A Game with a Purpose

[Kudu]

Miki,

 

Since Bob White references both Lessons from the Varsity of Life and Aids to Scoutmastership, his source is probably the Pine Tree Web, see:

 

http://www.pinetreeweb.com/ethics.htm

 

However the Webmaster, Lewis P. Orans, can not find a specific reference either.

 

As far as I can tell, the quote first appears in the third edition of Handbook for Scoutmasters (edited by William Hillcourt) as one of the "Ten Essentials of Scoutmastership." This wording (probably by Hillcourt) shows a deeper understanding of Scouting than the current shorter version:

 

"A realization that to the boys Scouting is a gameto you, a game with a purpose: Character building and Citizenship training."

 

See:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/patrol/hillcourt/scoutmastership.htm

 

In the 4th edition of Handbook for Scoutmasters, it was truncated down to the current headline length for a graphic on page 13.

 

As far as I can tell, the BSA did not mistakenly attribute this shorter version to Baden-Powell before the publication of the old BSA "Scoutmaster Fundamentals" course handbook. I once spent an afternoon on the phone to Irving Texas trying to track down the anonymous author. The person supposedly in charge of old manuscripts at BSA Headquarters did not even know who Baden-Powell was! Perhaps with your connections you could find out who wrote that section of the SMF manuscript.

 

My guess is that it is a product of prairie dog research. One junior executive at BSA HQ pops his head up over his office divider and asks the guy in the next cubical, "Hey, didn't Baden-Powell say that 'Scouting is a game with a purpose'?" If that guy answers "Yeah, I guess so," then it is a confirmed quote!

 

This form of historical research is probably the source of other quotes attributed to Baden-Powell by the BSA in their official publications. For instance, the B-P quote on page 20 of the current Scoutmaster Handbook: "The patrol method is not a way to operate a Boy Scout troop, it is the only way," but in the 3rd edition of Handbook for Scoutmasters (page 161) Hillcourt attributes this quote to Roland Phillips. Hillcourt's wording is "The Patrol Method is not ONE method in which Scouting can be carried out. It is the ONLY method!" B-P's term would have been "patrol system" not "patrol method."

 

The "game not a science" quote is actually from Hillcourt's "Methods of Scouting." It was his first, and presumably most important, Method: "The Scout Way (1. A Game, NOT a Science)". The Scout Way (along with the Uniform--for a while) was stricken from the Methods of Scouting in 1972 (after Hillcourt retired) to make room for the modern new "scientific" method called "Leadership Development."

 

See "The Seven Methods of Scouting:"

 

http://www.inquiry.net/adult/methods/

 

The correct Baden-Powell "Scouting is a game" quote is from the Introduction to Aids to Scoutmastership:

 

In my 1920 and 1930 copies of the book, it reads:

 

"What Scouting is. It is a game in which elder brothers (or sisters) can give their younger brothers heathy environment and encourage them to healthy activities such as will help them to develop CITIZENSHIP."

 

I found a more poetic version in an optically-scanned version of Aids to Scoutmastership, credited as the 1945 "Brotherhood Edition:"

 

"SCOUTING IS A GAME for boys, under the leadership of boys, in which elder brothers can give their younger brothers healthy environment and encourage them to healthy activities such as will help them to develop CITIZENSHIP."

 

http://www.thedump.scoutscan.com/scouts.html

 

Kudu

 

 

[Miki101]

Hey there Rick,

 

Agreed.

 

It's just one of those fun BSA myths that have been spun over the years. They do not detract from the program itself but if one wants to go for the actual facts, then preciseness is important.

 

Although Baden-Powell never said that quote, it can easily be inferred from the Forward in "Aids to Scoutmastership" as well as in "Varsity."

 

I like the "prairie dog" view. Nothing malicious, just mis-informed opinions.

 

Miki

[EagleInKY]

Kudu - Thanks for the history lesson. I must admit, I have been guilty of attributing it to him as well. I believe it is in line with his thinking, just probably not a direct quote.

[Bob White]

Actually it was from a 1980 Wood Badge syllabus. I got the years of publication from Pinetree wover.

[Miki101]

Hi Kudu,

 

FYI, "Scouting is a Game not a Science" quote is the title of Baden-Powell's article printed in Boys' Life January 1932, p. 5.

 

miki

[Kudu]

Bob White: It is interesting that the 1980 Wood Badge syllabus would cite the same sources as Lewis Orans.

 

Miki: Does it sound like B-P is presenting it as his idea, or is he reacting to a new American idea? This would have been 15 years before Hillcourt's "Methods of Scouting" was published in Handbook for Scoutmasters. I hope I can find a copy.

 

Does anyone know how long such material remains in copyright?

[Miki101]

Rick,

 

I have a copy that I can scan for you...It's simply a re-printed article authorized for BSA usage that he originally wrote for his weekly column in THE SCOUT. I do not have the date originally published. Copyright for this article is enforced and usage granted by the Scout Association of England based at Gilwell.

 

Provided that you have honorable intent, they should not mind if you re-print it for your site. Just be a good scout and e-mail Paul Moynihan the Chief Archivist first. You might mention that Dave Scott, that American author guy that he allowed to dive into his archives, thought that you should contact him.

 

Miki

[Greying Beaver]

Wow! Lookit what I started (See previous thread.)!