Boy Scouts

[TAROMAN]

Guess its different in the west.
I did RSO duty for a local boy scout troop last fall.
Kids did all the planning.
Each group of 8 or so had a "patrol box" they loaded with all their cooking gear and food. They carried it in, set up, cooked cleaned without adult intervention.
Adults kept their distance the whole time (except on the range, that is, which was rigidly supervised).

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

I can assure you, in our troop the scouts start their own fires and if they cannot start a fire after their demo and instruction they eat cold food while the dads and Scoutmasters grill steaks - likewise with tents and hammocks etc. - these new spring loaded tents are seldom a challenge but the Scoutmasters are not going to set it up for the scouts.

 

[Engieman]

Wow, not as I remember Scouting!? Then again, I agree that there seems to be an 'entitlement' generation that is overprotected and are surgically attached to their smart phone. I saw it at work, where young employees thought they should be in the corner office in 5 years, or they would take their ball and go play somewhere else. I see it in my neighborhood....where all the lawns are mostly mowed by a lawn service, or a very few old geezers like me. Never the teenage boys, and we have them all over the place. And don't even think about washing the car, pulling weeds...or any kind of physical labor. Sad, rant over. I have to say looking back, I proud to say I had BSA leadership that made me work hard to attain Eagle Scout. Those skills proved have proved invaluable over the years. Thank you Baden Powell.

 

[vigil617]

Guys, just wanted to point out that when we were young, we didn't want our generation to be tarred with the same brush, did we? Just like us, the kids today are a mix of good and not so good, including a "silent majority" that is probably larger than we think and will carry the torch forward when we step aside. Instead of bemoaning the perceived state of things and focusing on negatives, we'll be better served by staying positive and recognizing how much good there is out there. It's apparent from the posts on here that there are Scout troops doing the right things to raise another generation of leaders, and some troops that need to change their focus. Always been that way, too.

Also, labeling such as that employed on talk radio and by blowhards on both sides does nothing to make things better. In fact, it drives us even further apart, which works perfectly into the hands of the evil that is behind it all. Just my opinion.

 

[billwill]

If there are any situations like the OP described above, like kids waiting in line with their hands out is just wrong.....but sounds like training them for our future society.

How are they going to learn unless they eat a hotdog, burger or the old 'foil wrap' with a little dirt mixed in? Hopefully they don't allow the handheld game stuff!

 

[joesmith357]

I am an eagle scout, got it when I was 17 in the mid 80's, I hear stories of kids getting it when they are 13 and 14 now, and that blows my mind. The entire point of scouting was to learn life lessons and skills and have fun while doing it, not be a giant race to get an award, and then get out. I think any kid who gets eagle before 16 probably completely missed the point. I dont have kids, but my nephew is in cub scouts now and the stories I hear of moms going camping with the kids and stuff like what is mentioned above, makes me think that Scouting has 'jumped the shark' so to speak.

When I was in, most of our leaders were active or ex-military or worked blue collar jobs (power company, phone company, construction,etc), they all had trucks or vans and one of them had a trailer, the stuff got trucked in to the camp, but we had to hike with our packs in and out to some degree, set up our own tents, cook our own food, etc. Most of the places had running water except when we went on 50+ mile hikes on the Appalachian Trail. It was an unwritten rule that there were no moms to be at any events, especially camping. In fact, it was discouraged so much that we (as scout peers) would shame the kid so bad that he handled it from his side.

But it's a completely different world today, kids are weak, parents are weak.

 

[nicky4968]

The troop my sons were in had camping every month except June, July, and August. The boys set up their own equipment and did most of their own cooking.

 

[Squarebutt]

Our shooting club owns about 40 acres, not all of it suitable for ranges. The local Scout troop made a proposal to use a small corner of it for a camping area, since a couple of the Scout camps in the region had closed down. We were happy to welcome them. They cut down trees, dug stumps, leveled out a rocky, hilly area and they've been camping there year-round ever since. Most of them have gotten their target shooting Merit Badges through our club, and a few have grown up to become adult members. You couldn't ask for a more polite, hard-working bunch.

 

[Nico Testosteros]

The troop I was in did lots of different types of campouts. Sometimes the Scoutmaster cooked, sometimes us Scouts did. I distinctly remember a crunchy white rice dinner that was aweful.
When training for Philmont we backpacked every month, when preparing for Boundary Waters, we canoed. Sometimes we had a chuckwagon, other times we didn't.
In the summer we went tubing.

My great grandfather, as a boy, was at Mafeking with Baden Powell and my dad was a Queen Scout in England and went to the World Jamboree.

 

[Herknav]

Two questions for those bemoaning young folks today-what have YOU done to make this generation better besides talk about it? Each and every one of you have a wealth of knowledge to pass on, and I have never, ever seen a troop who would turn down help in any form.

Second, if the generations that follow us are worthless, don't we, their teachers, bear the majority of the blame?

In addition to Scouts, I also learned a lot from my dad, my grandfathers and their friends. I was always made to feel a welcome part of society. Yes, kids as a whole are babied by their parents, but I see a prevailing attitude of adults (and I've heard it here) that once one's kids are gone, there is a relief that that person never has to interact with another young person again. I do not understand this thinking.

To answer the OP's question, that's not how my son's troop worked just this past year. As someone said earlier, if the boys didn't do it, it didn't get done (cooking and camping-wise.

Flame away,
Herk

 

[cballman]

As a lowly ASM for our troop I can answer the question for our troop not everybody else. We try to have an outing every month. We have a night in the latter part of the year when we get the kids together to plan out the next year. Most things the kids make plans and we adults help them out. Other times we plan the weekend and gather the help we need. The boys do their own cooking and cleaning with supervision. Each and every troop is different. Some good Some bad. Just depends on the leaders and how much they teach the kids and how much the kids want to learn. I would also have to say I earned my Eagle Scout rank on Nov. 1, 1977 so yes I have seen both sides of the ranks. My son Earned his Eagle Rank 5 years ago so I have also saw it as a parent. If you would like to help out there should be plenty of scout troops that would welcome you.