scouter.in.Texas

One of the top reasons given by our older Arrowmen, when asked about inactivity, is "too many little kids." I can't argue with that. I was a third-year Scout when I was tapped out in '70, and OA was for older Scouts. Nowadays it seems some units simply trade the Webelos cap for an OA sash. Fifteen nights of camping takes about five months counting summer camp, and most motivated first-year Scouts attain First Class before their second summer camp. So, they're qualified for OA, but are they mature enough? Most are quite capable campers and even proficient back-packers, no argument there, but we all know the difference one more year would make toward maturity. We know it, and so do my older Arrowmen. IMHO, we should move the rank requirement back to Star and/or the age to 14. Quantity won out over quality, and both have suffered.

If you're anywhere near the logging industry, talk to them. We were actually encouraged by them to thin out smaller pine trees from their older stands of lumber. We made a campout of it and ended up with dozens of prime pioneering poles. It was a classic win-win, and on top of that, the boys take pride and ownership in having cut their own.