering and provide appropriate training to support the growth of Scouting.
More information on volunteering is available in the World Adult Resources Policy and the Volunteers in Scouting Toolkit.
Baden-Powell returned to England a national hero, after defending the town of Mafeking (Mafikeng as it is now spelled) for seven months from the besieging Boer troops, the first real British triumph in the Boer War. When he returned to England, he discovered that many boys and young men were avidly reading his book Aids to Scouting. This book was intended as a military training manual, teaching soldiers techniques such as observation, tracking, initiative...
B-P. met with various influential people in youth movements across the country, and was persuaded to write a version of Aids to Scouting aimed at teenage boys, Scouting for Boys was published in 1908 (after a camp on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, Dorset, where B-P. tried out his ideas on four patrols of boys from London and Bournemouth). Scouting for Boys was initially printed in six fortnightly parts, and sold very quickly.
Baden-Powell had originally intended the scheme outlined in Scouting for Boys to supplement the programmes of youth organisations that were in existence at the time, like the Boys Brigade and the Boy's Clubs. But boys not in other youth movements bought the book, and set themselves up as Patrols of Scouts, and quickly found themselves leaders to train them. It was soon realised that some form of organisation was required to support these Scouts.
Scouting for Boys is now in fourth place in the all time best sellers list, behind the Bible, the Koran and Mao-Tse-Tung's Little Red Book.
The founder of Scouting Lord Baden Powell (BP) of Gilwell, was born in 1857 in England. He lived a busy and adventurous life, and as a boy spent much of his spare time in open–air pursuits hunting in the woods, joining his brothers in expeditions by land and in their boats. Thus he developed his powers of observation, resourcefulness and was helped to acquire many useful skills.He won a scholarship which gave him entry into the British Army, where he was sent to India and served for many years. He tried out his ideas of training soldiers in "Scouting" and taught them how to develop experience in stalking and fending for themselves; and to be observant of all signs that would give them an advantage as soldiers. He set down his ideas in the book "Aids to Scouting", which was used as a textbook for many years.
As a soldier, BP rose to public prominence during the war against the Boers in Africa at the end of the 1800's. Most noteworthy was BP's leadership of the defending force in the seige of the South African town of Mafeking. Baden-Powell returned to England as a national hero in 1899 having successfully defended the town against the Boers.
History Of Scouting
The seeds of Scouting began in Mafeking, South Africa, where Baden Powell served as the commanding officer during the Boer War of 1899 - 1902. Baden-Powell defended the town against the Boers (Afrikaners), who outnumbered his troops eight to one. He formed the Mafeking Cadet Corps to help support the troops. The Corps consisted entirely of boy volunteers. Baden-Powell trained the boys and they acquitted themselves well, helping in the successful defence of the town (1899 - 1900). Each Cadet Corps member received a badge, a combination of a compass point and a spearhead. This logo eventually became the fleur-de-lis, which Scouting adopted as its international symbol.
As a result of his status as a national hero, acquired as a result his determined defence of the Siege of Mafeking, Baden-Powell's military training manual, Aids to Scouting (written in 1899) became something of a best-seller and was used by teachers and youth organisations.
In 1906, Ernest Thompson Seton sent Baden-Powell a copy of his book entitled The Birchbark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians. Seton, a British-born Canadian living in the United States, subsequently met Baden-Powell and they shared ideas about youth training programs.
Baden-Powell was encouraged to re-write Aids to Scouting to suit a youth readership By 1907 he had finished a draft called Boy Patrols. The same year, to test out some of his ideas he gathererd together 22 boys of mixed social background and held a week long camp, beginning July 29, on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. His organizational method, now known as the Patrol Method, the key to the Scouting method, allowed the boys to organize themselves into small groups with an elected patrol leader. In the fall of 1907, having his draft publication and a successful camp behind him, Baden-Powell went on an extensive speaking tour arranged by his publisher, Pearsons, to promote his forthcoming book. Beginning in January 1908 its initial publication appeared as six installments in a boys fortnightly magazine. The parts were subsequently published in book form as Scouting for Boys, now commonly considered the first edition of the Boy Scout Handbook. At the time Baden-Powell intended that the book would provide ideas for established organisations, in particular the Boys' Brigade. However, boys spontaneously formed Scout patrols and flooded Baden-Powell with requests for assistance. In this manner the Scouting movement unintentionally arose and developed by the weight of its own momentum. As the movement developed Sea Scout and Air Scout units were added to the program options. Baden-Powell could not single handedly advise all the youth who requesting his assistance. To provide for adult leadership training was required. The Wood Badge was developed to recognize adult leadership training. In 1919 Gilwell Park was purchased as an adult training site and scouting campground. Baden-Powell also wrote a book for the assistance of leaders entitled Aids to Scoutmastership.
