First I want to thank everyone who responded to yesterday’s post. It was really good to hear from so many people who had such positive things to say about scouting. Reading the responses spawned thoughts in my head and forced me to look closely at my feelings about scouting. My feelings are mixed, but most of the reasons are not logical at all. So I’m going to lay the thoughts out here so that anyone who wishes can comment and help me see things in a new way. One warning, many of these thoughts/opinions were formed when I was in my early teens and have never been re-examined since.
The bad things:
It was a club which, as a girl, I couldn’t join. Blue Birds and Brownies are not even close to the same thing. Sour grapes.
It was founded in the same era as the Hitler Youth. That parallel seems disturbing.
Lots of bad press about sexual abuse in scouting.
We have boxes and boxes of old scouting patches and books left over from Howard and his dad and even his grandfather. None of this stuff has any emotional meaning to me. It is all just clutter that I can percieve no future use for and I’m not allowed to get rid of.
In my youth I knew many young men who were required to earn their Eagle Scout badge before they were allowed to drive and were very angry about it.
I’ve known adult men who resented their past forced involvement in scouting. They didn’t like it and their parents made them do it anyway.
All too often with reward systems such as badge earning, the parents scramble to make sure that the boys earn badges. Supposedly this gives the boys a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately an accomplishment is not something that can be given, it has to be earned. Do boys really feel accomplished when mom does most of the work?
If my son doesn’t earn his badges, he’ll feel like a failure. But he doesn’t yet have the discipline to earn them himself. So I have a whole new list of things to get done.
The good things:
I remember tagging along on with my older brother’s cub scout troop. My mom was the den leader and included me in most everything. Those are all happy memories.
Boys love badges and handshakes and silly skits and silly cheers.
Because I’m trying to help Link earn badges I’ll do stuff with him that would not otherwise have occured to me.
Every single badge is a valuable life skill.
Parents have to participate for a boy to earn badges. That parental interaction is worth far more than any badge.
Link is making social connections with other boys his own age.
Now that I write them out at least half of the “bad things” seem petty or ill informed and the “good things” seem solid and valuable. But I am interested in what you all have to say about scouting. I’m going to be involved in this program for years to come. What do I have to look forward to? What are the pitfalls? What are the benefits?
I have no specific affiliation with or grudge against scouting. I haven’t known very many people who have ever been involved in it (although I have a niece who absolutely loves her Girl Scouts group).
In my youth, we were much more strongly encouraged to participate in our church’s “Stockade” and “Brigade” programs, which were basically our church denomination’s version of Boy Scouts. There were uniforms and badges, but those things weren’t really pushed very much, and certainly weren’t mandatory for participation. A few kids took it seriously and got the khaki shorts and button-up shirts, but mostly we just got together to play dodgeball and occasionally build something.
I have to admit that I have almost no good memories of Brigade or Stockade. I didn’t participate in any of the badges, even though the leaders would periodically remind us that we were supposed to do so, because I didn’t see the point. There was virtually no participation from parents unless those parents were also the leaders. I had no interest in building things, learning to camp, etc, and I was extremely bothered by the underlying currents of political viewpoints I did not share.
Essentially, I felt that the group was unconsciously trying to make me into something I wasn’t, wouldn’t ever be, and actually resented.
The only reason I’m bringing this up is just to note that Boy Scouts, like Brigade/Stockade, has always seemed to me to put a little too much emphasis on conformity at the expense of personal satisfaction. Some boys weren’t meant for it.
I trust you as a parent, because you really seem to have your head screwed on straight. My only comment is that I would encourage you to be willing to consider it if Link ever wants to quit. I’m not saying let him quit on a whim, but that resentment about forced involvement is something that can be felt very strongly. Quitting should never be done lightly, but sometimes it is the right thing.
My parents encouraged me to try anything I ever wanted to try (although they did have the unfortunate tendency to “make sure” I wanted to try it by outlining all the things that could go wrong, and none of the things that could be rewarding), and I was never allowed to quit things like Little League — at least not during a season I had voluntarily joined. Once I was old enough to think about it from a rather objective standpoint, I was stunned at how much I appreciated both their support and their willingness to relent when it was truly important to me to not be involved in something.
A number of us were founded during the time of Hitler Youth. ];-)
You mentioned Blue Birds and Brownies, but not Girl Scouts. No active troops in the area?
In any event, a number of the problem issues are sort of a problem-parenting thing, more so than anything to do with Scouting itself. Parents can push their kids in all sorts of areas, and attempt to protect them from failure, and the results are predictably troubling whether it’s Scouting or the Soap Box Derby or whatever.
