II. British youth

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

1. British Youth Today

2. Young People’s Organizations

3. Students’ Life and Customs

4. Youth’s Leisure and Problems

5. Youngsters Put Caring Before Jobs Success

1. BRITISH YOUTH TODAY. The United Nations Organization defines youth as young people in the age of 15 to 25. Young people under 30 constitute almost one half of the world’s population.

There is also above 1.5 billion children on our planet. And all of them have the right for happiness. This was written in the Declaration of Child’s Rights adopted at the UN General Assembly.

The British young people are the vanguard of every important contemporary social movement. They organize conferences and set up communities, unions and societies to consider their own particular problems.

To know each other better, young people use different forms of cooperation, such as friendship weeks and camps, delegation exchanges, special tours, bilateral and multilateral seminars on problems of international youth movement, peace marches, etc.

Most 18 and 19 year-olds in Britain are fairly independent people, and when the time comes to pick a college they usually choose one as far away from home as possible. So, many students in northern and Scottish universities come from the south of England and vice versa. It is very unusual for university students to live at home. Although parents may be a little sad to see this happen, they see it as a necessary part of becoming an adult. Anyway, the three university terms are only ten weeks each, and during vacation times families are reunited.

Painfully conditioned by mass advertising, pop records, some young people try to use their charms instead of their brains. The current dream amongst the undergraduate intelligentsia is an ivory tower on a small croft in the remotest Hebridean Island.

The solid group of English students tries not to think about anything else but the banker’s draft or a good science degree to be cashed in terms of a nice little wife and a nice little family, a comfortable house, a smart car, and a snug respected position in the world. Of the others, there are a few idealists working themselves into shadows and there are also a few layabouts.

It must be said that their speech, their songs, and most of what they eat and drink come to them second-hand from America together with the crime magazines and crime comics and crime films which are their only point of contact with the arts.

The English young people have fixed ideas about clothes. In clothes they prefer not the new but the good quality and durable. They dislike the brand new; in fact everything that looks bought yesterday. However, it should be remembered that the English are distributed according to their class, their income, their education, and their manners.

Talking about the girls, they don’t seem to be as interested in new clothes meaning the very fashionable clothes, as for example, the French girls.

By the standards of today’s English youth, to marry twenty-two is already dangerously late. Marrying so young, having their babies right away, England’s youth are themselves parents with parental problems, often before they reach the age of twenty.

2. YOUNG PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATIONS. Youth and youth movements are important factors in the social and political life of Great Britain. There are a lot of youth organizations in the UK. Most of them work under the British Youth Council (BYC), which represents the youth of the country both nationally and internationally. The BYC is a consultative body for about sixty youth organizations: the National Union of Students, the Scout and Girl Guides Associations and many other non-political youth groups, as well as political youth organizations.

The development of youth organizations, their increasing number and diversity is a characteristic feature for Great Britain. In general, youth organizations are extremely varied.

The National Union of Students was founded in 1922, when various university and college student organizations were united to defend the interests of the student youth and to coordinate international contacts and cooperation.

The chief aims of the Union are to defend the interests of students in university governing bodies, to provide better access to education, to preserve financial allocations on education.

Boy Scouts is an organization that teaches young people to be good citizens and trains them to become leaders. More than 24 million young people and scout leaders belong to Scouting units in more than 130 countries.

Scouts are taught to do their duty to God, to their country, and to their people. Their motto is “Be Prepared”, and learning by doing is the method used to teach them. The World Scout emblem is a Lily.

Scouts practice citizenship by electing their own youth leaders and by learning to work together. Boy scouts work and play outdoors; they acquire skills in camping, first aid, outdoor cooking, swimming and woodcraft.

The Scout Association was formed in 1907 (and it was called then the Boy Scout Association) after the appearance of a book Scouting for Boys written by Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell / 1857-1941/. Though the movement had been started in Great Britain for British boys, it very quickly spread to other countries.

Robert Baden-Powell started the Boy Scout movement in 1907, when he organized a camp for twenty boys. In 1908 Baden-Powell published the first Boy Scout Manual. In 1910 together with his sister Agnes he organized the Girl Guides.

The Scouting Program has three levels: Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Exploring. Any boy from 6 to 20 years of age may become a member. Girls from 14 to 20 years may join the Explorers. Each member pays a registration fee. A boy who has no group near him may become a Lone Cub Scout or Boy Scout by writing to the National Office. Boys with disabilities can take part in Boy Scout Programs according to their capabilities.

