"Okay guys, here's the plan. This is a map I drew that combines several of the Skymont trails. I think we can do this in a few hours. Who's in?", my son Luke says to his fellow scouts on a wet summer afternoon in Tennessee. It's been a soggy few days at Boy Scout summer camp, but as Senior Patrol Leader of his troop, he's determined to lead a hike to get some requirements done for the other boys. His brother Alex grudgingly goes along with the group.
As the group leaves, it starts pouring rain yet again. I'm expecting them to come back and hide in their tents. But I'm wrong. Two hours later, the waterlogged group of teens trudge back to camp, hair matted to their heads, shoes black with mud, clothes soaked to the bone. Complaining of course, but with stories they will share for years to come. To me, this is the essence of Boy Scouts: experiencing nature in all its unpredictability and sharing it with others.
In the last several years, Scouting America (BSA, Boy Scouts, pick your own name), has been rocked from many directions. Certainly, the years of sexual abuse by some leaders is most troubling. But both sides of the political spectrum have also hammered the organization. The left claims intolerance of LGBTQ while the right claims including girls and taking out the word "boy" somehow emasculates the entire organization.
I'm not here to make excuses or debate any political view. I'm here to argue that destroying Scouting will also take away access to fundamental skills our kids, especially boys, need more than ever. First aid, camping, navigation, outdoor cooking, the list goes on. What other activity does so much for boys?
Nine years ago, my school had an information session about Cub Scouts. The school pack was dormant and some parents were trying to bring it back. Two other middle school teachers and I had sons in the second grade so we showed up. Like typical teachers, we sat in the front row while one parent explained scouting to us. The other dads were sitting in the back, faces buried in their phones. When they asked who could help run the pack, like good teachers we raised our hands. The dads in the back never looked up from their phones.
After four years of weekly meetings and several campouts, eleven boys finished Arrow of Light, the final rank of Cub Scouts. Along the way, little brothers and sisters of these boys joined the pack and went on all the same campouts. Finding animals on hikes, nearly missing alligators while canoeing, racing pinewood derby cars, and just having fun cooking and eating s'mores by campfire created lasting memories for these kids.
When Covid hit and most packs and troops shut down, we continued on. Alex, his mom, and I worked him through the last ranks of cub scouts while camping in the backyard to meet requirements. Luke's Boy Scout troop continued to meet masked and still found ways to camp every month. Ranks and merit badges were still achieved through it all.
Even after Covid, the last few years have not been easy. As their assistant scoutmaster, I attend their weekly meetings and monthly campouts. The troop has been shrinking every year and inspiring the boys to finish requirements and earn ranks has been difficult. Scouting is a multi-year commitment and many kids and families come and go. Taking grumbling teens to Monday night meetings, sleeping in a tent in the freezing cold, pouring rain, and painful humidity has taken a toll on my old, fat body. But watching Alex pitch his own tent, cook his own dinner and clean his own dishes gives me hope. Luke's year as Senior Patrol Leader taught him invaluable leaderships skills in teaching and managing a group of his peers. His Eagle Scout project took him months to plan, prepare and execute effectively. Now that he is almost done with Scouting, I really see how it's become such a major influence on his life. In an era of overprotective parents who terrify their kids into staying home in the rooms on their devices, Luke now takes his friends out on exploration trips around the city to learn and grow. His experience in Scouting gave him that confidence.
Scouting has many faults: a troubled past, slow to change, and many others. But it's an organization that builds confident leaders who learn life skills taught nowhere else. Outdoors is the scouting classroom and it's a wonderful one. Let's keep it going; our youth deserve it.
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