Using lure of becoming Eagle Scout to recruit Girls

[WisconsinMomma]

I was a den leader, and I feel those Scouts are my Scouts.   Cub Scouting is more of a village, because it involves the families and I care about those kids and their families very much.  

ETA:  They're not my Cub Scouts anymore, but I hope to be invited to at least one COH. 

Edited December 13, 2017 by WisconsinMomma

[Eagle94-A1]

51 minutes ago, WisconsinMomma said:

I was a den leader, and I feel those Scouts are my Scouts.   Cub Scouting is more of a village, because it involves the families and I care about those kids and their families very much.  

ETA:  They're not my Cub Scouts anymore, but I hope to be invited to at least one COH. 

 

FYI, they will ALWAYS  be your Scouts. When they graduate from boot camp, college, etc they will be YOUR  Scouts. When they celebrate marriages and births, they will be YOUR Scouts. When they are in their 30s and have sons, and soon daughters, in the program, They will be your Scouts. 

 

Once yours, always yours.

 

[Tampa Turtle]

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

 

FYI, they will ALWAYS  be your Scouts. When they graduate from boot camp, college, etc they will be YOUR  Scouts. When they celebrate marriages and births, they will be YOUR Scouts. When they are in their 30s and have sons, and soon daughters, in the program, They will be your Scouts. 

 

Once yours, always yours.

 

I agree. On the flip side when they go bad you feel a responsibility in that maybe you missed something. And when they pass you grieve deeply. I feel much more bonded to my Boy Scouts then the hundred different Cub Scouts I saw in my leadership there. I think because I saw them develop from children to men and I had so many shared experiences with individuals in the field where we shared joys and adversity and we saw each other at our best and less than ideal.

[Stosh]

1 hour ago, WisconsinMomma said:

I was a den leader, and I feel those Scouts are my Scouts.   Cub Scouting is more of a village, because it involves the families and I care about those kids and their families very much.  

ETA:  They're not my Cub Scouts anymore, but I hope to be invited to at least one COH. 

Please take this as presented in the most respectful way.  The only time I refer to "my" scouts is when I am distinguishing them from other scouts.  Otherwise "my" is not a common part of my vocabulary.  The program isn't mine, it's the boys'.  The troop isn't mine, it's the boys'.  The activities are not mine, they are the boys'. etc.  I guess I learned that a long time ago in a place far away.  My parents held no interest, no claim, no involvement in my scouting experience.  They didn't drop me off at the door and take off.  I rode my bike or I didn't go.  I paid my own way except for my original uniform.  That was a birthday gift to me from my parents.  For the most part my experience was held together by the bonds of my buddies who were also in the program.  

Too often I see adults clinging dearly to THEIR ownership in some part or another in a scout troop.  Just because one pays a registration fee to participate does not give me the right to own anything.  At best, as SM I "rent" someone else's kids for the evening/activity.  What I often see is this ownership or staking out a claim, or taking possession of, parts of the program and planing a flag as being very divisive to the welfare of the scout's program.  

If the COR came to me (which has happened in the past) and says, "Your're not the SM anymore."  I'm sure I can find something productive to do with my time.  There are a ton of youth programs out there that can use my expertise. 

[Tampa Turtle]

Stosh, if the recent actions of National has shown anything it is not really 'my' program it is their game and rules and they can change it when they want to. But yes the scouts (and it tends to be a subset) are my scouts. There still some boys I might want to call up for lunch just for a check in, or call over if I see them around town. And there are the ones who you never really considered that you connected with who walk up to you in public and shake your hand (or even hug you) and tell you the really appreciated it you (or give a belated apology for being extra-difficult). THAT is getting the Scout Paycheck $$$. 

[Stosh]

"My scouts" puts the focus where it needs to be.  Too much "My son, my opportunity, my family, my... my.... my...."

It's always "My Scouts" or it's wrong.  The program is for "My Scouts", PERIOD.

[NJCubScouter]

This "my" thing was a pet peeve of the late great OldGreyEagle.  Somewhere on another plane of existence, he is trying to get an Internet connection and tell us it's "the boys I serve."

[qwazse]

On December 14, 2017 at 12:41 PM, NJCubScouter said:

This "my" thing was a pet peeve of the late great OldGreyEagle.  Somewhere on another plane of existence, he is trying to get an Internet connection and tell us it's "the boys I serve."

I blame @Stosh. It was he who wrote "take care of your boys" on the board for PL training. My SM, not some scouter who served me, did something of the sort.

[Stosh]

I kidnap them every so often..... hide them away in the woods for a while. 

[HelpfulTracks]

I am torn about using Eagle Scout as a recruiting tool in any regard. It is akin to a middle school coach recruiting athletes with the promise of a college scholarship. It is just not going to happen for everyone. And worse, it discounts the value of the journey.....Eagle or BUST. Eagle Scout is not one of the AIMs of Scouting, and it is only part of one of the methods.

Eagle Scout is an worth while and honorable goal and any individual earning it should be proud of that accomplishment. But it is just that, an individual goal. It is not the goal of the program. Character, citizenship and fitness are the goals (AIMs_. When Eagle Scout becomes the primary goal, then the 3 AIMs become secondary. When they become secondary, they become expendable to the primary goal. Youth, parents, CO's, units and any organization that put Eagle Scout above the AIMs of BSA, miss the point and do a disservice and even damage to the youh they supposedly serve as well as Scouting as a whole.

It is not a failure if a Scout does not earn Eagle Scout. It is a failure if the Scout does not learn character, how to be a good citizen and how to be fit. In my opinion, it is doubly a failure if a Scout earns his Eagle, but does not embody the 3 AIMs. When that happens, we have all failed that youth.

[Stosh]

My problem with the Eagle situation is that this has become the Holy Grail of the girl inclusive agenda.  If BSA hadn't run around making grand statements about how totally wonderful the Eagle is and left it as nothing more than the highest rank in scouting, much of the bluster of today would not exist.  When Scouting first began the highest rank was First Class, then they added Star Life and Eagle.  This turned First Class into chump change overnight.  What's the big deal about First Class?  If pushed anyone can get that in the first year.  Not only did it negate the importance of First Class it also destroyed the importance of actually earning it and allowed for pencil whipping, once and done attitude we have today.  Simply add an "Honorary Eagle" to the process and the same thing will happen to the earned Eagle.  Maybe we can get back to the real intent of the program, developing moral young men with character that can lead.  With all the bluster about BSA not being allowed to be in politics, it would seem that BSA is floundering in politics way over it's head right now.

[Eagle94-A1]

I think what started the 'pencil whipping' was Operation First Class that started in 1989. That was when the push for First Class in a year came about.

[Stosh]

Totally agree, but with all the parent MB counselors, MB in troop meetings instead patrol meetings,  assigned POR's and MB Mills, the pencil whipping goes all the way up the ladder now.