Scouting has measurable accomplishment points, and it’s a bit more susceptible to parental influence than is, say, martial arts. Your folks can’t take a belt test for you.
The toughest thing will be the combination of judicious encouragement and allowing him the opportunity to fail if he needs to — so that his accomplishments will really be his own. Helping him think about life the right way will be far more meritorious than getting a merit badge for him.
In my opinion, the influences are tremendously positive, and I’m all for it. And I wish him well, and you — as always.
===|==============/ Level Head
They’re not petty! They’re valid feelings, regardless of whether self-examination makes you look at them and realize they don’t really hold true for you anymore. Once in a while it’s good to look at what we believe and see if it really fits in our reality today; the things that seem petty to you will be things you examine closely, and if appropriate, you’ll let them go out of your life.
I seem to have written a small book down here. I apologize. I get wordy when I’m being all supportive… no, who am I kidding. I’m just wordy.
The bad stuff:
1) You’re not the only girl who thinks it’s not fair that boys get their own club, and Girl Scouts isn’t quite the same either. Still.. would you really want to go spend all your time with boys and their addiction to fart jokes? *I* didn’t. hehe
2) The Hitler Youth wasn’t originally bad, but was turned that way as things went uglier and uglier. The difference is that scouts is run by Parents, not the Government, and thus *you* will determine a lot of what your son gets out of it.
3) Bad press: It’s such a shame that anytime you get kids in a setting like this one, some creepy person or three ruins it for all. I think a lot of preventing trouble like this is, again, involvement, and somehow, I think you’ll be plenty involved to know if there’s someone looking at your kids in a funny way.
4) the clutter: It’s possible that watching your son go through scouting will make him, and you, enjoy that old scouting stuff of his dad’s more. Perhaps pulling it out and putting on display somewhere would make it less like “junk” and more like “history/family tradition?”
5) The forced involvement: this is just sad. No kid should be forced to do something “for fun” that he truly doesn’t enjoy; there’s so much they already are forced to do, like algebra!
I think you’re spot-on with all of the good stuff, and the bad’s not “bad,” (except for the icky kid predator one, and you’ll be on the lookout for that, of course – and it’s far less common than one hears).
The key is you, and your son. If he wants to do badges, then he’ll need your help. He doesn’t have to do them, though.. at least not as a cub scout. Boy Scouts becomes a bit more goal-driven, of course, but still, it should still never be a “have to.” Many kids who are Cubs never go on to Boy Scouts, as it is a far more “grown-up” thing … and this is completely okay.
Scouting is NOT about the end-goal, but it’s about the journey, about bonding with other guys, learning together, and about becoming responsible, decent men. I’ve watched my sisters and their sons grow in scouting; my sisters discovered new hobbies and skills they didn’t know they had until they did the badges with their sons. They’ve enjoyed the fun times they’ve spent together even during the icky teen years, and found themselves close to their sons because of it.
Link is a .. what, a Tiger, right? If he stays interested, you’ll be astonished at the confidence he gets from completing the badges and the like. That’s the important thing; that you and your son have a positive experience. If it stops being positive, don’t go anymore. Easy 🙂
My oldest nephew met his two dearest friends in scouts. He calls them his Brothers.. they even call my sister Mom, and have been around so long they’re family. We nag them just as if they belonged to us, and they let us, so it must be love, right?
May the journey be fun for you all.
heh. I spent all that time typing my opus, and you said it much more succintly than I. What he said!
I like it.
===|==============/ Level Head
Hum, forcing your kid to say in any of the Scouts organizations is a pretty icky thing to do. That said, among my friends, almost all of the ones who weren’t in 4-H went on to get their Eagle Scout thingy. I was the only one who didn’t complete the Boyscouts. That said, it would probably be best if you don’t let him quit the next meeting after he decides he wants to quit (unless there is a serious problem.)
I watched my sister go through Girl Scouts and yeah, they aren’t as neat as the boy scouts, at least if you are in a good troop for the boy scouts. Of course, I wasn’t enthralled by the boy scouts either.
As for not being able to join as a girl… actually, if there isn’t a Girl Scouts troop in the area, girls can join the boy scouts I believe.
Better than both, but not avaliable till either junior high or high school is adventure scouts. It is all of the best parts of boy scouts for boys and girls.