Early history
A small number of Scout groups founded in 1908 have the right to wear a green neckerchief in recognition of their membership of those founding groups.
Scouting began to spread throughout Great Britain soon after the publication of Scouting For Boys. The Boy Scouts quickly became an organization in and of itself. Scouting moved swiftly throughtout the British Empire. The first recognized overseas unit was chartered in Malta. Canada became the first overseas Dominion with a sanctioned Boy Scout program, followed by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Chile was the first country outside of the British Dominions to have a recognized scouting program. The first Scout rally was held at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1910. It attracted 10,000 boys, as well as a number of girls, who turned out for this exhibtion of scouting. By 1910, Sweden, Denmark, France, Finland, Norway, Mexico, Argentina, Greece and the United States had Boy Scouts.
The First Scout Camp
BP was encouraged to set down his views on how he would apply Scouting to the training of boys. So he first conducted an experimental camp in 1907 on Brownsea Island off the Dorset coast of the UK. With some 20 boys from all walks of life and suitable adult leaders, Baden–Powell taught the boys what he meant by Scouting. They lived in tents, cooked their own food and learnt many valuable skills through games.
A Best Seller!
The camp was a great success and proved Baden-Powell's ideas, so he tackled the task of writing down his experience in a book. Scouting for Boys was first published in fortnightly parts, beginning 15 January 1908. Every issue sold out as soon as it hit the news stands, despite the cover price of 4d which was expensive at the time. In fact, Scouting for Boys ranks third in the world's best sellers after the Bible and Shakespeare.
The 1 August 1907 is regarded as the beginning of the Scout Movement worldwide.
Every other Wednesday until the end of March, boys (and girls) all over England eagerly awaited the next issue of Scouting for Boys.
The Movement is Born
It was suggested that boys form themselves into Patrols within other organisations but boys didn't want to be school-Scouts, cadet-Scouts or brigade-Scouts, they simply wanted to be Scouts. Long before the last instalment had hit the book stands, Scout Patrols and Troops had magically appeared all over Britain. Baden-Powell finally bowed to the inevitable and accepted that Scouting would have to become a Movement in its own right.
Two years later, Baden-Powell retired from the army as a General to devote his life to this new Movement called Scouting. A rally at the Crystal Palace, London, drew together 10,000 boys. For Scouting memorabilia, click on the form at the top of this page for a camp in 1908.
Scouting Expands and Grows
The Girl Guides were formed in 1910 after which in quick succession came the Sea Scout Branch in the same year, Wolf Cubs in 1916, Rover Scouts in 1918 and the Special Test (now "Extension") Department in 1926. The Group system of Cub Scouts, Scouts and Rovers under the leadership of the Group Scoutmaster was established in 1927, Deep Sea Scouts in 1928, Air Scouts in 1941 and Senior Scouts in 1946 (now known as Venturer Scouts).
Meanwhile Scouting spread to Australia, New Zealand and India in 1908 and other countries followed shortly after. Chile, in 1909 was the first country outside the British Empire to start, followed closely by France, the Scandinavian countries and the United States in 1910. In 1937, 2,500,000 Scouts from nearly 50 countries were affiliated with the International Bureau which was set up to safeguard Scouting and to prevent control drifting into the hands of the purely religious, political or military bodies. Wood Badge Training of leaders commenced in 1919 at Gilwell Park, England and has over the years become established as the method of leader training throughout the Scouting world.
World Chief Scout
Lord Baden-Powell was proclaimed World Chief Scout at the first Jamboree at Olympia in the UK in 1920; he was raised to the peerage in 1929 (given the title of Lord); and was awarded the order of Merit in the Coronation Orders in 1937. He travelled widely, encouraging Scouting in every country he visited. He came to Australia three times, in 1912, 1931 and to the first Australian Jamboree in 1934-35.
