Article- The male crisis thats ruining our boys

[The Latin Scot]

3 hours ago, David CO said:

There are many good reasons for home schooling, but home schooling in order to avoid learning how to socialize with one's peers is not one of them.

Thank goodness that wasn't the reason I was homeschooled! 

[gblotter]

50 minutes ago, MattR said:

I'm suggesting either the advancement be modified to be more adventurous

I agree 100 percent.

Instead of Swimming OR Cycling OR Hiking, I would like to see Swimming AND Cycling AND Hiking be Eagle required MBs. Wilderness Survival should be Eagle required, too. Drop a number of the bookish badges like Personal Management and Communications, and it seems that one Citizenship merit badge should suffice.

[Eagle94-A1]

1 hour ago, Gwaihir said:

I disagree.  Now more than ever, dealing with the crap to reach as wide an audience as possible, is what we need to do. 

I think of the coptic Christians in the middle east, facing down the barrel of a gun and refusing to renounce their beliefs in public before being executed, or the political dissidents of communist Russia facing execution or a life time in the gulags and choosing the gulags over bowing to the party.  How can we say we are brave, if we shirk this responsibility because of name calling when there are those around the world who would do ten fold for their beliefs?  

 

I prefer to think of myself more on the lines of those working the Underground Railroad, or maybe the Rightous Gentiles of WWII.

[Eagle94-A1]

17 minutes ago, gblotter said:

I agree 100 percent.

Instead of Swimming OR Cycling OR Hiking, I would like to see Swimming AND Cycling AND Hiking be Eagle required MBs. Wilderness Survival should be Eagle required, too. Drop a number of the bookish badges like Personal Management and Communications, and it seems that one Citizenship merit badge should suffice.

 

Mixed emotions on the paper pushing MBs as I called them. On one hand, this is stuff that SHOULD (emphasis) be taught in school. However after doing a Citizenship in the Nation MB session while in DC and on the way home, I had a rude awakening on what is actually being done in the schools. The could not tell me what the 3 branches of government are, what checks and balances mean, etc. And these were HS age Scouts who had taken US History and Civics!

I felt embarrassed for them when my then Webelos 2 middle son was answering the questions.

[David CO]

2 hours ago, Gwaihir said:

How can we say we are brave, if we shirk this responsibility because of name calling when there are those around the world who would do ten fold for their beliefs?  

Well, that's exactly the point. They're not our beliefs. 

My unit would still stand firm to expound and defend traditional boy scout values, just as we have for the past 40 years, but BSA has abandoned those values, so we have nothing left to support anymore. We no longer have a responsibility to BSA. 

[Gwaihir]

29 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

 

Mixed emotions on the paper pushing MBs as I called them. On one hand, this is stuff that SHOULD (emphasis) be taught in school. However after doing a Citizenship in the Nation MB session while in DC and on the way home, I had a rude awakening on what is actually being done in the schools. The could not tell me what the 3 branches of government are, what checks and balances mean, etc. And these were HS age Scouts who had taken US History and Civics!

I felt embarrassed for them when my then Webelos 2 middle son was answering the questions.

All 3 Citizenships should absolutely be Eagle required.  I'd drop every other merit badge first before those community and nation especially. The one thing we lack most of all in this country, imo, is civics.  I rate the required MBs in order of priority: 

1. Citizenship in Community

2. Citizenship in Nation

3. Communication

4. First Aid

5. Emergency Preparedness

6. Personal Fitness

7. Swimming

8. Personal Management

9. Environmental Science

10. Camping

11. Cooking

12. Citizenship in the World

13. Family Life

14. Lifesaving

15. Hiking

16. Cycling

17. Sustainability

 

You SHOULD be a bit of an expert at Scoutcraft by First Class... having required merit badges that are around Scoutcraft seems redundant... you want merit badges that make for a well rounded and responsible citizen. imo. 

 

I'd also make rank advancement more challenging and make the MBs more challenging. 

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by Gwaihir

[Gwaihir]

33 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

I prefer to think of myself more on the lines of those working the Underground Railroad, or maybe the Rightous Gentiles of WWII.

That's fair... but the Underground Railroad and the Righteous Gentiles of WW2, while they served their roles in history... were ultimately ineffective to the overall goal compared to the likes of Normandy or Gettysburg. 

[FireStone]

6 minutes ago, Gwaihir said:

All 3 Citizenships should absolutely be Eagle required.  I'd drop every other merit badge first before those community and nation especially. The one thing we lack most of all in this country, imo, is civics. 

I agree civics is lacking in this country, but is Scouting the best venue for teaching it? Seems like we're picking up the slack where schools should be doing a better job. 

