My Son is a Life Scout

Woo hoo! My son is a Life Scout. My oldest son earned his Eagle about 7 years ago and I remember vividly the work that goes into going from a Life to an Eagle, but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel for this son. Wahooooo!

He attended Scout camp last summer and earned many badges, most of which were electives (shocking, I know). So now all he has left to earn are 5 required ones (i.e. the ones that aren't very fun according to the boys). He's actually started all of them but needs to finish them up. Now we're in the home stretch, thankfully.

Scouting is defiintely beneficial to the boys. Not only do they learn valuable skills, but there's something to following through with the Scouting program and finishing it up through the Eagle rank, you know, a stick-to-itiveness quality. I think it helps them feel a sense of accomplishment and teaches them that hard work is a good thing and worth it in the end. Of course, my husband and I have pushed our boys to do Scouting and I'm not sure they would've pursued it without our gentle encouragement (i.e. "No computer time until you've finished this badge."). I know, as a mom, that they'll be glad they earned their Eagles (at least that's what I tell myself).

So we're one step closer now--and to think I only have two more sons after this one :).

Boy Scouts

My husband has been attending Wood Badge training for the Boy Scouts of America. I never really knew what Wood Badge was until he attended. He spent 3 days at one location learning about what makes a good leader and then spent 3 days at another location being in a patrol and seeing from a boy's perspective what makes a good patrol. He will also be involved in 5 service projects over the next 18 months in order to earn his Wood Badge. It's an intensive leadership training program that he found to be valuable.

The Scouting program is a great program for boys, it is also the activity arm for the Aaronic Priesthood and is supported by the LDS Church. I believe there's a reason for that. Boys who go through Scouting and eventually earn their Eagle learn valuable skills. They also learn to stick with something even when it is difficult. They learn about teamwork and how to be an effective leader. My husband still uses the knowledge he learned as an Eagle Boy Scout. My oldest son earned his Eagle when he was 15 (before he was sidetracked with driving and dating!) and my next oldest son is currently a First Class Scout on the verge of earning his Star rank.

I have served on the Troop Committee for almost 10 years in hopes of helping boys advance through the program. At one time, I was the entire Troop Committee, but now we have an active group that shoulders the work together.

Though I think the Scouting program is valuable, I also believe there's far too much red tape and far too much focus on money from BSA. When my son earned his Eagle we attended a dinner honoring Eagles within the district. Instead of focusing on the boys and their hard work, we were told to ante up $1000.00 per table. On another occassion, the district representative attended an Eagle Court of Honor for our troop. His comments solely focused on raising money for the district. In my opinion, this was in very poor taste.

I have never seen any of the district executives at our Troop Committee meetings, helping boys earn badges, at Eagle projects, or volunteering their time as we non-executives do. We're in the trenches doing all of the work and yet we all donate our time and our money. Why is it that the district executives collect a salary? Why don't they volunteer like the rest of us? To me, Scouting should be about the boys, not about the money. I'm absolutely certain the BSA could run a better, more efficient program if the focus was on the boys, instead of the moeny.

I'm grateful my oldest son earned his Eagle and believe it will help him in his life and I'm thankful my next son is interested in Scouts and enjoys it. The program is wonderful and when we focus our attention on the boys it is very rewarding.