Meanwhile Scouting had become established as a most successful scheme for the training of boys, and in many countries including Australia it spread rapidly because it was what boys wanted to do. Soon a headquarters was set up and leadership provided by recognised leaders in the community. Honours were showered upon the Founder by many countries but his last acclaim was the World Jamboree in Holland in 1937. He retired to Kenya, where he spent several happy years with his family. He died there on 8 January 1941.
He was described as The Piper of Pax because of his tremendous contribution to boyhood and world peace.
Today, the World's Largest Youth Organisation
From its English origins Scouting struck an enthusiastic chord among boys in so many countries that we now have a World Scout Committee. The World Scout Committee provides unity amongst the National Associations with a World Bureau operating from Geneva in Switzerland, and independent national organisations in 155 countries with a Scout membership of over 28 million. Adapting to the general changes in Australian society, Scouting admitted girls and young women to its Venturer Scout and Rover Sections in 1973 and its Cub Scout and Scout Sections in 1988. The Joey Scout Section commenced on 1 July 1990 and is open to boys and girls aged between six and seven-and-a-half years of age.
Breakaway organisations
The first schism within Scouting was right back in November 1909, when the British Boy Scouts (later the Brotherhood of British Scouts, and known internationally as the Order of World Scouts) was formed, initially comprising an estimated 25 percent of all Scouts in the United Kingdom, but rapidly declining from 1911 onward. The organisation was formed due to perceptions of bureaucracy and militaristic tendencies in the mainstream movement. With several smaller organisations, such as the Boy's Life Brigade Scouts they formed the National Peace Scouts federation. The British Girl Scouts were the female counterpart of the British Boy Scouts.
In the years following the First World War, ex-Scout John Hargrave, who had broken with what he considered to be the Scouts' militaristic approach, founded a breakaway organisation that in 1925 would become known as The Woodcraft Folk.
Baden-Powell Scouts were formed in 1970, initially in the United Kingdom but now also elsewhere, when it was felt that the "modernisation" of Scouting was abandoning the traditions and intentions established by Baden-Powell.
Lord Robert Baden-Powell's last message to Leaders:
B-P prepared a farewell message to his Scouts, for publication after his death.
The message follows...
"Dear Scouts - If you have ever seen the play "Peter Pan" you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of good-bye.
Remember, it is the last time you will ever hear from me, so think it over.
I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have as happy a life too.
I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man.
Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.
But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. "Be Prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die happy- stick to your Scout Promise always when you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you to do it.
Your friend,
Robert Baden-Powell"
Scouting - 100 Years Old in 2007
There are more than 28 million Scouts, young people and adults, male and female, in 160 countries and territories. Some 300 million people have been Scouts, including prominent people in every field.
This is impressive considering that Scouting began with 20 boys and an experimental camp in 1907. It was held during the first nine days of August in 1907 at Brownsea Island, near Poole in Dorset, England.
The camp was a great success and proved to its organiser, Robert Baden-Powell, that his training and methods appealed to young people and really worked.
In January 1908, he published the first "Scouting for Boys", a book issued in fortnightly parts at four pence each. It was an immediate success. Baden-Powell had only intended to provide a method of training boys, something that existing youth organizations such as the Boys' Brigade and Y.M.C.A. could adopt. To his surprise, youngsters started to organise themselves into what was destined to become - and is today - the world's largest voluntary youth movement.
The Scout Promise
All members of the Scout Movement are required to adhere to a Scout Promise and a Law reflecting, in language appropriate to the culture and civilization of each National Scout Organization and approved by the World Organization, the principles of Duty to God, Duty to others and Duty to self, and inspired by the Promise and Law conceived by the Founder of the Scout Movement in the following terms:
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
1. A Scout’s honour is to be trusted.
2. A Scout is loyal.
3. A Scout’s duty is to be useful and to help others.
4. A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout.
5. A Scout is courteous.
6. A Scout is a friend to animals.
7. A Scout obeys orders of his parents, Patrol Leader or Scoutmaster without question.
8. A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties.
9. A Scout is thrifty.
10. A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.
The Mission of Scouting
The mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society. This is achieved by:
involving them throughout their formative years in a non-formal educational process
using a specific method that makes each individual the principal agent of his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person
assisting them to establish a value system based upon spiritual, social and personal principles as expressed in the Promise and Law.
