Chapter 2

One function of the council is to interest public-spirited women and men, particularly artists and scientists, in girl-scout work and to get them to act as referees in awarding proficiency badges.

But wisdom is to be sought not only in large cities, where there are schools and museums, laboratories and studios. It is a poor community that does not have at least one wise old person--a farmer learned in nature's ways, a retired sailor stocked with sea lore, or a mother of men who knows life as perhaps no one else can. The wise council will know where to find these natural teachers and see that the scouts go to their schools.

Another prime function of the council is to raise funds and to make available such material equipment as camp sites, meeting places for the troops, etc. The captain should turn to the council for help in arranging and directing rallies, dances, fairs, pageants, and other devices for entertainment or securing money.

_National organization._--The central governing body of the girl scouts is the national council, holding an annual convention of elected delegates from all local groups. The national council works through an executive board, which meets monthly and conducts national headquarters in New York. The national director is in charge of headquarters and his direct responsibility for the administration of the whole organization, with the general divisions of field, business, publication, and education, each in charge of a secretary.

The field work is administered through 14 regions, each covering several States, and in charge of a regional director, who helps in the formation of local councils, the training of captains, and acts as general supervisor and consultant for all work in the district.

Under business comes the handling of mails, all the work of the shop where uniforms, insignia, books, badges, flags, and other equipment are sold, and the distribution of material ordered by mail.

There are three classes of publications: First, a monthly journal, The American Girl. Second, pamphlets and articles for general propaganda and publicity; these are handled by the editorial and publicity staffs, respectively. Third come publications of a technical nature, like the official handbooks for scouts and officers and outlines for training courses. These form part of the work of the education department, which has general oversight of all that pertains to training for leaders and the development of standards of work, including the important feature of coordinating the girl scouts with the other educational and social organizations. Camping also forms a part of the work of the education department.

During 1919 and 1920 the following publications were issued:

_Scouting for Girls:_ The official handbook, 576 pages.

_Campward Ho:_ A manual for girl-scout camps, 192 pages. Designed to cover the needs of those undertaking to organize and direct large, self-supporting camps for girls.

_The Blue Book of Rules for Girl Scout Captains:_ All official rules and regulations, 32 pages.

_Training Courses:_ (1) Outline for 32-period course, 17 pages. (2) Introductory course, 10 periods, 16 pages.

_Girl Scout Health Record:_ Booklet form for recording points for health winner's badge.

_Miscellaneous Pamphlets:_ Averaging 8 pages; 128,325 copies.

_Need for leaders._--The growth in membership has been twice as rapid among the scouts as it has among the officers, as may be seen in the table already given. For every scout in 1918 we have 10 in 1921. For every officer in 1918 we have but 5 in 1921. For some time to come, therefore, the energy of the national officers must be directed toward the securing of properly trained leaders.

Colleges and higher schools are responding to a gratifying extent with the introduction of training courses in scouting for girls. Within two years courses have been given at the following colleges or universities: Adelphi, Boston, Bryn Mawr, Carnegie Institute, Cincinnati, Converse, Elmira, Hunter, Johns Hopkins, Missouri, New Rochelle, Northwestern, Pittsburg, Rochester Mechanics' Institute, Rochester University, Rockford, Simmons, Smith, Syracuse, Teachers' College, and Vassar. Also at the following higher schools: Battle Creek Normal School of Physical Education, Brooklyn Training School for Teachers, Chautauqua Institute, Chicago Normal School of Physical Education, Community Service Council of Marquette County, Mich., Manhattan Trade School for Girls, Milwaukee Normal, State Normal at Pittsburgh, Pa., Washington State Normal, and Western State Normal, Mich. The following schools and colleges are asking for courses: Chicago, Cornell, Detroit Normal, Kalamazoo, Michigan State Normal, Pennsylvania State, and Temple University.

Through cooperation with the deans of women in all parts of the country, and with the Intercollegiate Community Service Association, the college women are being influenced to take up scouting as an extra academic activity before graduation, and as a form of community service in their home towns later.