Whether it is a good or bad experience for him will depend entirely on him and you, really. If he decides he doesn’t want to do it but is forced to continue, then it would be bad. If you poison the experience for him, then it would be bad. The majority of kids with bad scouting experiences fall into one of those two groups. But from reading your journal, you’re an excellent parent, and I have no doubt you will avoid both of those traps.
Sometimes very bad things happen, too, that are not the fault of either the parents or the kids, but those are pretty rare.
As long as he is enjoying it and you are supportive of that, then the odds are very high that it will be a very good experience for him.
I’ve got to point out that the Hitler youth was founded in the late 1920s, well after the inception of the UK scouting movement in 1907. They’re not really a parallel as much as a distorted copy.
lets see….
I joined cub scouting as a wolf, wenth through wolf bear, webelos, then went on into a scoutn troop. My paretns were both involved, in fact my dad is now the scoutmaster of that local troop, going on 16 years later. I enjoyed my experiances as a scout. Part of the deal with badges is, you need a troop that is about the fun. Some troops around ours pushed badges badges badges, then let boys earn them easily. I was proud the day i earned my eagle, and was proud that each of my younger brothers went on to do the same thing. IF you think link will enjoy being aorund kids his age, and enjoy camping, go for it. Also conmsider that BSA now has a program called venturing. It is an alternative to boy scouts. Boy scouting runs ages 11-18, Exploreres runs 18 onward. Venturing is a Co-Ed program, similar to Explorers, but spans ages 14-21. My younger sisters, twins age 16, are both in venturing. They will, this coming summer, be flying to new mexico to go on a 2 week high adventure trek with the rest of the crew.
After that ramble:
PROS:
Scouting will build friendships
Scouting will teach and affirm having values and doing the right thing
Scouting has parent involvement
Scouting has a long term program.
Scouting offers summer camps, both day camps and full cmaping for a week type camps, at relativly low cost
Scouting offers chances for the parents to meat people and make new friendships.
CONS:
Some troops push promotion rather than having fun
Some troops rarely if ever do ‘real camping’. They prefer a high dolalr stay at a ski lodge and call it a trip.
Some groups will be shorthanded, and may suck you in and eat a laod of your not so free time as you try to keep it up and runnign to keep the kids happy.
It hasnt been discussed, but the “Blue birds” are part of Camp Fire, which is now inclusive. So, both boys and girls can participate. I grew up in it for all my years in school, my mom and sister are still in it.
Its not as serious as Boy scouts, but I enjoyed the family atmosphere.
When I was a kid growing up in NYC, nearly no one did Scouts so I don’t know much about it firsthand. My best friend became an honorary Scout for a while because she was a tomboy. Amusingly though, all three of my serious boyfriends have been Eagle Scouts.
My current boyfriend, I asked him what the Eagle Scout pledge was. I just googled it again, and (with other variations) it goes
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong;
mentally awake, and morally straight.
As an atheist, I find it saddening that the Scouts require allegiance to a religion, as well as implying that it is impossible to be “morally straight” without it. I asked my boyfriend what he did when he had to say that line. He replied that he took his oath with three other boys, and so he felt safe omitting that part as the silence wouldn’t be noticed. That is the same thing I have always done when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Neither of us ever considered outright lying about our beliefs, or making a false pledge.
I just find it sad when the government and other nominally non-religious organizations imply that anyone who is not monotheistic is anathema. I am not militant about it. I don’t burn flags or picket with the ACLU. I just wish it were otherwise. It’s a small thing, not the end of the world, I know that. But sitting at the back of the bus is a small thing too. Having curb cuts and automatic doors are minor also.
Just for the record, Boy Scouts has never been non-religious. They actively promote Judeo-Christian values and at least indirectly promote Christian beliefs. That’s why there was such an uproar when it was determined on a federal court level (was it the Supreme Court??) that they could not be required to allow gays.
*nods* I am not familiar with the history of the group – if I had been, I wouldn’t’ve been surprised when I learned about it. What made it disappointing to me was that their public image is as an outing/leadership club, not as a RELIGIOUS outing/leadership club. Yes, I know now it’s listed in their mission statement, but … *shrug*
Right. And these are the two things that really bother me about the BSA – their bent towards indoctrination in a supposedly secular organization (they never claim it, but they certainly don’t explicitly present themselves as a religious group), and their homophobia.
Good point. Howard also pointed out that most of the parallels are organizational. By their fruits ye shall know them.