Baden-Powell’s idea of training boys was that they should organize themselves into small natural groups of six or seven (the Patrol) under a boy leader (the Patrol Leader). Their training would be complementary to their ordinary education: such things as mapping, signaling, knotting, first aid and all the skills that would arise from camping and similar outdoor activities.

But most important of all, to become a scout a boy must make a promise that he would do his best to do his duty to God and the King/Queen, to help other people, and to obey the Scout Law. Progressive training is rewarded by certain badges, for example the King’s/Queen’s scout badge.

From the beginning the left handshake, together with a special badge and the motto Be Prepared was adopted as the sign of being a scout.

CUB SCOUTING. Bobcat is the first rank in Cub Scouting. To earn this rank and to wear the blue and gold Cub Scout uniform, a boy must first learn the Cub Scout sign, salute, motto, and Promise, and know the Law of the Pack. The Cub Scout motto is “Do Your Best ”.

The Cub Scout Promise is “ I (name) promise to do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people and to obey the Law of the Pack”. Wolf, Bear and Webelos are the next highest ranks of Cub Scouts.

BOY SCOUTING

Any boy at 11-18 may be a Boy Scout. He must learn and promise to follow the Scout oath and the Scout Law. The Boy Scout promise is: On my honour, I will do my best: to do my duty to God and my community, and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep himself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight”.

The Scout Law has 12 points. It states that a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Scouts form Patrols of 5 to 8 boys. Four groups of Patrols form a Troop, led by an adult Scoutmaster.

Tenderfoot is the first rank in Boy Scouting. A Tenderfoot must have spent one night on camp-out. He must have learned the technique how to stop people from choking. He must have identified the poisonous plants.

Second Class Scout must know how to use a map and a compass. He must understand more first aid. He must be able to prepare a cooking fire and cook meal.

First Class Scout is the third rank of Boy Scouting. FCS must find direction without a compass. They must have served as their Patrol’s cook on a camp-out. FCS must understand the first aid procedure used to revive a person and pass a more advanced swimming test.

Star Scout must have earned 6 merit badges in communication, emergency, preparedness, environmental science, physical fitness and swimming.

Life Scout must have earned eleven merit badges.

Eagle Scout must have earned twenty-one merit badges.

A Scout may be given a Heroism Award and an Honour Medal for saving another person’s life at the risk of his own.

SERVICE ACTIVITIES

The Scout Slogan is “Do a Good Turn Daily”. Scouts learn to respect and care for other people. Each Scout must participate in service projects. Scouts work together to help their community. They may collect food for needy families. Scouts have helped during emergencies.

Boys and girls may become Explorers if they are 14. Five or more Explorers in the community may form an Explorer post. An adult leader supervises the post and serves as an advisor. Each Explorer post centers the activities on a particular hobby interest: aviation, computers, law or oceanography. Most posts take part in outdoor activities. Post Programs give Explorer a chance to investigate future careers.

JAMBOREES

Jamborees (Meetings) are among the most important events in scouting. During a Nation Jamboree Scouts from all areas of the country spend 10 days camping together.

During World Jamboree, held every four years, scouts from all parts of the world meet one another. The Boy Scouting held the first World Jamboree in Britain in 1920, when 301 Scouts from 32 countries camped together. Today there are 16,000,000 Scouts in 150 countries of the world.

World Scout Bureau Oxfordshire County Scouts

Box 241 12 Long Close, Headington

1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland Oxford OX3 8TT

England

Tel: national 0865 714971

International 44 865 714971

THE GIRL GUIDES ASSOCIATION was formed in 1910 by Baden-Powell soon after he started the Boy Scouts movement. The Programme of training is planned to develop intelligence and practical skills, to promote health and a sense of service by methods designed to appeal to each age group from Brownies (7,5-11), through Guides (11-16), to the Senior Branch of Land, Sea and Air Rangers (16-21). Among the many youth organizations uniting young people the following are also very popular.

THE COMBINED CADET FORCE trains boys at schools for service in the armed forces. All schools have an Army section and must have a Royal Navy (R.N.) or Royal Air Force (RAF) section. Cadets wear military uniform.

THE JUNIOR RED CROSS SECTION is an integral part of the British Red Cross Society. Boys and girls from 5 to 17 can be members in Links in schools. Cadets who are organized in out-of-school groups (11-17) wear uniform. The summer special camps are held in order to give holidays to physically handicapped children, and Juniors play an active part in this activity.

