The ward we were living in recently didn't have a good scouting program, and that impacted my son a lot, since he is homeschooled and scouting is one of the programs he has depended on for outside activity. In the new ward it seems like the scouting program will be good. My wife overheard the Bishop pointing out our son to the scout leader and encouraging him to get our son involved right off. It seems to me that the scouting program is very important for our young men, and that they suffer when it's done wrong. What, in your experience, makes for a successful scouting program? What makes for an unsuccessful scouting program?
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
From the perspective of a former Executive Seceretary who watched Bishoprics struggle with this issue: A successful program is contingent on engaged and capable people called to the right callings. From what I can see, they don't even have to like each other, just be dedicated to the scouting program.
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And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, seven hours every day. That would be the sweetest thing of all.
I think that you're definitely right. The scouting programs that I've seen work are those where one or more leaders are very dedicated to scouting. I think that you need that for all scouting programs. I've heard of kids having excellent cub scout leaders, but poor boy scout leaders, and getting lost once they get into the boy scout program.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I don't have sons but heard some things from the mom of a scout in our ward that concerned me. They had a campout a couple of weekends ago and her son told her about some of the things going on during the night. The boys were using vulgar language, referring to certain body parts a lot, even mimicking inappropriate acts with each other. This can't be normal boy scout behavior, can it? And if it is, if I ever do have a son, he will not be in the program.
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"There is order in the way the Lord reveals His will to mankind. . .we cannot receive revelation for someone else's stewardship." L. Tom Perry
That is boy behavior. If you teach a son well, he won't do stuff like that. Other than having a leader there in each tent with the boys, there is no way that you can prevent it from happening, except by teaching your sons to be better than that. But there is nothing about the boy scout program which encourages it. It is even against the scout oath (or motto, my brain can't tell which at the moment), where they promise to be morally clean.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I am the YM president and boys have been a real pain, almost to the point I was ready to wash my hands of them and only focus on my son and his friend. The boys run off and hide, refuse to participate, smart off, run in and interrupt the YW classes during Mutual. It is just me for all of it, one counselor sort of there, and one never around. It is beyond frustrating, parental support is a limp fish. Also the de facto Scoutmaster.
I have a few boys that will do it, the rest just don't care. And therein lies the problem, the YM program is Scouting, well, so many boys don't care, parents don't care, they expect you to be their babysitter, literally. So, you are left the boys who want to participate, and those who don't. It is a real problem.
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Lo, there I see my mother, my sisters, my brothers Lo, there I see the line of my people back to the beginning Lo, they call to me, they bid me take my place among them In the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live...forever
Hey, Val, good to see you back. Yeah, I suppose that that is a big part of it. If the boys don't want to participate, then the program won't be successful. And you're right - the most successful programs I've seen are the ones where the parents are active participants and hold their children accountable. I know that in the ward we were recently in that had a bad program one kid loved to tweak teachers.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
