Why are you Adults Doing This?

[Eagle Foot]

When I was young and everybody was doing their own thing I listened to a famous man say:

 

Ask not what your country can do for you

 

Ask what you can do for your country

 

Been that way ever since

 

Edited by: Eagle Foot

[Dizzy ona cliff]

The hope these youth, our future leaders, will have a concern for others, appreciation for nature and a desire for peace on earth.

[packsaddle]

Because:

the unit needed some continuity during a period of transition (still going on),

the new leaders had no experience and needed help,

the boys enjoy my leadership,

I enjoy watching the boys grow,

it's fun.

[GernBlansten]

Adult leadership void.

Wanted my son to have a better scouting opportunity than I did.

So I stepped up, got trained, became an ASM.

Now a Venture crew advisor.

Will stick that out until he loses interest or ages out.

Enjoyed getting back in the woods. Dislike the politics and policies.

[mkarlinm]

When my son ranked as a tiger and he told me he wanted to contuine with all his friends i decided I would join as a committee memeber. when the cubmaster begged someone to take over as cubmaster or the pack would probably fold i stepped up to save the pack. Since I have done this I have meet new friends and so has my son. so it has been a win win situation and I am learning as much as he is.

melissa

[troutmaster]

Because I was a scout and felt a need:

 

Pioneer Hike

(8-04-83)

 

Reflecting on the scouting way,

while set alone within the wood;

I saw the boy that once was me

who sought to grow, be understood.

 

But now its someone else's son

whose youthful zeal rings through the trees,

who looks to Me to understand,

to see the way He sees.

 

Thus, the cycle has come around,

the scouting boy became a man;

and what he learned within his youth,

he returns, the best he can.

 

Camp Chawanakee, B.S.A.

Shaver Lake, Calif.

8-5-83

(This message has been edited by troutmaster)

[Lisabob]

I signed up my son for cub scouts because we had moved to a new town and he was having trouble making the transition. I figured it would be a way for him to make friends (and it was). I had no intention of becoming a leader. That happened because the pack he was in at the time had a crisis and it was either step up, or let the pack fold and find another one. I chose the former and I have never regretted that choice. Today my son has become one of the "older" boys in his troop. I'm still involved, though far less directly for my son's benefit, because it is fun. Because I have gotten to know interesting people who care about kids. Because I can see, right in front of me, what scouting has to offer to kids and to the community. Although these days I'm not typically very involved in direct service to youth (I'm a troop committee member and a district volunteer), and although my son may or may not stay in scouting until he "ages out", I think that I probably will stick with it because it is good to be part of something positive. I find that my behind-the-scenes talents can be put to good use, allowing others to get "out there" in the field with the boys, without having to worry about all the paperwork and administrative stuff that enables them. And yes, I've made friends too.

 

As for the politics? I've seldom found that they matter on a local level. We talk far, far more about controversial policies on this board, than has ever been the case on the ground where scouting actually happens.

[BryanSpellman]

First I am an Eagle Scout and have always loved the program and felt it my duty to give back. I started when my son joined Tiger and have not stopped since (he is a star scout).

 

second I was taught by my first scoutmaster (jack Baer, Troop 1 Flushing NY) to always do my duty. He was my SM for years even though his children were 3 and 2. Then when my family moved and the troop we joined was failing my father stepped up and was SM for years after I left...

 

third I love it!!!! There is no better program for youth than Scouting

[Gold Winger]

Don't know. Originally, it was the pay check but after ten years I'm still waiting for the first one to arrive. They must have my address wrong.

 

 

[ozemu]

It's an act of faith.

 

I have faith that the program is good enough and relevant enough to be better than it not being run. I am disillusioned because I feel let down by the parents of my Troop and have moved into a Council job to distance myself.

 

More than anything else Scouting made me who I am. I trust that it works for young people that way today and that the magic will come back for me personally.

[Ohio_Scouter]

I volunteer because, as a boy, I loved Scouting. We camped out, went canoeing and fishing, and I loved everything about the outdoors. I wanted my son to have the opportunity to decide for himself if he loved the outdoors as much as I do.

 

When he bridged from Webelos to Boy Scouts, I wanted to make sure he was safe because his new troop seemed to do a lot of high-adventure (riskier) stuff. I remember the first Boy Scout rappelling campout we attended. His first attempt at rappelling over the edge of a cliff on a rope resulted in him getting his finger caught between the rope and the descending ring and flipping him upside down and nearly breaking his finger. Fortunately, I was there to help him recover, and decided that from that time on I would supervise for safety reasons. It seemed to me that the best way to do this was by volunteering to become a scout leader.

 

Well, he recovered from that experience, and went on to have many wonderful experiences in scouting, and made it all the way to Eagle Scout and is now an Assistant Scoutmaster himself. He has turned out to be a fine young man of whom I am exceedingly proud, and I attribute much of that to Scouting.

 

I'm still here, though, because there will always be many other young tenderfoot scouts who can use some adult assistance, and in time, I'm sure that they will make me exceedingly proud of them, too.

[scoutldr]

It's not what I "do"...it's what I "am". Since becoming a Bobcat, circa 1962 and Eagle in 1970.

[dawnydiesel]

Honestly? Because it makes me feel good. I'm a Wolf leader, Tiger leader for the summer, Special Needs Trainer, and was just asked to be Unit Commissioner. I love doing this with my son, but to be completely honest, it makes me feel good.

[Gonzo1]

Ditto to just about everything already said, it's fun!

 

I enjoy the outdoors, the challenge, the adult asociation and I like watching my son's experience too (without hovering).

 

 

[Scouter&mom]

Because I finally get to be a Boy Scout!!

 

I actually grew up with my dad as an ASM when I was small, then my cousins and brother doing cool things in Scouting. I always wanted to be a Boy Scout. I was jealous that they got to camp and hike and boat more than I did. I always did outdoor things, just couldn't find a Girl Scout troop in my area that did.

 

When my oldest was ready to join Brownies, I was a little skeptical, because she had been an outdoorsy kid too. Well she joined a troop with a great leader, who was willing to do anything with the girls. As she moved up, I became a leader for a few years and really enjoyed it. During this time, my son joined Cub Scouts (at the same CO). It was a very small pack, and he lost interest after the third year of "the same old thing". He and I dropped out, I went to graduate school and dealt with some other life changing events. Just after he turned 12, we ran into the SM at the local mall, and he invited my son to come back to Scouting. I carried him to first meeting, thinking I could sit in the truck and just read a book during the meeting. Well it wasn't long before my truck and I were needed. That was 5 years ago. I am now ASM, on district training committee, and pack trainer. I think even after my son is no longer a Scout, I will continue on. I love helping the younger boys and really am looking forward to being a Webelos den leader again.

 

I think Scouting is something that just came naturally to me, and also to my children. My son has applied through our Council to go to Jambo 2005 as 3rd ASM. He is already planning a space derby for the CS pack after his 18th birthday next spring and plans to stay active with troop and pack. My daughter is registered with her old troop as a leader and was active until she moved out of town for her last three years of college. She is planning to find a GS troop where she is now to work with (as soon as she gets a job). She is also involved with BS where she is now. She is the council Disability Awareness committee chair and has taught working with Scouts with disabilities at UoS. Oh yeah, it is staying in the family. She is engaged to a Scouter who is active with his troop, on the district level, and one of the adult advisors for his OA lodge.

 

Oh yeah forgot to add my dad who is 84 is still member of committee of his old troop. One of my best friends from high school (who was in the troop) is now SM and his wife is CM.(This message has been edited by Scouter&mom)