I wanted to be a scout in elementary school, but they wouldn’t let me, ’cause we couldn’t afford the uniforms. My grandma had given me the scout manual and everything one summer, though, and I think I learned a fair amount from it all by itself. I did, however, participate heavily in the Explorer program when I was in High School, and it was probably a Good Thing.
I probably wasn’t all that clean and polite and stuff when I was a grubby grade schooler anyway. =D
Okay, cut that out.
It’s not “homophobic” to not permit homosexual behavior in your organization. Neither is it bigoted, or racist, or anything else you care to slap it with.
Homosexuality is just a behavior pattern that some organizations frown upon. This is called morality, not homophobia (unless you’ve got a political axe to grind, which it sounds like you might). Heterosexual promiscuity is ALSO a behavior pattern that is frowned upon by these organizations. We don’t call that “studophobia” or “slutophobia.”
You’re upset because you are trying to fit an organization with religious roots into a purely secular mold. This is YOUR problem, not the BSA’s problem.
To sum up:
Gay-bashing? That’s homophobic.
Moral code? That’s not.
I believe there’s a difference between forbidding homosexual conduct and forbidding people who identify as homosexual. To my knowledge, it’s the latter that the BSA did, but perhaps I’m incorrect. I admit it’s a fine line, and perhaps I am splitting hairs here… I’m aware of religious philosophies that have drawn a distinction between being attracted to members of the same sex, and actually acting on that attraction, which is why I bring it up.
I will admit, though, I was a bit inflammatory in my last comment, and I apologize for that. And I’m not going to risk further problems by discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of permitting or forbidding homosexuals in an organization; suffice it to say that I disagree.
As a matter of curiosity – does the BSA specifically forbid membership to the heterosexually promiscuous, as they do to homosexuals?
(Incidentally, as to fitting the BSA into a purely secular mold, I suspect I try to do that because in my community the troops met in our public schools, and I grew up basically thinking of them as a school group, which is why realizing the BSA was in fact a Christian organization, enforcing Christian values among its members, kind of rubbed me the wrong way.)
This keeps coming back into my mind, and I’m not particularly happy with this at all.
Sandra, Howard, I apologize for my comments. This was neither the time nor the place to get into this sort of thing – particularly as ill-thought out as my comments were. I’ll keep my soapbox out of here.
Thank you for the appology. I was a little worried that I’d end up with a mailbox full of flaming comments over this issue and I really appreciate not having that happen.
If you wish you can delete your comment or I can delete the whole thread for you. Or we can leave it with your appology. Either way is fine with me.
Ooh I forgot about the Adventure Scouts sub-groups. My niece and nephews went on several Adventure Scouting events last summer, and they all loved it.
Nobody expects the Cubs to be all that clean and polite. They are, after all, icky boys. hehehe
Well, if you’re fine either way, I’d say leave it as it is. Particularly since Howard’s comment is an important part of the discussion, in my opinion.
This is just about the only thing about the Boys Scouts I dislike, actually, but again.. it’s not my organization. It’s a private group, and their inclusion policies are their own, even if I disagree with them. Strongly.
I find it uncomfortable in this day and age to hear of organizations which toss out a 15-year-old boy just because he’s discovered he likes other boys. It seems kind of cruel, and it’s a bit sad.
However, it depends largely on the boy, and the troop, how they handle this sort of thing. There is a boy in my nephew’s troop who they think might be gay, but it’s a non-issue in that troop. Granted, the boy doesn’t do what some others have done and wear their Scout uniform at a Pride parade, either. So as with all things.. YMMV.
Sounds good to me! Thanks again.
I have too much to say too.
I grew up with three younger brothers and my dad was always involved in scouts. Towards the end of my high school years my dad started working for the BSA and was Camp Director during the summer.
I admit, I was jealous that my brothers and dad,and eventually my mom (she worked the black powder rifle range at camp) had such a bond from camping all summer. I am proud to say that I EARNED some badges, even though I didn’t get any ( but I got to keep the knowledge). I learned the basic sign language alphabet out of my brothers scout books.
It seems like my parents paid more attention and spent more time with my brothers because of the BSA. Although, I think I remember being included in scout trips to the pool and other activities. I am really glad that BSA helped my parents to be involved with my brothers. Who can argue that boys these days absolutely NEED their parents to pay attention to them, do activities with them, and spend lots of time with them in this fast paced world?
Now, my son is a Bobcat. His little 4 year old sister wants to be a cub scout. For now, we get to go with him to his Den meetings since there is only one other boy in his Den, so she gets to do everything he does.
Girls can be a part of the family’s activities to help the scout earn badges and be part of the scout program.
