Boy Scouts may have to change to survive
Monday evening, in a classroom inside the Clovis Veterans Memorial Building, Wesley Her learned how to tie a square knot.
Right over left. Left over right.
Her even got it on the first try.
“That was good,” said the fifth-grader at Dry Creek Elementary.
It was Her’s first Boy Scout meeting as a member of Troop 60. Learning the square knot is one of the the basic requirements to attain the entry level rank of Scout.
If Her, who turns 11 in April, grows up to be a doctor, he’ll use a square knot to tie off sutures.
If he grows up to be anything else, says an outdoors writer, he’ll learn that square knots aren’t good for much besides tying plastic garbage bags and short shoelaces.
“Boy Scouts have a reputation for teaching good character and values,” said Mang Thao, Wesley’s mom. “He didn’t want to join at first, but after he saw the slideshow they showed at recruitment day, he was like, ‘OK, I’ll try it.’ “
Wesley probably doesn’t realize this, but he’s going against the trend.
The Boy Scouts of America turned 100 years old this month, which should be cause for celebration. Except it’s really not. With enrollment in steady decline for decades, how can it be?
According to the BSA’s own figures (which some believe are inflated), the current membership of 2.9 million is half what it was in 1972. And since 1998, membership has dropped 12% in Boy Scouts and 25% in Cub Scouts.
With declines like that, it’s fair to ask whether Scouting will survive the next 100 years.
I don’t say that flippantly or without a tinge of sadness. Because even though this Eagle Scout staunchly disagrees with the BSA on the two issues that have brought the organization gobs of negative attention — its discriminatory stances against homosexuals and atheists — my own experiences could not have been more positive.
Scouting was more than camping and cooking in the outdoors. It taught me how to be environmentally responsible and engaged with the natural world.
Scouting was more than good deeds like helping old ladies across the street. It taught me about volunteerism and good citizenship.
Scouting was more than working with other boys my age. It taught me leadership skills I probably couldn’t have learned anyplace else.
But that was a long time ago, when this country wasn’t quite so polarized.
Remember the 2000 Democratic National Convention, when some California delegates openly booed a Boy Scout color guard? My, how times have changed.
So to get a better sense of what Boy Scouts are up to today, I attended a few scouting functions.
And you know what? They all felt comfortingly familiar.
Troop 60 meetings begin with a presentation of colors, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and a group recital of the Scout Oath and Law. (The Oath contains the praise “duty to God” and the Law includes “reverent” as one of its 12 points. Though the exact nature of God is never defined.)
What followed wasn’t a discussion about religion or morality but something much more tangible: this weekend’s outing to the Kingsburg Gun Club, where the boys will work on the shotgun shooting merit badge.
The evening also included elections for Order of the Arrow (a Boy Scout honor society), a spirited game of Steal the Bacon and much adolescent chatter and fidgeting.
In short, it was exactly how I remembered.
Here’s the aspect of Boy Scouts that its detractors often forget: National policies, which are unduly influenced by conservative groups like the Mormon church, whose members make up nearly 20% of all Scouts, don’t necessarily trickle down to the local level.
In short, there’s a troop out there where anyone will feel welcome. Unless, of course, you’re homosexual or an avowed atheist.
There can be no doubt that Boy Scouts are a reflection of society. And some segments will always be resistent to change.
But for this invaluable organization to survive another 100 years, it’ll almost certainly have to.
By Marek Warszawski / The Fresno Bee
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3 Responses to Boy Scouts may have to change to survive
If nothing else, my time in Scouts taught me amazing leadership skills that have helped me to this day. It’s hard to take charge and lead other people, especially if they’re your peers, but Scouting definitely encourages that. While I also disagree with BSA’s stance on those issues, I still think it’s a great program for kids.
I was a Rover Scout in the Mexican Scout Association (Asociacion de Scouts de Mexico A.C.) recognized by WOSM (there are indepedent organizations since in Mexico A.S.M.A.C. doesn’t have the “copywrite” to scouting like BSA and Scouts Canada have in the North America respectively).
I joined as a Rover (ages 17.5 to 22 then, now I think is 18 to 21), a cousin of mine was a Senior Trooper (14.5 to 17) and another cousin of his was a Junior Trooper (11-14), and his little brother was a wolf-cub (lobato) (7-10).
I tried joining BSA when I was 12 but (at least locally) they wouldn’t let me since I wasn’t American, I managed finally to join at 15 when I found a scoutmaster who didn’t ask me about my national origin or forgot to do so. But it only lasted six months.
At that time I moved back to Mexico to be with family and I had no ideas where the scouts were meeting, I found a troop but at first since they were older (Expedicionarios or Tropa Mayor [senior troop]) I was afraid they would even accept a 15 year old tenderfoot (I knew three knots and nothing else), then when I made up my mind my mother wouldn’t let me unless “family” was involved, I was the oldest male child of the family so I was stuck pretty much.