Personally I'd be fine with seeing all Citizenship MBs gone. 

[Gwaihir]

12 minutes ago, FireStone said:

I agree civics is lacking in this country, but is Scouting the best venue for teaching it? Seems like we're picking up the slack where schools should be doing a better job. 

Personally I'd be fine with seeing all Citizenship MBs gone. 

yes, Scouting is absolutely where we should be teaching that.  And even still, we're talking about Eagle Scouts... no one HAS to take these merit badges, but I think an Eagle Scout is exemplified by being a well rounded citizen, not just an exceptional "scout". 

 

Two of the first 57 merit badges was Scholarship and Civics (which was then split into the 3 separate badges), so since BSA's inception, these "school" merit badges have been essential Merit Badges for the well rounded person.  Also, these were when civics was actually taught well in school. 

Edited June 19, 2018 by Gwaihir

[qwazse]

I'm seeing a much different impact on these post-modern nomadic boys. More than ever before, they have unfettered access to the opposite sex - virtually. These warpped icons of womanhood - usually delivered electronically - are toxic to the male psyche. Also their female friends "virtualize" themselves and distribute their preferred "side" to social media and personal messages that arrive at all hours. (Pro parent tip: park all cell phones at charging stations at the end of the hall opposite bedrooms. Kids can make do with a bedside clock.)

With smaller households, more youth are growing up without a peer of the opposite sex in their home. As a side-effect, some elevate their virtual icons to role models that they desire to emulate, identify with, transition into!

How can we free our boys from these toxic virtual icons? I've seen forced marches in bear country with actual peers of the opposite sex, routinely applied, do a world of good.

[perdidochas]

18 hours ago, Gwaihir said:

All 3 Citizenships should absolutely be Eagle required.  I'd drop every other merit badge first before those community and nation especially. The one thing we lack most of all in this country, imo, is civics.  I rate the required MBs in order of priority: 

1. Citizenship in Community

2. Citizenship in Nation

3. Communication

4. First Aid

5. Emergency Preparedness

6. Personal Fitness

7. Swimming

8. Personal Management

9. Environmental Science

10. Camping

11. Cooking

12. Citizenship in the World

13. Family Life

14. Lifesaving

15. Hiking

16. Cycling

17. Sustainability

 

You SHOULD be a bit of an expert at Scoutcraft by First Class... having required merit badges that are around Scoutcraft seems redundant... you want merit badges that make for a well rounded and responsible citizen. imo. 

 

I'd also make rank advancement more challenging and make the MBs more challenging. 

 

Disagree totally on Sustainability. It's the worst Merit Badge I've ever read.  (and I've read the rest on your list). It's the boring parts of Environmental Science, expanded. 

[Gwaihir]

I agree, I'd drop it completely, but since it was a current required, I'd placed it last. 

[Gwaihir]

On 6/20/2018 at 7:28 AM, qwazse said:

I'm seeing a much different impact on these post-modern nomadic boys. More than ever before, they have unfettered access to the opposite sex - virtually. These warpped icons of womanhood - usually delivered electronically - are toxic to the male psyche. Also their female friends "virtualize" themselves and distribute their preferred "side" to social media and personal messages that arrive at all hours. (Pro parent tip: park all cell phones at charging stations at the end of the hall opposite bedrooms. Kids can make do with a bedside clock.)

With smaller households, more youth are growing up without a peer of the opposite sex in their home. As a side-effect, some elevate their virtual icons to role models that they desire to emulate, identify with, transition into!

How can we free our boys from these toxic virtual icons? I've seen forced marches in bear country with actual peers of the opposite sex, routinely applied, do a world of good.

I don't disagree at all that the internet, social media, online dating, snapchat filters, pornhub, and all the like have had a net negative effect on humanity and on child development at large. 

[69RoadRunner]

And yet none of you are advocating the most important merit badge, Dentistry, to be Eagle required.

I think 1 Citizenship merit badge would be fine instead of 3.

Wilderness Survival should be required.

Family Life could be dropped.  I'm on the fence with Communication.

[CalicoPenn]

Seems the consensus is to drop the non-active merit badges in favor of more outdoor/activity oriented merit badges.  I thought about it in terms of the mission of the BSA:

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

I don't see anything in the mission of the Boy Scouts of America or in the Scout Oath and Law about Scouts becoming better outdoorsmen.  Its all about making ethical and moral choices.  Its about, as the DRP puts it, becoming the best kind of citizen.

Its those non-active merit badges that seem to fit in much more with the mission that the active merit badges.  Just something to ponder, I think.