The Ten Essentials of Scoutmastership penned by William 'Green Bar' Hillcourt were part of the Scoutmaster's Handbook for many years.
4. A realization that to the boys Scouting is a game - to you, a game
with a purpose: Character building and Citizenship training.
Boys disdain trickery and subterfuge, they sense the medicine concealed in the spoonful of sugar and have a natural aversion to swallowing it. Scouting is not a set of unpleasant lessons in a sugarcoating of camping and play. Don't sugarcoat things, and don't attempt to teach lessons.
Do understand the intention of all the fun and allow the Scouts to discover these intentions for themselves. It is our task to keep the program aimed at good intentions and not allowing Scouting to lose its focus. So long as we do this the boys will get the point and learn the lessons on their own.
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