BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 47 Think out the points you want your boys to learn, and then make up games to bring them into practice. Bacon said that play-acting was one of the best means of educating children, and one can quite believe him. It develops the natural power in them of imitation, and of wit and imagination, all of which help in the development of character; and at the same time lessons of history and morality can be impressed on their minds far better by their assuming the characters and acting the incidents themselves than by any amount of preaching of the same on the part of the teacher. The recent craze for historical pageants is in reality one of the best ideas educationally that have come over us of late years. In places where pageants have been held, both old and young have learnt — and learnt for the rest of their lives — something of the history of their forefathers, their town, and their country. Instructors will find it a genuinely useful practice to make their scouts act scenes from history or incidents with which they desire to impress them. Such, for instance, as " Wilson's Last Stand," " The Wreck of the Birkenhead," " The Sentry at Pom- peii." When the performances attain a certain degree of merit, they might be used as a means of obtaining funds.
RESPONSIBILITY TO BOYS
The great thing in this scheme is to delegate responsibility — mainly through the patrol leaders. Have, if possible, a good second in command to yourself to insure continuity of instruction should you be unable on occa- sions to present yourself, and to relieve you of many minor details of administration. Give full responsibility and shozv full confidence in your patrol leaders. Expect a great deal from them and you will get it. This is the key to success in scout-training. Foster the patrol spirit and friendly rivalry between patrols, and you will get immediate good results in an improved standard of the whole. Don't try and do everything yourself, or the boys will merely look on, and the scheme will flag.