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF YOUNG FARMERS’CLUB was formed in 1923 by uniting several Young Farmers’ Clubs (the first one – a Calf Club – was established in 1921). Membership is open to all young people between ages of 10 and 25, interested in farming and countryside, and is not restricted only to people actively engaged in agriculture.

THE WOODCRAFT FOLK organization for children was founded in 1925. Very often whole families, parents and children belong to this association. Its aim is to bring up children in the spirit of peace and friendship on the principles of progress and humanity.

The motto of the Woodcraft Folk is “Span the World with Friendship”. They organize summer tent camps. There they study nature, history, archeology, and ecology. They organize dance and song festivals or sports competitions.

THE YOUNG MEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (YMCA) is an organization for young men and boys. The aim of the YMCA is “to develop high standards of Christian character through group activity and citizenship training”. Its programmes include sports and physical education, camping, spiritual education, public affairs and citizenship activities. Among other activities the YMCA operates hotels and residence halls, cafeterias and so on.

THE YOUNG WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (YWCA) originated in 1855 when Lady Kinnaird in London opened a home for nurses returning from the Crimean War. It continues to be a women’s movement with a Christian purpose and the aim “to advance the physical, social, intellectual, moral and spiritual aspects of young women”. The recreational, educational and spiritual aspects of its programme are symbolized in its insignia, a blue triangle. The YWCA operates hotels and residences (one of its first objectives was to provide safe, inexpensive, and decent places for girls to live), summer camps, programmes of education and recreation.

THE WELSH LEAGUE OF YOUTH was founded in 1922. Its object is to promote Christian Welsh citizenship among the youth of Wales. Boys and girls under 14 belong to Junior Clubs, and from 14 to 25 to Youth Clubs.

THE YOUTH SERVICE is a partnership between central government, local education authorities and the voluntary youth organizations. As part of their education services, local education authorities maintain their own youth clubs and centres, and cooperate with, and assist local voluntary youth agencies in their areas. Clubs and other facilities for informal education, recreation and social training are also provided by national voluntary youth organizations (such as the YMCA, the YWCA, the National Association of Youth Clubs and Boy’s Clubs, the Boy’s Brigade, the Scout Association and the Girl Guides Association).

3. STUDENTS’LIFE AND CUSTOMS. In the old times the students’ life was very strict. They were not allowed to play games, to sing, to hunt, to fish or even to dance. They wore special dark clothes, which they continue to wear in our days.

An undergraduate at Oxford may have the time of his life. Two rooms, a bedroom and a sitting room. Comfortable and cosy, although in some colleges the bedrooms are stone-cold. A scout makes his bed, looks after him, cleans up, puts things in order, a porter brings up his food, if is desired, his tea, cake, his drinks.

Naturally a student does some work occasionally, mostly in the morning; he might even go to the library. Then in the afternoon he plays games. In the evening he goes out: to a club meeting, to the Union, to parties, to dances.

But this is the life of the prospective snobs. Of course there is a rule, a very strict rule: if he is out after midnight or if he does not behave properly in the street, the “Bulldog” (the university policeman) is after him, the Proctor will take down his name, and he may get into a serious trouble. He may get drunk in his own rooms, no one minds. A lot of time he spends in conversation, arguing, debating, and simply chatting with friends.

In May there are the Eight Weeks of various sporting events. And finally there is the Boat Race against Cambridge.

Some of the students want to study part time at the university. They join a firm and do a degree on a part-time basis so that when they qualify, they also have a few years’ practical experience behind them. A Company can also sponsor some. They pay for the studies and you work for them afterwards. That way a person is sure of a job. The more qualifications you’ve got, the better your chances are of getting a job. For example, a few years ago you didn’t need any qualification to work in the bank. Now you can’t get into the bank without “O” and “A” level or a degree. Competition is greater, so they choose the people with the highest qualification.

In most British secondary schools, especially in grammar schools, members of the staff, and the children are expected, when the formal time-table is finished for the day, to stay behind at school at least one or two days a week and take part in hobbies, clubs and school societies. In this way children learn to work with one another and to follow their own interests.

Schools have their own school societies, that is societies which encourage spare-time interests such as amateur drama, ranging from readings to full-scale stage performances, music making, also ranging from simple beginnings to the running of a band or an orchestra, naturalistic societies, debating societies and model aircraft classes.

In many schools newspapers are published, the children produce them. They also indulge in out-of-door activities such as: football, basketball, camping, swimming, sailing, rowing, climbing, cycling, walking, educational visits and school tours to local places of interest or to industrial enterprises, also gardening and care of pets and other animals.

