IN the pioneer days of our country, a scout was a man who went ahead of an advancing party to explore the country, to prepare the way for others.

Today a Scout is a boy who goes ahead, mastering new skills, preparing to be of service to others and a credit to himself. He pledges himself, as a Scout, to the motto: "Be Prepared."

When a boy joins a baseball club, he expects to learn and to practice baseball. When a boy joins Scouting, he expects to learn and practice Scouting. He wants to go ahead, to achieve, and also, he wants to have his achievement recognized by his fellow Scouts.

To encourage achievement, the Advancement Program of Scouting sets up a progressive series of requirements to be mastered, and suitable badges to be awarded to the boy in recognition of what he has done. If this program is to capture and hold the boy's respect it must be maintained on a high standard in keeping with the principles of the Scout Movement. It must not permit sham or pretense but must truly encourage the Scout to "Be Prepared." Then he will be able to serve others and he will develop valuable confidence in himself.

Principles Of Scout Advancement

Scout Advancement has introduced a new principle in competition. Elsewhere, in many places, a boy is urged to "beat" or "lick" somebody else in games or scholastic standing. In Scouting, the boy is encouraged to compete, not against somebody else, but against himself—his own record, his own previous measure of his knowledge and self-mastery.

In almost every other educational system, boys are taught in classes, doing specified work in a specified amount of time. In a class of that sort, the slower boys are apt to be forced to cover the ground more quickly than they are able, and the brighter boys are retarded by others not as bright. In Scout Advancement, each boy proceeds at a speed which he himself sets. With the exception of a few minimum length-of-service requirements, there is nothing to hold the more intelligent, the more ambitious boy back. His rate of advancement is measured only by his own ability and the intensity of his interest.

There are two basic motives that may urge him on:

One is the burning desire to acquire useful knowledge, so that (for example) under any conditions, wet or dry, high or low, he shall be able to light a fire with two matches, or one. This motive, then, is the one that prompts the Scout to advance because he wants not only to be able to take care of himself (especially in the open), but also because he wants the ability to take care of others when they need his services.

Fires, disasters, First Aid needs—all are met courageously and ably, because Scouts have trained for just such emergencies.

The other motive is the desire to wear badges on his sleeve or sash to show to his friends. Both motives are natural in boys and are perfectly legitimate, except when acquiring the badge rather than the knowledge becomes the boy's primary objective. Such a "badge-hunter" loses the whole meaning of the requirements. What is more, badge-hunters drop out of Scouting as soon as collecting has lost its first lure.

When the boy sets out on the advancement trail, he competes against no other boy in the world save himself. As he advances he becomes a more skillful, useful, serviceable, dependable individual to himself and society. He has made progress in the pursuit of skills and has developed a certain amount of initiative.

The Significance of the Badges

The badges which accompany his advancement and which the Scout wears on his Uniform are not to show that he has "passed certain tests." There should be no past tense implied! On the contrary, each badge cries out "I can, right now and here!"

The badge of rank worn by a Scout is like the M.D. sign on a doctor's door. It advertises to the world that "Here lives a man who is prepared to help sick people." So must the First Class Badge advertise to the world that here is a boy who is qualified to help others as well as take care of himself. It is not to be considered a decoration, but rather a symbol of knowledge and ability.

Games and other activities that review the various Scout Requirements should be worked into the Troop's program continuously so that the Scouts will not

To make a fire, when the wood is all wet and nature seems to conspire to prevent it, is a result of careful Scout training.

"grow rusty" for lack of an opportunity to use and practice their knowledge and ability.

The Scout Requirements

The requirements for Second and First Class Ranks were laid down, as Baden-Powell says, "with the idea that a boy who proved himself equipped to that extent, might reasonably be considered as grounded in the qualities which go to make a good, manly citizen." The Scout who can swim, tie knots, follow a map, who knows First Aid, the trees and the stars has acquired something that not only enriches his own life, but also makes him more useful to others.

And yet, it is possible that the by-products of these practices are more valuable than the knowledge itself.

There is more to swiniming, for example, than just swimming, more to signaling than just signaling.

The boy loves swimming, he wants to get in, "the water's fine." And by swimming, he grows to enjoy cleanliness; he learns pluck in attaining the art; he gains self-confidence in mastering it; he wins health and develops chest and lungs and muscle; he gains the power of saving life and grasps opportunities for doing so.

In signaling he sharpens his alertness, gets valuable physical exercise in arm-work, and trains the eye. But more than that, he learns "stick-to-it-iveness." Signaling may be dull in the beginning. The Scout may consider it work to re-learn all the old familiar letters in dots and dashes. But when he sticks it out until he becomes a good signaler, a boy will find loads of fun in it—he will find that it is a thrill to "learn by doing." And that lesson applies to most of the worth while things in life.

Similarly, every other Scout Requirement while holding the interest of the boy, carries him toward the adult leader's aims.