The Vision for Scouting is:
As a global Movement, making a real contribution to creating a better world.
We see Scouting entering its second century as an influential, value-based educational Movement focussed on achieving its mission, involving young people working together to develop their full potential, supported by adults who are willing and able to carry out their educational role.
We see Scouting world-wide as attracting and retaining more and more young people (especially adolescents) of both genders and coming from broader segments of society.
We see Scouting as attractive to adults, women and men, in all cultures - a Movement through which they can make a significant contribution to society by working with young people.
We see Scouting as a dynamic, innovative Movement with adequate resources, simple structures and democratic decision making processes where organisation, management and communication are effective at all levels.
Educational Methods is a term used in Scouting that encompasses our approach to education for our members (Scouts) and our approach to the training of our volunteer leadership.
For young people and adults we use the term 'education' in its broadest sense; as a life-long process that enables the global and continuous development of a person's capacities both as an individual and as a member of society.
Each National Scout Organization is responsible for:
developing a Youth Programme, based on the fundamental principles of Scouting, that is attractive to and meets the needs of young people in their country
training volunteers to deliver the Youth Programme and manage the association.
The Educational Methods Committee (EMC), a Sub Committee of the World Scout Committee, is responsible for supporting the development and delivery of Scouting in NSOs; through networking, sharing good practices, supporting innovations and developing partnerships.
The Educational Methods Committee is chaired by John May and a plan for 2008-2011 has been developed.
An educational Movement for young people
As an educational movement for young people, Scouting's purpose is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.
It includes all four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be, the last two requiring a particular emphasis.
It belongs to the category of non-formal education since, while it takes place outside the formal educational system, it is an organized institution with an educational aim and is addressed to a specific clientele.
In addition, Scouting’s educational approach is characterized by the following:
it adopts a holistic approach to a young person’s education;
it seeks to achieve its educational purpose on the basis of an educational proposal;
as a non-formal educational agent, it plays a complementary role to that of other educational agents;
it recognizes that it can only make a contribution to the education of young people.
More information on Scouting's approach to education is available in The Essential Characteristics of Scouting
Training and support to Volunteers
Scouting recognises that volunteers play an essential role in the Movement and the Adults in Scouting model sets out an approach to the overall management; the recruitment, appointment, support and training and recognition, of its volunteers.
The Strategy for Scouting challenges NSOs to develop new approaches to broaden the base of volunteers that are willing and able to support Scouting. Approaches to volunteering vary from country to country. The EMC will help NSOs to explore volunteering from their perspective and make plans to extend their base of volunteering and provide appropriate training to support the growth of Scouting.
More information on volunteering is available in the World Adult Resources Policy and the Volunteers in Scouting Toolkit.
Baden-Powell returned to England a national hero, after defending the town of Mafeking (Mafikeng as it is now spelled) for seven months from the besieging Boer troops, the first real British triumph in the Boer War. When he returned to England, he discovered that many boys and young men were avidly reading his book Aids to Scouting. This book was intended as a military training manual, teaching soldiers techniques such as observation, tracking, initiative...
B-P. met with various influential people in youth movements across the country, and was persuaded to write a version of Aids to Scouting aimed at teenage boys, Scouting for Boys was published in 1908 (after a camp on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, Dorset, where B-P. tried out his ideas on four patrols of boys from London and Bournemouth). Scouting for Boys was initially printed in six fortnightly parts, and sold very quickly.
Baden-Powell had originally intended the scheme outlined in Scouting for Boys to supplement the programmes of youth organisations that were in existence at the time, like the Boys Brigade and the Boy's Clubs. But boys not in other youth movements bought the book, and set themselves up as Patrols of Scouts, and quickly found themselves leaders to train them. It was soon realised that some form of organisation was required to support these Scouts.
Scouting for Boys is now in fourth place in the all time best sellers list, behind the Bible, the Koran and Mao-Tse-Tung's Little Red Book.
