CHAPTER XXIII

THE SCOUT EXECUTIVE AND
RECREATIONAL READING-

THE BOY'S INDOOR SPORT

By Franklin K. Mathiews, Chief Scout Librarian

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In the execution of its purpose to give educational value and moral worth to the recreational activities of the boyhood of America, the leaders of the Boy Scout Movement quickly learned that to effectively carry out its program the boy must be influenced not only in his out-of-door life but also in the diversions of his other leisure moments. It is at such times that the boy is captured by the tale of daring enterprises and adventurous good times. What now is needful is not that his taste should be thwarted but trained. There should constantly be made available recreational reading the boy likes best yet always that which will be best for the boy. To meet this need, the Magazine and Library Departments were organized.

One of the managers of the Circulation Department of the Curtis publications was asked what premiums in their "Book of Prizes" were most popular with the tens of thousands of boys who sell their publications. With more than five hundred articles listed, all chosen especially to delight the boy-heart, the boys, he said, asked for books oftener than for any other one thing. In a survey made in Rochester, N. Y., when the question was asked of the school children as to what they did between Friday afternoon and the following Monday, it was discovered that they spent the largest percentage of their time reading. A study was also made of the "hobbies" of 923 boys, and again it was found that boys spend more time reading than in any other recreation.

It is not too much to say that aside from personality, the chief vehicle for the conveyance of truth to the child mind is through the story book; by this means the child is more profoundly moved than by any other. We have not yet reached the same conclusion regarding the recreational story books of the early

and middle 'teens, still thinking of these as "just a story", when the fact is that boys and girls are doubtless as much influenced by these as by the stories of early childhood. To no little extent, it is our neglect in failing to recognize the worthwhileness of these later story periods, that our American youth is being so terribly exploited, on the one hand by the "thriller" in its many forms, and on the other, by the salacious story which increasingly is being read either in book or magazine by young people in their middle 'teens.

Some of us recall the delicious delight of reading such books as, "The Reveries of a Bachelor" or "Dream Life." Better far at this period that our young people should have their sentimental interest fed by even such "poor literature" as the books of E. P. Roe than that they should be nourished by nasty stories, made nice by almost perfect literary art. Some day we will stop laughing at our youth because of their interest in the sentimental story, giving it serious consideration and, by careful analysis, discover how important a place such stories have in the mental and moral development of our boys and girls.

Our special interest, however, is in the adventure story and the other recreational reading interests of the boy in his early 'teens. At this period boys are likely to read more books than at any other time, some of them reading as many as three or four books a week. What is true for boys is also true for girls, for they have a similar interest in the story of adventure, though at this time boys are not at all interested in the stories of sentiment that girls read so readily.

Here is a hint as to one of the reasons why boys are so much interested in adventure stories, that is, in a story possessing the appeal of action, or "pep", as the boy would say. There are two experiences, common to both sexes just before and during the early 'teen age, the one of unusual physical growth, and the other of a differentiating of sex. Beyond a doubt, it is this condition of the body that explains in part at least,

both boys' and girls' interest in the story of action. Now "stirs the blood to bubble in the veins," and it is this exhilaration within the muscular and nervous system that excites the average boy's or girl's interest in a story in which there is "something doing" all the time.

Some day a very careful study will be made to discover just how far the adventure type of story serves as a prophylactic for the adolescent at the critical time when youth needs to be safeguarded at every turn. Meanwhile, it is safe to propose that careful consideration be given to this suggestion and that, just as far as possible, boys and girls be guided and directed in their choice of books at this time.

Moreover, it is these experiences of the body that give a physical basis for the rise and growth of the imagination, making necessary proper exercise for its wholesome development. In a word, what the paraphernalia of a gymnasium are to the body, books are at this time to the imagination-the means by which through exercise it finds adequate expression. Right here, it is important for us to notice that the test as to the worthwhileness of these adventure stories is not as to whether they teach morality but as to whether, like gymnasium equipment, they are of the best sort for the purpose intended. That the adventure story is of the realest service in the boy's character development there can be no doubt, but at the moment let us think alone as to the importance of the story in providing a kind of mental gymnastic paraphernalia for the exercise of his imagination and emotional nature.

Unfortunately, we usually associate the uses of the imagination with that other-worldliness which leads away from the day's work and the worship of the "God of things as they are.' We are a practical people and demand the kind of education which reaps rich reward in the market place. But is it not true that imagination awakened and well-developed does for us that very thing? What are some of the supreme qualities that distinguish successful men? May we

not count the chiefest among them initiative and resourcefulness;-and whence come these except as men possess creative and constructive imagination?

So may it not be true that when boys are reading their story of adventure, if it only be of the right sort, that this is what is taking place. The greatest possible service education can render is to train the boy to grasp and master new situations as they constantly present themselves to him; and what helps more to make such adjustment than a lively imagination; and what are the best stories of adventure but the records of resourcefulness in the face of what seems to be insuperable difficulty? It is this element in "Robinson Crusoe", "Swiss Family Robinson", "Masterman Ready", and similar tales, that make them fresh reading for every generation.

'Fresh reading for every generation", for there is a time, the period of the early 'teens, that nature has set for the development of personal initiative and selfreliance. Heretofore, the child has been largely influenced by what some educators call "the race mind." But now a transition comes, and nature provides conditions to make something better, perhaps something new. Says Professor Edward St. John in his "Stories and Story Telling":

"It is now that he needs the exceptional and the sensational to spur him on to do deeds that have never yet been done. Nature now seeks to stir in every one the impulse to rise above the common level and do surpassing things. Hence the impossible hero does not repel and may have a real pedagogical value."

Is it too much to conclude, then, that when boys read stories of ADVENTURE (#1, Page 514) of the right kind, that these books will stimulate such initiative, awaken such resourcefulness as will aid the boy to change capacity into capability and so vocationally help him to find himself. Not that the tale of adventure alone will do this, but rightly, purposefully used, it is sure to do its share.

In their recreational reading, boys find delight_in books other than the tales of pure adventure. Increasingly, they are interested in what may be termed THE WHAT-AND-HOW-TO-DO BOOKS, (#2 Page 514) that is, books on handicraft, machinery and applied electricity. The relation between the story

of adventure and THE WHAT-AND-HOW-TO-DO BOOK is most intimate-through these creative imagination aroused, seeks to express itself, following the natural law of impression then expression.

A striking illustration of this connection between these two types of books, was found in a newspaper and magazine shop where a man had observed this same relation. In the center of the store he had arranged a table, on one side of which were the nickel thrillers, and on the other side, what he called his sentimental "slush-trough." To fill in the rest of the table, he had placed immediately in front such magazines as Popular Mechanics and Popular Electricity. He said that watching this table, he had discovered that while it was usual for boys to read first the "nickels" and then dip into the "slush", in many instances, the brighter boys turned very quickly from the nickels to read Popular Mechanics, etc. And it is said upon very good authority that the publishers of the nickel novels count such magazines their biggest competitors.

Here is a hint as to how to help solve the problem of boys reading too many stories, a common claim made by those who have to do with the directing of their reading. Boys should be given opportunity to read the very best stories but equal opportunity should be presented for them to secure those books which will make it possible for them to express themselves wholesomely and practically through some work of their hands.