The Patrol At Play

Some cynical Scoutmaster may observe that play forms a comparatively insignificant part of Scouting, and that it is superfluous to devote a chapter to this subject. I know that somebody would tell such a Scoutmaster to "read page 1 of 'Scouting for Boys.'" This, however, would be a mistake, as "Scouting for Boys" has no "page 1." It begins with Chapter One on page 13. The first two sentences are as follows

"Instruction in Scouting should be given as far as possible through practices, games and competitions.
"Games should be organized mainly as team matches, where the Patrol forms the team, and every boy is playing, none merely looking on."

Games, then, are to form a very important part of Scout training. Scouting itself may be described as "the grandest of all games." It must be remembered, however, that whether it is a big game or a small game, whether it is an indoor game or an outdoor game, whether it is a contest of muscles or a contest of wits, the essential thing is that the Patrol should form the unit, and that nobody should be a spectator.
It is not necessary to elaborate the splendid games that Scouts may play. The Chief himself has written a book on this very subject-a book which every Scoutmaster should possess. Nearly every part of the Scout training can be converted into a game. The previous chapter on Patrol Competitions has explained roughly how this may be done. The Scoutmaster must use his imagination, and if he is himself unimaginative, he must make use of the imagination of his boys. His own ideas may fail, but those of his boys will be almost as fertile after two years of Scouting as they were at the beginning.
In one Troop they have certain times on parade at which any boy is entitled to pretend that he requires immediate attention in the way of First Aid. The boy unexpectedly dashes out of the room saying that his clothes are on fire. Alternatively, he has an epileptic fit or falls off a ladder into the street. His case is taken seriously, and he is attended to in the proper way. One boy who scalded his chest with a kettle was so badly damaged that he had to be carried home on a stretcher, and he was not allowed to turn out at the next Troop parade! Several Scouts visited him at his home to make inquiries, and his Scoutmaster was annoyed because his parents refused to allow him to go into hospital!
Signaling, Swimming, Pathfinding, Kim's Game, and most other things should be taught in the same imaginative way.
The result of playing all games with the Patrol as the team is not only to foster the Patrol Spirit, but also to give the Patrol Leader a most exact and detailed knowledge of the various abilities of all the Scouts in his Patrol.