The Owosso times., 1922-09-15

SCOUT S
p p
Conducted by National Council of the Boy
Scouts of America.)
SCOUTING AND THE SCHOOLS

The scouting and the schools" Sec
tiOn at the recent convention in Bos-
ton Of the National Education associa-
tiOn held prominent place among the
thirty different department meetings.
The convention was attended by over
10000 of the leading educators of the
country.
The educational value of scouting,
Its influence for citizenship training
and character building are thoroughly
recognized by the educators, who are
more and more supplementing the
school work with the scouting pro-
gram.
AT the scouting section Edwin d.
Miller, principal Of the Northern High
school, Detroit, Mich, told how De
trOit's board Of education Is co-Operat.
Ing. Since 1920 the plan has been fol-
lowed Of installing scout troops In
school buildings under school auspices.
The board Of education employs a
scout executive in the same way they
would employ teacher, although the
actual scoutmasters are, of course,
volunteers. About twenty-five troops
are being conducted by the board Of
education and there are over fifty that
meet in school buildings.
"The public schools and the boy
scouts are leaders among the agencies
that make better boys" said Prof. Al
bert Shiels of Columbia University,
who has been investigating the propo-
stiOn for a number of years. "The
conclusion Is inevitable. We must CO.
operate. Less eloquence and more &C.
complishment from now ON
In his address on "BOyhoOd and Cit
izenship Training" DR.. George j.
Fisher, deputy chief scout executive,
Boy Scouts Of America, said:
''It Is strange that in democracy
like ours the average person has re-
ceived little, If any, training in the
duties and responsibilities of citizen
ship. To have an effective democracy
we must seriously train the youth in
the principles Of democracy. His
man experience Is dependent upon his
boy experience. Scouting has been a
great aid to the schools in furnishing
a definite program of service activi-
ties. Scouting Is a course in the prac-
tice of patriotism. What the youth
of America needs Is practical tasks,
the doing of which gives him the con.
sciousness Of having served the COM
munity, the state, the nation. This
scouting has provided for youth bet
.er than any other program yet de-
vised."
In still another section "The Wider
Use of School Houses" Scouting"
was the subject of important cOnsid
Grafton. Charles II. Mills of national
headquarters, Boy Scouts of America
stated in an address that from wide
experience he believed no activity be-
longed to the wider use of schools
more than scouting; and that there
was no place where scouting belonged
more than it did in the public school
house. "The two primal motives of
scouting" said Mr.. Mills, "are charac-
ter building and citizenship training
Is there any possible way I'm which
there could be formed better backing
for citizenship training than to have
the very civic forces themselves foster
and encourage and promote scouting?
1t does not take the boy long to real
ize that 1t Is the city itself that is
working for him and serving him by
the school community center interest
ing itself in scouting Immediately
there arises in him the desire to re-
ciprOcate by serving his community"