The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: The History of the Scouting Movement and Its Most Popular Organizations

ISBN: 9781790718399
$12.99
*Includes pictures
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
"On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." - Scout Oath
“Girls must be partners and comrades, rather than dolls.” – attributed to Agnes Baden-Powell
Given the prominence of Scouting culture in the United States, many assume that the movement is rooted in North America. On the contrary, the movement was initiated in and spread forth from the United Kingdom, more specifically in England. It was the brainchild of the 1st Baron Baden-Powell, a beloved and decorated war veteran armed with not only Martini-Henry rifles and Lee-Enfield carbines, but a vision that would one day be espoused by every nation on Earth except Andorra, China, Cuba, North Korea, and Laos.
Baden-Powell had honed his tracking and scouting skills in war, and in the course he published books about those skills that he anticipated would have a limited audience. Instead, he was astounded by the popularity of Aids to Scouting, which had sailed to the top of the bestsellers list in his absence. Parents, teachers, and youth groups alike who purchased the book for their children and students responded with rave reviews. Invigorated by the UK’s seemingly blossoming interest in the outdoors, Baden-Powell traveled to Glasgow, where he attended the Annual Drill Inspection and Review of the Boys' Brigade. Before long, he had put together a Scouting organization, and its influence would spread across the globe in a few short years.
To most, a Boy Scout is the personification of righteousness, self-sufficiency, and adaptability. In contemporary culture, particularly in the West, the stock images of Boy Scouts are associated with irreproachable conduct, so much so that they have been inordinately branded as goodie-two-shoes.
For the most part, the cliché is well-intentioned and somewhat endearing. For such an interpretation, viewers can refer to the character Russell from the Disney-Pixar movie Up, a Junior Wilderness Explorer who embarks on a quest to secure the “Assisting the Elderly” badge. The nervous, but delightfully bubbly Scout was quick to capture the hearts of millions upon millions around the world.
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