The activities of the girl scouts are, of course, not peculiar to this
organization. Every one of them is provided for elsewhere, in schools,
clubs, and societies. But the way in which they are combined and
coordinated about certain basic principles is peculiar to the girl
scouts.
In the first place all these activities have a common motive, which is
preparation for a fuller life for the individual, not only in her
personal but in her social relations. It is believed that both the
habits formed and the concrete information acquired contribute to the
girls being ready to meet intelligently most of the situations that are
likely to arise in their later life. This concept is expressed in the
girl scout's motto, "Be prepared."
The method of preparation followed is that found in nature, whereby
young animals and birds _play_ at doing all the things they will need to
do well when they are grown and must feed and fend for themselves and
their babies.
The heart of the girl scouts' laws is helpfulness, and so the scouts
have a slogan: "Do a good turn daily." By following this in letter and
spirit, helpfulness becomes second nature.
Because the girl scouts are citizens they know and respect the meaning
of the flag, and one of the first things they learn is the pledge:
"I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic for which it
stands; one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Some observers have criticized the girl-scout organization because of
its apparently military character. It is true that the girls wear a
uniform of khaki and are grouped in patrols corresponding to the "fours"
in the Army; that they salute and learn simple forms of drill and
signaling. But the reason they do these is because the military
organization happens to be the oldest form of organization in the world,
and it works. It is the best way men have found of getting a number of
persons to work together. Following directions given to a group is quite
a different matter from doing something alone, and most of us need
special training in this. A group of eight has been found to work the
best, because it is the largest number that can be handled by a person
just beginning to be a leader, and, moreover, elementary qualities of
leadership seem to exist in just about the proportion of one in eight.
It is probably on this account that children take so kindly to the form,
rather than because of any glamor of the army, though this must be
admitted as a factor. In actual practice the drill and signaling take up
a very small portion of the program and are nowhere followed as ends in
themselves, but only as a means to an end.
_Uniform._--The uniform is simple, durable, and allows freedom of
action. It is of khaki because this has been found to be the best
wearing fabric and color. It is not easily torn and does not readily
soil. Wearing it gives the girls a sense of belonging to a larger group,
such as it is hard to get in any other way. It keeps constantly before
them the fact that they represent a community to whose laws they have
voluntarily subscribed, and whose honor they uphold. It is well, too, to
have an impersonal costume, if for no other reason than to counteract
the tendency of girls to concentrate upon their personal appearance. To
have a neat, simple, useful garb is a novel experience to many an
overdressed doll who has been taught to measure all worth by
extravagance of appearance.