Globusz^® Publishing 

The boy of initiative is the boy
who will be picked for the job.

Handicrafts and Hobbies

There is today, as there has always been, a fearful waste of human material. This is. mainly due to ineffective training. The general mass of boys are not taught to like work. Even when they are taught handicrafts or business qualities, they are seldom shown how to apply these to making a career, nor is the flame of ambition kindled in them. Square pegs are too often placed in round holes.

Exactly where the fault lies one cannot say, but the fact remains that it is so.

Consequently, those boys who have not got these gifts naturally are allowed to drift and to become wasters. They are a misery to themselves and a burden even in some cases, a danger to the State. And the large proportion of those who do make some sort of a success would undoubtedly do better were they trained in a more practical way.

In the Boy Scouts we can do something to remedy these evils. We can take some steps towards giving even the poorest boy a start and a chance in life equipped, at any rate, with hope and a handicraft.

How? Naturally one's thoughts run to handcraft Badges. Though we call these "Handicrafts," they are, with our standard of tests, little more than "Hobbies." This, however, is part of our policy of leading the boys on with small and easy beginnings; and these Hobbies become more specialised as vocational training for the Senior Scouts. In the meantime, hobbies have their value; through these the boy learns to use his fingers and his brain, and to take a pleasure in work. For one boy these may remain his hobbies for years; for another they may lead to craftsmanship which will give him a career. In either case, the boy is not so likely to become a waster later on. Hobbies are an antidote to Satan's little games.

But hobbies or handicrafts are not likely to make a career for a boy without the help of certain moral qualities. Thus, the craftsman must have self-discipline. He must adapt himself to the requirements of his employer and of his fellow-workers, he must keep himself sober, and efficient, and willing.

He must have energy, and that depends on the amount he has of ambition, of skill, of resourcefulness, and of good health.

Now, how do we apply these in the Boy Scout's training?