4. YOUTH’S LEISURE AND PROBLEMS. The Britons, especially young, love sports, all kinds of sports, they are born sportsmen. Everywhere, in the playing field, listening to the radio, looking TV. They are supposed to have it in the blood. Most of the popular games have originated from the land: football, tennis, badminton and many others. Cricket is a national game played in England alone. The true sporting spirit, the fair play – the words have been adopted in all the sport loving countries – is the strict rule for all games and championships and much blame befalls the teams lacking in it.

No home life in Britain is without parties. There are dinner parties and birthday parties, and wedding parties, surprise parties, parties on Mother’s Day and so on. There is singing at the parties, especially in the province. And in more modern and youth families – more modern songs. Young people like to go to parties and like giving parties or throwing a party as they say.

Another thing – they like the nature, the fields, the woods, the beasts, and the birds. They go for a walk in all weather. And they are fond of picnicking. A picnic under a slashing rain is a national feature of the English. Rain, snow, hail – no matter, they must be out of doors a few hours a day (and take the dogs out too).

While speaking about the life of the British youth we must say that though the living standards for many have been transformed over the last three decades by higher incomes, less drudgery at home and at work and more leisure, in social life unemployment, inner city deprivation and other difficult problems still exist in modern society.

There is another problem in Great Britain – the problem of juvenile delinquency and using the dope. Juvenile delinquency is a product of sickness in society. It is largely an urban phenomenon and its most fertile breeding place is in the slums of the great cities. There poverty, ignorance, and filth aggravate the effects of inadequate or none-existent home life.

From the darkness of tenements the only escape for city boys and girls is the street – the street, which despite its filth provides the only place where they can gather, run around and race off their youthful energy. But the street also presents a danger. There the city boy all too often finds “freedom” and “security” in gang life. Most gangs have 20 to 30 members ranging in age from 11-17. Most have their own name, colors and insignia, which are often emblazoned on made-to-order jackets. Hangouts are street corners and candy stores. In winter deserted buildings provide meeting places.

Then there are not-brainies that dress lavishly, fling their money about, tend to be brash, unmannerly, antiadult and fashionable on the fringe of delinquency. Cheating the cops as a teenager can and sometimes does progress into knocking old women shopkeepers on the head and stealing the till and even armed bank robberies. Young people mixed up in such crimes, conscious of press headlines and the support and moral approval of their teenager friends, have no sense of wrong-doing, but rather a sense of heroism at having revenged themselves on society.

5. YOUNGSTERS PUT CARING BEFORE JOBS SUCCESS. British youngsters are rejecting the image of the hard-working 1980s yuppie and see themselves as sensitive individuals concerned with the environment, animal testing and healthy food.

Forty-five per cent of those aged between 20-24 who were questioned said they liked to be thought of as “sensible and responsible” while only 16 per cent said they would like to be “up and coming and successful”. Youngsters from lower socio-economic groups are keener to see “themselves as wild and unpredictable”. Today’s youngsters are much more open-minded and international.

Almost half the 1,000 15-24 year-olds interviewed said they would buy environment-friendly products “provided the price is not too high”, and almost the same number said they would not buy products which had been tested on animals.

The number of vegetarians among this age group was almost twice the national average, at 11 per cent. They were most likely to be women, aged 21, from social class AB and living in the Southeast.

In education, girls were doing much better than boys with 42 per cent of girls leaving schools with “O” levels of equivalent, compared 34 per cent of boys.

But, once they are working, girls are more likely to be paid less than boys despite being more highly qualified are. In manual jobs, females can, on average, expect to earn L70 a week less than their male counterparts. The disparity in non-manual work is L17.

British youngsters are taking a keen interest in Europe and are more pro-European than the adult population.

More than 68% claimed to know enough of a European language to hold a conversation, with French being the most popular second language.

Almost half said they considered themselves “European” and West Germany was the country in which most would prefer to live.

Most worrying for a British employer is the number of youngsters interested in working in another European country: 59% said they would consider this. The figure is greater for those who continued their education beyond 18 and are from higher socio-economic groups.

British youngsters are more likely than their elders to buy foreign goods, especially from Japan. Almost three-quarters of 15 to 19-year-olds and 67% of 20 to 24-year-olds said that working for a Japanese firm would be just as good as working for a British one.

The survey’s finding on eating habits reveals a move away from traditional fish and chips. Indian and Chinese restaurants are the most popular among 15 to 19-year-olds, while those aged between 20-24 still prefer “traditional English” food.

The rise in popularity of Australian soap dramas and entertainers has affected youngsters’ choice of lifestyle.