I mean, tons of the requirements in the Cub Scout book have activities that you can do together as a family, like swimming, bowling, going to a local landmark, having a family fun night, reading together, etc. So, it really enriches the whole family.
Even though it might have been difficult to be the only girl in the family full of scouts, I am really thankful for the BSA. I am going to do better than my parents and make sure that MY daughter doesn’t feel left out and benefits from my son’s scout experience. (and that she is involved in the church equivalents for girls, and I am involved in what she is invovled in)
And, for the record- only 2 out of my three brothers got their Eagles.
I’m glad that my husband got his Eagle, even though he can’t tie knots. 🙂 (another skill I learned from boy scouts!)
P.S. I also wanted to point out that the Duty to God award is available to : Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Quakers, and the various Christian faiths as well.
(and may I say that their awards are way more pretty and impressive than the LDS Duty to God award…)
Sandra, enjoy scouting. Just jump right in and be one of those parents that the scout leaders gush over and are thankful for… it will be a rewarding experience for Link and the whole family.
What do I have to look forward to? What are the pitfalls? What are the benefits?
Looking forward? Well, I could say another 15 years of awards ceremonies, fund raisers, camping trips (prep, cleanup, participation, driving) pride, disappointment, and exhaustion. Hmmm – now that I’ve said it, it sounds just like real life, with or without the scouts.
Pitfalls? Jealousy, pettiness, over-achieving parents doing their kids projects, the schedule for one day of the week having to accommodate one kid’s activity. Oh darn, there’s more real life (w/wo scouts) creeping in.
Benefits? Exactly what you’re looking for and willing to invest in. Maybe more – probably not less.
You already know that I support the Scouting program. Other organizations I/we are involved in are the Boy & Girls Club and the Chamber of Commerce. L_H is more active in groups that support the commercialization of space (we’re both very interested in the programs, he’s just more technically knowledgeable than I – I may be more emotionally invested).
I’ve gotten more windy than I meant to – I should have stopped after the benefits. Anyway, folks who support Scouting are often involved in other things as well and I guess that was my point.
You’ll do what’s best for your son as an individual and for your family as a whole. It often won’t be what you’d choose for yourself, but – that’s life, too.
It’s interesting — I, too, am an atheist, and was never anything but to the best of my knowledge. From scouting, decades ago, to testifying in court very recently, I have been asked many times to give just such oaths.
I do so, with no problem whatsoever.
I translate God in my mind to the collection of issues of ideals and personal integrity that I hold in highest esteem, and recognize that this is what they’re really trying to get to.
Yes, I will do my duty! Yes, I will tell the truth! Since I do not believe in the existence of a literal God, I cannot possibly be worried about offending Him. And if that’s true, then such oaths can be sincerely meant, and able to accomplish their purposes — and that’s fine by me. I’d wager that there are few of religious bent who take them more seriously.
===|==============/ Level Head
Hm, I see what you’re getting at. Personally, I interpret such oaths as not only being statements of personal integrity, but also a statement of faith. In order to maintain my integrity, I will not pledge a faith in which I do not believe.
It reminds me of a legal quirk one of my friends told me. A woman had written in her will years ago that she would leave certain things to “my husband Jack.” In most states, since they were divorced, should the ex-wife pass away the will would be read that the things would be left to Jack. Nullifying one item didn’t make the rest of it invalid. In that state, the way it would have been read would instead be as if the person “my husband Jack” did not exist. One incorrect item made the whole line null and void. Seems to me your viewpoint on oaths is like the former, and mine’s the latter.
conversation elsewhere
I invite people interested in this thread to continue the discussion elsewhere.
Ms. Tayler – I hope you don’t mind my doing this. I wished to further discuss the topic, but I also didn’t want to further burden you and your blog with potentially heated political discussions. If you would rather not even have this link here, I would gladly remove the post, or you may do so at will.
Such oaths — and moreover, integity in general, are not governed by contract law. ];-)
Especially not family/probate law, the most contentious and hair-splittin’ lot of them all. So — you don’t believe in Jack, hmm? ];-)
*chuckle*
In a serious vein, extrinisic evidence would generally be involved — whether she was already divorced from Jack at the time, whether the document was drawn by attorney, if there were any other writings or statements that indicated if her wishes changed since (or as a result of) the divorce — it’s not even clear from the circumstances what the just result would be.
Those things are complicated, and it is the job of attorneys to make them more so in order to justify a particular result.
