Rural Focus

What Is Rural America?

The federal government defines rural as all places of less than 2,500 in population. The U.S. Census Bureau counted nearly 21 percent of the U.S. population as rural in 2000. That means there are millions of young people in rural areas available for Scouting.

Today there is a great variety of rural communities. Some are quite stable, some are experiencing high growth, some have somewhat depressed or static economies and minimal social services, and some are geographically remote. in some, conventional Scouting methods work well. Others aren't responsive to all of the conventional Scouting methods.

Conventional Scouting Works Here

Excluded from the focus of this book are rural areas that have a stable economy and social services. These are closest to the classic American ideal of rural areas.

Their economies are primarily middle-class. They may be largely agricultural or have an economy based on local geographical resources. Community services such as schools, youth programs, and health facilities are well established. Conventional Scouting methods work reasonably well in these areas.

Also excluded are rural areas in transition due to population growth. They may be areas that appear to be rural or have recently been rural, but are undergoing suburbanization. They may be areas experiencing a population boom because of local scenic or recreational attractions, newly available employment opportunities, or any other reason people move to new places in large numbers, by choice. Growth areas of your council will present challenges in planning for, funding, and managing Scouting for a suddenly expanded population. Conventional Scouting methods seem to work generally well in growth areas, although it may be wise to anticipate some friction between longtime residents and newcomers over values, lifestyles, and social change.

A Different Approach May Be Needed

The rural areas that pose the greatest challenge to normal Scouting operation are those with a static or depressed economy and remote areas-those with a very decentralized and low-density population. These areas are the special focus of this book.

Rural areas with a relatively underdeveloped or depressed economy, marginal sources of income, and a pattern of out-migration might be anywhere: near larger population centers or far from them. These areas tend to pose the most complex challenges to Scouting and need the most specialized approaches from the providers of all community services.

Isolated areas are farthest from metropolitan areas. Most have very low population density. They may be isolated because of geography or climate. People there may have less contact with the rest of the world than residents of other rural areas. Resources for adequate community services may be limited because of the distances involved. Providing Scouting for the young people in isolated areas may be difficult for the same reason and may require a great deal of creativity.

Keys to Success in Rural Areas

Seventy-nine percent of the population lives in urban America and has a predominantly urban way of life. During the 20th century there was a steady shift of the United States from a rural to an urban majority. Those who stayed probably did so because they wanted to. Life in rural areas is different from life in cities and suburbs. Someone raised in a city may view an area's slower pace of life or smaller number of cultural choices as limiting while to residents of that area, those same factors are seen as positive for a number of reasons. Further, an outward appearance of simplicity may be deceiving, particularly with the increased cultural choices offered by the Internet and other modern communication media.

Life in rural areas is different from life in cities and suburbs, and it also is different in one rural community as compared to another. You may feel right at home in the rural areas of a new council, or you may find unfamiliar basic mores, attitudes, and philosophies. in any community, urban or rural, nothing can create more skepticism than an outsider who knows little about the people of the community but who tries to tell people there what to do and how to do it. More of your success than you may realize stems from how well you come to know this particular rural community and how well you can tailor Scouting methods for it.

Depending on the rural community you serve, one or more of these keys to success may be yours:

• If people in a rural community seem suspicious of or resistant to your efforts to introduce Scouting, it could be because of the community's history with "outsiders" coming in and trying to change things without regard for the residents' wishes. Don't make the same mistake.
• Resistance to Scouting could come from a perception of Scouting as an organization primarily for urban/metropolitan youth, and a desire to protect their community from the negative aspects of urban and metropolitan life. Be sure you present Scouting as their program; and emphasize that they, not you, will operate the Scouting unit.
• If the community is fairly homogenous in ethnicity and/or religion, there may be resistance due to a perception that Scouting is tied to a particular group or religion that is not their own. Emphasize the ways in which Scouting shares their goals, and the fact that it is used by many kinds of groups to further their own goals for their youth.
• You are more likely to gain communitywide acceptance if you take care to deal with people individually and on a personal basis; get to know them and let them learn about you, not by being pushy, but by being caring and interested in them. You don't have to meet every single person in the community, but only meeting and dealing with a few "community leaders" could hurt your cause.
• In some rural communities, organizations may operate fairly informally and with a straightforward approach. Other rural communities may value formal organization. You will do well to find out and suit your style to the style that predominates in the community.
• Many rural communities have a history of people helping each other in time of need or crisis and a well developed way of organizing volunteer work, whether they call it that or not. If you encounter this, count yourself lucky! Provide guidelines, then step back and be ready to lend a hand, but let them do much of the volunteer coordination for Scouting.
• In some cultures, people value the goodwill and acceptance of their group so much that they will reject any advancement or formal post of leadership that could distinguish them from others in the group. Informal leadership may exist, but one does not give appearances of being "above" one's neighbors and peers. in this case, it would be wise to emphasize the service role and deemphasize rank in adult volunteer leader positions.
• If a rural area you serve seems very different from other areas you have served or lived in, focus not on the differences, but on the commonalities. Any area, urban, suburban, or rural, has parents and children. What those parents want is what is best for their children. All these keys to success add up to the one that always applies, anywhere: Remember that you are there to serve the parents in establishing Scouting as they want it to be for their children.

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