My grandson became an Eagle Scout. His scout leaders were some of the finest men on earth. I did notice in his last few years that many fathers either didn't have time to be leaders or didn't want the responsibility. It is time consuming and a lot of responsibility. They are responsible for the care and safety of a group of sometimes rowdy boys. When they are camping or on trips to see various things , the parents are trusting their sons to them. My hat is off to the leaders, be they men or women.
They need a lot more of them now too. Whereas, fifty years ago, one scoutleader could take a troop of boys camping, they now have a formula as to how many adults there must be for the number of boys along and, because there have been some perverts involved, no adult leader can be alone with a scout at any time.
Actually, it looks like I was wrong about that. There have been lawsuits and I know that the leadership seemed to be moving in that direction several years back but, at this time, girls are not yet allowed to become Boy Scouts. The BSA has long had female scoutleaders, however.
Should be 'compulsory' for all children to be in the Scouts What a change we would see in behaviour - for the better !
Within our farming community, when I was a teen, the two big things were 4-H and FFA. I don't even think there was Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies or Girl Scouts........at least I never seen any uniforms. Most of my high school buddies, were like myself, in either or both 4-H or FFA. Unlike today, there weren't any girls in either. There was also a nice size county fair in Ft. Wayne where all of us showed livestock or other 4-H stuff. Whenever we go to our local fair, we always go thru the livestock barns and show areas. Not so big here, but in Colorado, fairs were big as well as lots of livestock, livestock equipment, shows and equestrian events.
I have to disagree with you there, @Patsy Faye . I think the reason Boy Scouts works so well is because the boys are there because they want to be. If they were forced to be there, they wouldn't like it and behavior would be a problem. There was one boy in my grandson's troop whose mother forced him to be there. He was a real problem. He finally dropped out.
Yea - I suppose that will happen, but better than 'Boot camp' Must work for the majority surely, they get to form friendships, everyone wanting to achieve their goals and all that Maybe bribing them would work @Shirley Martin
Once I was in high school, there was the feeling that being in Boy Scouts was kind of dorky, and that might have played a part in my not staying in to make Eagle. That would have been peer pressure because I still enjoyed the Boy Scout activities while I was involved.
My youngest made it all the way to Eagle Scout and I watched how hard It was to be a Scout in High School. I wear this pin with pride on my suit along with my Retired USAF pin. There is a program called 'Lone Scout' that allows a boy who might live on a farm or ranch outside of town still be a Scout without attending regular meetings in town. Saw it in action when I was a leader in Nebraska.
You have a right to be proud, @Tim Burr . Those boys work hard to earn those badges, they don't just hand them out for nothing.