HELP!

[Jason OK]

I am the typical boy scout drop out. I went to Philmont, Senior patrol leader, OA Member, and all I lacked to become Eagle was a couple of merit badges and my service project.

 

Now 27, married with 2 daughters (yes I am a Mr. Mom) I find myself day dreaming about what life would have been like if I would have got my Eagle. Not that I don't love my wife or children. I just need some testosterone in my life. Actually one thing I think about is when I went to Philmont....took my camera.....lost my camera...hahahahahaha I have seriously been thinking about joining a local troop (as an adult leader) but how do you go about doing that when you know no one nor have a child to take. I can only imagine the hurtles I might have to overcome..... (is this guy a perv?) lol Thats what I would think. I considered girl scouts for my older girl but I got a hold of their scout law ......the phrase "I will try" I believe sets them up for failure so I decided not to go that route. Besides, Boy Scouts is so much cooler! Well what does this 27 yr old Mr. Mom (going through his early life crisis) do?

 

Opinions welcomed and needed!

 

Jason

 

[Jason OK]

Or should I try to start my own troop? ummmm how do I do that?

[CaveEagle]

Jason, I have seen many SMs or ASMs that did not have boys in the troop. My troop was on an Army base overseas, and 2 of the 3 scoutmasters I knew were relatively young GIs that had backgrounds in scouting and wanted to help out with our troop.

 

It is good that you already understand that some parents might question your motives (and they should). None of us are above scrutiny. You should just be patient with them and be extra carefull to follow the "2-deep" Adult leader rules. All Adult leaders bear responsibility to ESTABLISH trust with the troop/family.

 

BTW: A troops committee must approve any new ASM. Make sure you talk to the right people and explain your position. A suggestion might be to offer yourself up to me a Merit Badge Counselor for the troop first. This would give the group a chance to get to know you before you ask to be an ASM.

 

You did not mention the ages of you girls but they are probably >9. When they reach 14, you could start looking for s Venturing Crew. My girls (8&10) are currently in girl scouts, but I am already looking into Veturing because I would like to be more involved in their scouting.

 

Good Scouting!

 

CE

[OneHour]

On our District staff, there are about 3-4 gentlemen who are either not married or dink (double incomes no kids) who volunteer in their troops just because they either love scouting or enjoy working/teaching kids. There are plenty of retirees who are ASMs or SMs in our areas while serving the District committee. These gentlemen work tirelessly; as a matter of fact, they are my inspiration when my scouting spirit leveled off. My wife often pointed out to me that she thinks that I am doing this scouting thing for myself and only use our sons as an excuse to have fun! There is a lot truth to that ... however, it's a program that I can relate to and believe in.

 

From my PoV, the only obstacle that I see in your situation is your family. Your wife may not be too thrill about the idea of you spending inordinate amount of time away from the house and family. For me, my excuse is that I have 3 boys . Either I do the scouting thing or she does it. She bowed out! We have been toying with the idea of adopting a little girl, but it takes a lot for me to raise four children and of course it takes even more for my wife to raise five!

 

My PoV ... go for it! Find a troop near your home and see what you can do to help. Hopefully, the troop has people from the neighborhood whom you know and who know you. It would be strange (and if I were in the situation I would be leery) to have a total stranger wanted to help out with the troop. Good luck.

 

1Hour(This message has been edited by OneHour)

[ScoutNut]

Is the Cub Scout motto "Do Your Best" setting them up for failure? Please, don't let your obvious preferences ("Boy Scouts is so much cooler") affect your girls. Let the choice be theirs, not yours. You do not have to be a leader for your girls to be members of GSUSA.

 

As for finding a Troop to help - Contact your local BSA council. Here is the site for BSA's council finder:

 

http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?c=lc

 

Talk to them about volunteering at the District level and/or becoming a Merit Badge Counselor (there are forms and training). Districts are usually short of Unit Commissioners and always need help with things like popcorn, events, etc. Once you get to know the different Troops in your area you are more likely to be accepted into one.

 

 

[Jason OK]

Please do not think I have anything against Girl Scouts....When my

9 yr old brought home info on joining the girl scouts I got excited.

