Fun

“We want to make our program fun.”

I hear this repeated often by adult and youth leadership in Scouting; fun, fun , fun. If the Scouts don’t have fun they won’t stay in scouting. But what kind of fun are they really looking for?

I contend that boys are in Scouting not because they want more bread and circuses ( benefits or entertainments intended to placate discontent or distract attention) but because they crave an honest challenge. They love to learn, but hate to be educated; to work hard, but dislike being driven; to achieve, but despise regimentation.

Honest challenges are not canned experiences leading to predictable outcomes; they are open-ended in that failure or disappointment are possible.

Never dangerous or capricious, always safe and measured but honest. Boys will always find fun in meeting an honest challenge. They are not looking for another source of entertainment or yet another program of ‘activities’. Boys will stay scouts as long as the integrity of the challenge is maintained – if they sense that we are simply trying to entertain them they will not stay around long.