Page 99 - Culture Media Language Working Papers in Cultural Studies

88 GREEN FARM SCOUT CAMP

looked up from my work and saw a biggish boy called Tip hit another boy fairly
firmly. I called Pat, saying, ‘There’s been a bit of a fracas!’ and then told Tip to
explain to Pat what he’d done. He mumbled something contritely amid a general
silence. Pat told him and the victim of the blow to come outside. A minute later
the lads returned. Much later on in the day Pat remarked to me that he felt Tip
was a bit inclined to be violent. He displays his skill in concrete leadership by
grasping that, in the absence of any general problem with the group of boys as a
whole, it is best to ‘take out’ the problem pair and deal with their grievances
concretely, rather than start an abstract harangue in front of an already cowed
audience. Pat’s style is thus concrete and particular, adjusting to the situation’s
requirements without losing disciplinary grip.
The different styles of leadership exemplified here correspond to two
necessary aspects of the Scout leader’s role. On the one hand, Pat’s orientations
refer to the function of active social control; on the other hand, the activities of
Bruce represent the technical requirements of Scout camping activities and the
practical skills necessary to their expressive realization.
The balloon construction exemplified the meaning of creative activities for the
boys. Leonard had put up the idea as a general one for the half-dozen troops
camping on the site. The purpose behind it was to create an opportunity for all
the troops to witness a little divertissement in the evening, as the balloons were
launched. Pat decided to give me the job of explaining to a group of lads how it
was to be made and to supervise them as they did it. I suppose the ‘arty-crafty’
implications of the project made it appear suitable for me; there was no risk of
anything untoward occurring, and it happened that I had been the first to peruse
the plans. The main problem, I immediately apprehended, was that there was
going to be little opportunity for revisions or corrections as we worked, so the
project needed to be supervised. But I hoped to let the lads take on definite parts
of the project and thus participate in its making. Ensconced as we were in the old
farm stables, I noticed what one or two other troops were doing and followed the
example set for me. In practice it meant that a Scouter made the balloon with the
assistance of boys seconded from each of the patrols. Only one or two boys could
be working on it at one time, so there was a problem of occupying the rest, who
drifted in and out talking to one another. Eventually, despite the initial interest of
some of the lads, I was left with only two—Tip, who has been mentioned before,
and Lance; these two were Assistant Patrol Leaders (APLs) and therefore the
oldest of the original bunch. Tip spent some time discontentedly rapping on the
keys of an abandoned piano in a random manner, while Lance brightly asked me
some intelligent questions about what I was doing with the troop. In truth, the
whole activity must have been rather boring for them, partly because of the
limited resources available compared with the number of lads. This reaction led
to the eventual withdrawal of most of them from the ‘place of work’. That their
attitude was understood by Pat was, I think, clear; he made no attempt to
harangue them for their lack of perseverance and himself assisted in the latter
part of the work. I think we can assume the existence of shared understandings