In addition to this work through existing educational bodies, many special courses are conducted in connection with the organizations of local councils.

The First National Training School for Girl Scout Officers has been conducted for four years, the last two years at Long Pond Camp in Plymouth, Mass. During the summer of 1920 special training camps were also held in connection with the councils of Greater New York, Cincinnati, and Harrisburg, with instruction given under the auspices of national headquarters. Five such camps are planned for 1921, located in Plymouth, Central Valley, in the Catskills, Lake Mohegan, N. Y., Philadelphia, and Cincinnati.

_Scouting in the public schools._--Only that organization for young people can succeed which contributes directly to their chief business, which is getting an education. One reason the girl scout organization is received so cheerfully by school people is that it works into the school's own plans to a remarkable degree. Local councils have a larger representation from the public schools than from any other single agency. Scout leaders are drawn largely from the teaching force because teachers naturally have a better insight into the needs of young people than any other single group.

In a few places this interest has resulted in the gradual assimilation of scouting into the school system. At Fort Scott, Kans., this work has progressed furthest, with 90 per cent of all pupils of scout age, either boy or girl scouts. Supt. Ramsey made a most favorable report on this situation at the Cleveland meeting of the Department of Superintendence of the National Education Association in 1920. Among essential features he mentioned the following:

The boy scout executive and girl scout commissioner act as recreational directors and have charge of all the health education and vocational guidance.

A room is set aside in the Junior High School for all scout work which, however, is passed upon by a council, including persons outside of the school force.

Through glee clubs and choruses great interest in community singing and other music has been developed. The scout organization is helping to solve the dress problem for both boys and girls.

"To give the modern ideals of education would be to state the ideals of scouting." The modern teacher is increasingly well fitted to become a good scout leader.

Scouting may best be promoted through the public school, because that is the only organization that includes all the boys and girls. Moreover, because of close daily association, leaders of school troops can insure each scout being an active scout.

The school also benefits by scouting in a number of ways. Older pupils stay in school longer because of their interest in scouting than because of any other influence. "A year of work in scouting will do as much toward acquainting a teacher with the ideals of teaching as a year spent in any college or university of the country." Finally, scouting secures the interest, attention, and good will of the parents to the public schools.

_Girl Scout badges earned in 1919-20._

+---------+----------- Subject. | Number. | Per 1,000. -------------------------------+---------+----------- | | 1. Home nurse | 2,852 | 126 2. Laundress | 2,192 | 97 3. First aid | 1,523 | 67 4. Needlewoman | 1,389 | 61 5. Child nurse | 1,267 | 56 6. Cook | 991 | 44 7. Pathfinder | 990 | 44 8. Health guardian | 923 | 41 9. Flower finder or zoologist | 878 | 39 10. Home maker | 861 | 38 11. Citizen | 732 | 32 12. Signaler | 647 | 28 13. Bird hunter | 636 | 28 14. Health winner | 600 | 26 15. Pioneer | 595 | 26 16. Artist | 592 | 26 17. Musician | 580 | 26 18. Interpreter | 578 | 25 19. Swimmer | 557 | 25 20. Business | 424 | 19 21. Cyclist | 422 | 19 22. Gardener | 393 | 17 23. Athlete | 345 | 15 24. Horsewoman | 266 | 12 25. Bugler | 254 | 11 26. Scribe | 216 | 10 27. Telegrapher | 192 | 8 28. Motorist | 190 | 8 29. Dairy maid | 190 | 8 30. Farmer | 187 | 8 31. Sailor | 130 | 6 32. Electrician | 101 | 4 | | Total | 22,693 | 1,000 -------------------------------+---------+-----------

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

On the second table, first column, the totals look a little confusing, but properly read they are correct. The sub-total does not take into account the first line (440) making the total 80,759. Adding it back in gives the total of 81,199 plus 1,826 (18+) gives the correct grand total. It has been left as in the original.

There is a variation between girl-scout and girl scout; girl-scout denotes the organization, and girl scout pertains to an individual. They have been left as in the original.

Only one typo found and corrected; susceptibility was misspelled as "susceptibilty".