After reviewing the info I can say I was no longer excited...actually disappointed. The Girl Scout Law says (I will try) to do my best. And my oldest needs to understand at her age (9) that there is no trying to do her best but just to DO HER BEST. I was also in Cub Scouts......and to be honest, all I remember is making candles and derby cars. I wish I knew what happened to my derby car. Hope no one here took offense. I never had a father and scouting probably saved me.......now Jesus is my father and I would like to give back to scouting what it gave me.

 

[dan]

Jason OK

I would suggest that if you really want to start a unit, call your DE, he or she may have someone intrested in being a CO. BUT, you may want to see about helping a troop out first to get your feet wet again, before jumping in the deep end of the pool!

[Laurie]

I second Dan's advice. I think it would be a very good idea to begin helping out, going through the application process, then learning about the troop in a less involved way for a time so they can know you and you can learn if this is where you really want to give your time.

 

As for Girl Scouts, I have been actively volunteering in many capacities for 30 years, and I am 40. My mom encouraged me to learn if the medical field was for me by volunteering as a candy striper at age 10, something I ended up doing for 8 full summers. Girl Scouts also encouraged this, and it provided many more opportunities for me to serve in various ways. I still sing the song "On my honor I will try, there's a duty to be done and I say I, there's a reason here for a reason above, my honor is to try and my duty is love". That guides me to this day. Had I not been encouraged to try, I would not have learned to serve in any way. Just a former Girl Scout's take on what growing up with trying meant to me

[TarHeelBSA]

Try not to be too hard on the Girl Scouts. I too was put off by the "I'll try..." mentality of the Girl Scout program, but it's actually a pretty strong program that provides alot for girls. My wife has been a Girl Scout leader for four years now, along with my daughter, and the girls have learned so much. It's really a great program. I encourage you to look at GS in a bit more detail to see what they really do. My daughter's troop does camping, hiking, climbing walls, outdoor cooking, community service, and a host of other "cool" stuff.

 

 

Now regarding BSA, I'm lucky that I have a daughter and a son (Tiger last year and Wolf Cub this year), so I get to be involved from Cubs through to Boys Scouts. However, there are plenty of folks I know that are involved in scouts that don't have kids currently in the program. Look around and find on that fits and see how it goes.

 

Regards,

Kevin

[Fat Old Guy]

Girl Scouts is okay. They do things differently and they have a ton of paperwork but it's an okay program.

 

GSUSA allows girls to camping without a parent at a very young age, unlike BSA.

 

Girl Scouts are allowed to cook on an open fire long before Boy Scouts may.

 

Much is dependant on how the troop leader does things. Shop around.

 

 

[Jason OK]

Ok,

 

So I need to look into Girls Scouts (non wimpy troop) I want my daughter to experience all the high adventure back packinging I did and then some. Sounds like GS might not be so bad after all.

[dsteele]

Jason:

 

Whether you're ready to accept this fact or not, I bet your wife is . . .

 

Some day, your daughters are going to grow up and marry men. Wouldn't you want that man to have the values of a Boy Scout?

 

Who, if not you, is going to make sure the young men in your area are learning the values of the Scout Oath and Law?

 

Call your DE and make an appointment. You have several options to help. Start a troop, take over one in need of structure, become involved with the district as a commissioner or other job, or something else. Your DE can be reached through the BSA in your local phone book.

 

If he/she isn't there, just leave a message saying you want to get back into Scouting. If you don't get a call back in 48 hours, call again and ask for someone else.

 

Best of luck.

 

Unc.

[Eamonn]

Jason,

I will now be singing the song all night.

My best friend has no sons and has been blessed with two very intelligent daughters.

Thanks to a great fear of water he never made Eagle Scout. He serves as a council vice president.

Eamonn

[Jason OK]

Eamonn,

 

I'm afraid you lost me....(This message has been edited by Jason OK)

[packsaddle]

I think that a good way to explore the possibilities is to find and join a unit as an assistant leader. I'm not sure how GSA does things but this would give you a chance to get the proper training and to learn about the program prior to taking on responsibility for a troop. Try to keep in mind that the Eagle rank does not automatically bestow leadership and wisdom. On the other hand, I know a couple of adults that overcompensate for their failure to complete the Eagle rank, making their leadership a personal quest as opposed to doing it for the troop. I constantly ask myself, "Does this conform to the program? Is this the best thing for the boys?"

Good luck and have fun.