Be The Right Kind Of Scout!
Source:
Suara Pengakap (Voice of Scouting), Volume 5, July-September 1983
No.2
What a responsibility it is to know that what you
do, your boys will do! What you are, they'll try to be! That's why
it is so important that you're the right kind of leader. And the
surest way to be the right kind of leader is to be the right kind of
Scout.
When your boys see that you are trying your best to live up to the Scout Promise and Law, they'll try to do the same. When you show them that the daily good turn is a real obligation to you, they'll pick up the same spirit. If you go about your job as Patrol Leader with enthusiasm and energy you'll have a group of enthusiastic fellows working well together.
Strive Harder!
If you move ahead steadily toward Lencana Maju, Lencana Jaya and Lencana Usaha, you'll carry your boys with you. On the other hand, if you don't care whether you ever reach the Usaha stage, you're likely to have a Patrol that is satisfied with standing still. That's why you should aim to be a step ahead of your fellows.
It is easier for a leader to say. "Come on!" than "Go on!" But unless you are out in front, showing your boys the way to go, even your "Come on!" won't mean very much.
Well, there's the patrol, the whole bunch of Scouts looking to you to lead them into the fun and adventure and friendship of Scouting. They are different in size and intelligence and temperament. There aren't two of them alike, yet they have one thing in common with each other and with you : They are SCOUTS - because they want to be and not because anyone told them they had to be!
Now, think for a moment of what the Patrol is going to mean to all of you in the future. For one year, two or perhaps more, your lives will be running along the same road. You will have the same Scouting interests, the same ambitions for your patrol, the same hopes. Together you will undertake great things, enjoy many adventures, share all the disappointments, victories and satisfaction that come to a Patrol of Scouts.
Notice that word TOGETHER. It means everything in life of a real Patrol. TOGETHER is the pass word to that great thing - PATROL SPIRIT.
Patrol Spirit and Cultivating Patrol Spirit
What is patrol spirit? Patrol spirit isn't something you can define in words. It's like personality or character or leadership. You recognize it when you meet it. You know when it's there. But you can't exactly tell that it is. It's Patrol Spirit that gets enthusiasm and energy in to everything the Patrol sets out to do - whether it's making camp equipment, participating in a competition, advancing in badge work or taking part in camp craft. It's a Patrol Spirit that puts fun and fellowship into Patrol meetings, real meaning into a Patrol camp fire.
Patrol Spirit is what makes a Scout say to himself just before the contest at District Rally, "I've simply got to win! I can't let the Patrol down!" It's what makes a Scout say to another fellow, "Sorry friend, but I can't go to the movies with you tonight. It's a Patrol meeting night." When two Scouts put their heads together to figure out how a Scout who hasn't much money, can earn his camp fees so the whole Patrol can go to camp together, it's Patrol Spirit that is working.
It's the Patrol Spirit that makes it seem worthwhile for a fellow to sacrifice some of his own comforts for the good of the whole Patrol ... that keeps down personal gossips - that makes discipline a simple matter because each fellow wants to do what's right ... that makes every boy feel the fineness of standing together through thick and thin, rain or shine. With Patrol Spirit a Patrol becomes strong and permanent. Without it a Patrol is just a bunch of boys that may fall apart at any moment.
To make your group a real Patrol, you'll want to do everything you can to build up a genuine Patrol Spirit. Don't expect Patrol Spirit to spring up like a mushroom overnight. It won't. Neither can it be made to order. But it can be developed in the same way that a small tree can be nurtured - by giving it rich soil in which to grow, by tending it faithfully, by letting plenty of sunshine and air get to it, by pulling up the weeds that threaten to choke it.
Many things go into the development of Patrol Spirit, such as things that distinguished your Patrol from others in the Troop like your Patrol name, your flag, your emblem, your call, your song and yell. Then there are things like your Patrol corner, your patrol log book, etc. But most important of all, there are the things that you do TOGETHER like your patrol meetings, hikes, weekend camps and your Patrol participating as a unit in your Troop activities.
Remember, be the right kind of Scout and cultivate the Patrol Spirit.