_First_: Write to Headquarters, which is at 200 Fifth Avenue, New York
City, for a scout master’s certificate.
_Second_: Either combine three or more patrols or having one patrol,
appoint several patrol leaders and enlist boys for the new patrols.
_Third_: The minimum number of patrols in a troop is three, and the
maximum the number a scout master can _rightly_ handle. Care should be
taken not to organize for the sake of a big showing.
_Hints on starting_: In actually starting a troop, it has been found
better to start in a small way. Begin by one or two leader-men making
a careful study of “Scouting for Boys” and as soon as the main ideas
have been grasped, get together a small number of boys, and go through
with them the initial stages step by step, until the boys bubble over
with scouting ideals, and until the notion of a fancy uniform and
games in the country have given place to a definite desire to qualify
for manhood and citizenship. These boys will make the nucleus round
which to form a troop, and should pass on their training and
enthusiasm to the boys who are enlisting under them. It has been found
better to obtain _distinctly older fellows for patrol leaders_: the
scout masters should invariably be men who feel the great
responsibility of having boys under their charge, and the possibility
of leading the boys from the moment when they enlist in the scouts to
the time they pass out again to be fully fledged men.
_Finances_: The finances necessary to run a troop of scouts should be
met by the scouts themselves. It is a main principle of scouting to
teach the boys to be self-reliant, and anything which will militate
against the constant sending round of the hat will be a national
good.
_The Scout Master_: The scout master is the adult leader of a troop.
The scout master may begin with one patrol. He must have a deep
interest in boys, be genuine in his own life, have the ability to lead
and command the boys’ respect and obedience and possess some knowledge
of a boy’s ways. He need not be an expert on scoutcraft. The good
scout master will discover experts for the various activities.
Applications for scout masters’ certificates may be made at the
Headquarters, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
From the outset, the scout master must have the interest of each boy
at heart. He must not play favourites with any of the boys in his
patrol or troop. While there are sure to be boys in the group who will
develop more rapidly than others, and whose keenness will be sure to
call forth the admiration of the scout master, he should not permit
himself to be “carried away” by the achievements of these “star boys”
to such an extent that he will neglect the less aggressive boy. The
latter boy is the one who needs your attention most, and your interest
in him must be genuine. Every effort he makes, no matter how poor it
may be, should be commended just as heartily as the better
accomplishments of the more handy boy.