Scouting, Volume 63, Number 4, September 1975 Page: 10
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Scouting Magazine and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.
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FRONT
UNE SRJFF
ON HOLDING OLDER SCOUTS
In our March-April issue, a Michigan
Scoutmaster bemoaned the loss of
Scouts from his troop at about the time
they reach ninth grade. At that age, he
said, a boy's peers "put down" Scout-
ing and he drops out. Wfiat, he asked,
can be done about it? Here are some of
your replies.
Our troop has two boys who have
turned 18, four 17-year-olds, six 16-
year-olds and four who are 14 or 15.
We have a bigger problem making
room for the younger boys.
We believe that the biggest part of
Scouting is Outing. We try to take an
overnighter each month and at least
one long-term camp each year. We do
not encourage boys to join unless they
want to camp and backpack. We warn
them that this is our program and if
they do not like to do these things,
they will be happier in another troop.
Our boys have fierce pride that they
do camping that no other troop around
does regularly. They answer detractors
with questions like: "How many times
have you been 15 or 20 miles from the
nearest road? Why don't you come and
prove you can do it!" Several of our
older Scouts were once scoffers.
Scoutmaster P.K.
Torrington, Wyo.
The Boy Scouts of America's program
of involving 11-year-olds with 18-year-
olds lends itself naturally to the "prob-
lem." The older boys become disinter-
ested with "baby" stuff and look on to
bigger things. This is actually better
than retaining all the boys. My own
troop has a lot of 14- and 15-year-olds.
They present a problem because there
are not enough leadership positions to
go around. A leadership corps is not
the answer as it tends to become just a
rowdy bunch of kids.
Rejecting Scouting at this age is nat-
ural because adolescents are in the
process of becoming free and indepen-
dent. Scouting is, in a sense, corny and
definitely very "establishment."
Therefore it provides a good scapegoat
for those dissenters who must knock
down all that is old. Those who do not
succumb to the peer pressure against
Scouting that is almost always present
can be the most valuable asset a troop
can have.
Eagle Scout R.G.R.
Massapequa Park, N.Y.
Keeping older boys in Scouting is a
problem which has concerned the
leaders of our movement since Baden-
Powell. Today the improved Scouting
program gives Scouting at least one
element which is nothing short of pure
genius: the leadership corps. New in-
signia, an optional change of uniform,
recognition for past achievement (not
just anyone can join the leadership
corps!), new programming, and — most
of all — new responsibility combine to
give a boy a worthwhile goal to strive
for and it gives a young man a real rea-
son to stay in the troop.
By appointing a dynamic assistant
Scoutmaster to advise this group and
develop its full potential, you will re-
tain a ready resource to help share
your work load. Need one mention the
meaningful experience you'll provide
for these young men? Or the benefit
the leadership corps members can be
to new Scouts?
District Scouter M.J.L.
Honolulu, Hawaii
I did not get into Scouting until I was
14. Until that time, I must confess, I
was responsible for some of that peer
pressure on boys who were Scouts. But
after my two younger brothers joined a
troop, I joined too and I had a blast!
One thing I really enjoyed was that the
troop had other guys my own age. Lat-
er I joined the Explorers — still with
peer group members. I suggest that
you let older Scouts explore, but point
them toward an Explorer post or
church group. Remember that they are
becoming men. Maybe once in a while
they will consent to help out the troop,
but they will do it as young adults,
much as you and your committee are
doing.
Explorer and Eagle Scout E.B.F.
Everman, Tex.
The letter contains the answer to the
problem. Scoutmaster T.N. wrote that
the dropouts may continue doing the
same activities as those who remain in
Scouting. Do we claim exclusive rights
on "our" activities? Do we pretend
that one program of Scouting is neces-
sarily right for every boy? Like par-
ents, Scout leaders must give up their
children at varying times, but let us do
it gracefully, without whining or com-
plaining.
Cubmaster J.A.
Kansas City, Mo.
The problem is a common one with
most youth organizations. Even many
adults look on youth programs as a
babysitting job, and in many ways it is.
But the babysitters are doing an out-
standing job of building boys and girls
into the best leaders this nation has
ever had. You can think of all the pro-
grams in the world to keep the older
boys, but when they want to leave, you
have to let them.
Associate Explorer Advisor R.M.
Columbus, Ohio
HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
Scouting units in areas where the
population is transient sometimes have
a tough time surviving. So says a form-
er unit commissioner, who is looking
for success stories on Scouting in such
an area. Send yours to: Front Line
Stuff, Scouting magazine, North
Brunswick, N.J. 08902.
Dear Front Line Stuff:
How do you keep a troop going in a
transient, low-income area? I worked
with a troop in a district which has
many military and welfare families.
Most of the boys either have no fathers
or their dads are overseas. We lost
more than half our boys because fam-
ilies moved away or were transferred.
We went through five Scoutmasters in
one year, and it's nearly impossible to
form a solid committee. Now the troop
is down to five boys and one adult. Any
ideas?
Ex-Unit Commissioner D.B.S.
10
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 63, Number 4, September 1975, periodical, September 1975; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353698/m1/10/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.