But there is much case law to support a reading of oaths to be references to “God [in whatever form you conceive Him/it to be],” which already allows the Scouts (for example) to have loyal members of faiths ranging from Islam to Roman Catholic. They even have some activities oriented toward different faiths, as was alluded to elsewhere on this post.
So — I certainly can conceive of God, for the purposes of the oath, to be the highest ideal of the sorts of behavior that the Oath is intending to engender — and I have no problem swearing to such ideals. For, indeed, I believe in them, very much!
It has always seemed to me that atheists — since we espouse, generally, a “philosophy of reason,” have a certain obligation to be … reasonable. ];-)
===|==============/ Level Head
*chuckle*
They also have charities aimed at providing uniforms to those who cannot afford them.
We were so poor in my family that we all had to share the same last name. I sold newspapers and Christmas cards to raise uniform money. Many years later, one of my employees was surprised to learn that not every child grew up with a hundred-fifty-dollar-a-week allowance.
The old Robert Heinlein expression holds true: “Do not handicap your children by making their lives too easy.”
===|==============/ Level Head
boy scout/religion
The BSA is a group that beleives that anyone/everyone can look at the world and the outdoors and know that somehting bigger than them egsists. That is why it has religiouse badges done via each scouts troop, not by the bsa itself. It also requires SOME form of religion, but DOES NOT require anything beyond HAVING a religion.
A few things your post made me think of:
To further go over the Hitler Youth connection, Scouting was started in Great Britain by Robert Baden-Powell, a veteran of the Boer War in South Africa who used his military background as inspiration for a boys organization that would teach leadership, service and outdoor survival skills. It reached America in 1910 and several other countries (including Germany) shortly afterward. It was abolished in favor of the Hitler Youth after the Nazis took power in the 1930s. They both have uniforms and involve boys, but the similarities stop there.
Something I’ve noticed as I look back on my Scouting days is that the older the boy gets, the more it becomes an individual responsibility for them to earn badges and get involved in activities. Sure, a parent can walk a boy through Cub Scouts and stuff, but there comes a point where a parent can’t make their boy do anything if the boy doesn’t care to do it. Plenty of the boys I knew had parents (mine included) who at least said they wanted their sons to be Eagle Scouts, but not all of them made it that far.
One thing no one here has mentioned is how important a good leader is to the success of a boy’s Scouting experience. I’ve seen boys get really excited as they accomplish goals and earn recognition for their efforts, but then become disillusioned when they move on to a new Scoutmaster who plans no objectives to their activities (even when camping) and lets them goof off and play basketball most of the time.
The child abusers are a whole different ball of wax; I remember some big headlines coming out about those when I was a new Scout and it became policy for there to always be at least two adults at Scout activities. My, how things have changed in the last 15 years.
Jeez. where to start. I looked over (very quickly) the other comments posted. And while alot of them rolled into several side topics (religion, morality, forcing him to stay in?), I couldn’t for the life of me find any of those questions in the original posts of Sandra’s. So I’m going to ramble for a bit and you can sort thru what you see here and see if any of it is useful.
To hit on a few points about the “bad” you listed:
The good things:
This must be my longest post ever, because I wasn’t even aware there was a limitation. So I had to split my comments. Sorry Sandra, you can yell at me later if all this is boring.
Now for a handful of things that aren’t on your list:
The Boy Scouts are founded roughly on the old Knight’s Code. Which depending on what region and timeframe you are refering to, roughly goes:
The Boy Scouts is an organization built to instill a sense of purpose in a child/young man. And for lack of any better words, it’s quite simply to be a better man. Not to make more money, not to be more powerful, but to grow up and be a “good” person. However you want to define that.
People bash on a religious overtone in the scouts. Simply put, most scouts believe in a higher power, whether that be God, Buddah, Allah, etc. The organization itself is not setup to be Christian, Jewish or Muslim, it simply allows for a meshing of beliefs. That being said, alot of troops are sponsored by churches, strictly because they have the facilities and believe in the programs.
Sexuality. This is something, that is usually not even an issue in scouting. The focus is on self improvement. Family involvement will help shape this part of your child’s life. Scouting combined with what your child learns in the home environment is going to shape who/what they become.
I could probably type forever on this subject, but I think I’m going to wrap it up by simply stating that the Boy Scout program WILL make your son a better person. Not by forcing him into some mold, but by encouraging him to be a part of his community, his troop and his family. Scouting is an excellent way to spend time with your children and another way to help instill your families values and ideas. And as long as he’s interested and loves doing it, encourage him to continue, but don’t force him.