Then I made up my mind to become a scouter but was surprised to find out I had to be at least 22 to become one (as well as literally being “invited” by a scout group to become a leader [unlike BSA where units have an individual registry, all branches are included into a "group" which may have from the basic pack and lower scout troop to groups boasting seniors and rover crews, my group was of the later])
I asked what to do since I was only 18 and had no formal invitation since I didn’t even know the leader of the only scout group I knew about. Then they told to contact a youth about my age in the group I knew about, he gave me a phone number, but I was still puzzled what it was about, then I went to a meeting in a mentioned address, and then I discovered what a Rover was.
Rovers are the traditional (meaning British pre-WWII) senior scout branch. They are organized in Crews and have no permanent patrols or groups, temporary teams may be formed for specific activities such as cayaking, mountain climbing, rapelling into caves, etc. but they have to be undone once the activity is over to prevent competition. The whole rover ideal is around the idea of colaboration, community involvement and above all SERVICE. The moto of the rover is simply to serve humankind in any way possible. As we began our meetings after a prayer (the crew was all catholic so we began by saying the prayer by Saint Ignatious, which dealt with overcoming ourselves and humility.
It ended with the words To Service! (al servicio!). Then we went to daily matters and plans for outings etc. It was a bit like an Explorer meeting (to use a BSA comparison) but with older members (young adults) and the responsability for actions and behaviors are individual rather than to a certain point requiring an adult leader who is responsible (though actions by Junior members are still there responsability pretty much), we had an advisor, but that is all he did: advise. We called the shots.
So anyway I learned some pretty good leasons: cooperation, service and community involvement and above all to be stubborn in the face of difficulty, never give up, as long as your heart is beating and your mind is alert you can achieve anything.
Ironically in the 1990′s, at the same time numbers in BSA where dropping, ASMAC’s numbers doubled, in 1993 they had a historical high (about 50,000 youth members), then it declined but in the 1990′s it was pretty much high. In some districts also the number of senior scouts (especially rovers) was larger than juniors, owing to the fact in conservative Mexico there where many young adults who had wanted to join scouting since they where 12 but mommy and daddy didn’t allow them to do so, so they joined late, and where generally accepted after about 6 months to a year of tryout, all new members; even those who had been in scouting since cub scouts, had to be voted in (the same way than in the Order of the Arrow in BSA) by the crew, wifh the advisor holding the veto breaker vote (about the only authority he had, since in all other cases, the President of the crew had the veto breaker and the Advisor didn’t even vote).
I had my share of fun activities and one accident (minor). The rover branch began in England and ended in Britain in 1967 when the entire program changed, and Venturers came along (in the US they came about in the 1990s). But other former British territories suchs as Canada, Australia, Singapore and South Africa still have them, so do many European nations, though the age limits differ: in Spain is 17 to 20, in Singapore is (or was) 18 to 26, in Canada was 18-27 now is 18-25), in South Africa a frightening 18 to 30!, and in Malaysia a 18 to 40!, but WOSM will not recognize youth members over 25 so that would explain why Canada and Austrailia limited the rover age to 25 recently.
Mexico and Latin America had theirs from 17 and a half to 22, now it is 18 to 21 (a more sensible age, though some would like it to be 18 to 24).
In 2005 the Interamerican Scout Council made a new program based in Chile that called for co-ed branches and changes to advancement that literally left out any final insignia or ranks for all branches except for Rovers at the end of their period in their crews (literally given out on their last meeting). The new program wasn’t liked by everyone (especially tradionalists) and the numbers began to fall. Many opted out for alternative associations like Scouts Tradicionalistas de Mexico (traditionalist who follows the 1950s program), Agrupacion Mexicana de Scouts or formed their own associations such as AGSMAC (Asoc. de Grupos Scouts de Mexico AC) with the old 1990s to early 2000s program, the World Federation of Independent Scouts formed in Germany to be an umbrella of other indepedent scout asociations, had a planting of a network of independent scout groups which chose a traditionalist advancemetn plan but where more or less the same, etc.
Many embrased the new program which included co-ed units (formerly called sections) even for packs or junior troops where there is still more or less a natural competivenes between boys and girls and the members themselves that call for physical activities such as rough games, etc that where not possible anymore, etc. For older groups, especifically the Rovers where there was a more cammaderie environment this made sence, especially since temporary teams could be made up for certain activities of only young men or young women or of both, depending on the level of physical activities, etc.
Even there the new program nixed incentives since it demanded all teams to be co-ed as well.
BSA may be traditional but some things are left better as they are, it has an all male pack and troop but it has a co-ed Venturer program for older teenaged boys and girls, and that makes more sense than Interamerican’s co-ed junior units. Canada and Australia (the later since 1972!) have all co-ed scouting and numbers have been so-so since.
As for homosexuals and atheist, in most of the world, especially the english speaking world, gays are allowed to join as youth members or leaders, atheist however are not. So in Canada a gay youth of 19 can either become an assistant scoutmaster or a Rover if he wishes to, but not if he doesn’t believe in some supreme being
Scouting has been religious since its inception in 1907 by Baden Powell in Britain.
You consider it.
The greatest time in my life was with “The Boyscout Of America”, I learned about nature, Learned very good values.