Have We Forgotten How to Raise Boys Into Men?

Scouting isn’t the end-all-be-all youth program, and it is currently under fire from many directions, but that’s not the whole picture, either.

Read through the 1911 Boy Scouts of America handbook (free, online). There’s much to be admired by the simplicity and frankness of the program in how it teaches self-responsibility and service to others. Consider these quotes from the handbook;

“The aim of the Boy Scouts is … to promote the ability in boys to do things for themselves and others.”

“There are other things which a scout ought to know and which should be characteristic of him, if he is going to be the kind of scout for which the Boy Scouts of America stand. One of these is obedience. To be a good scout a boy must learn to obey the orders of his patrol leader, scout master, and scout commissioner. He must learn to obey, before he is able to command. He should so learn to discipline and control himself that he will have no thought but to obey the orders of his officers. He should keep such a strong grip on his own life that he will not allow himself to do anything which is ignoble, or which will harm his life or weaken his powers of endurance.”

“And then the final and chief test of the scout is the doing of a good turn to somebody every day, quietly and without boasting. This is the proof of the scout. It is practical religion, and a boy honors God best when he helps others most. A boy may wear all the scout uniforms made, all the scout badges ever manufactured, know all the woodcraft, campcraft, scoutcraft and other activities of boy scouts, and yet never be a real boy scout. To be a real boy scout means the doing of a good turn every day with the proper motive and if this be done, the boy has a right to be classed with the great scouts that have been of such service to their country.”

1. A scout is trustworthy. A scout’s honor is to be trusted. If he were to violate his honor by telling a lie, or by cheating, or by not doing exactly a given task, when trusted on his honor, he may be directed to hand over his scout badge.

2. A scout is loyal. He is loyal to all to whom loyalty is due: his scout leader, his home, and parents and country.

3. A scout is helpful. He must be prepared at any time to save life, help injured persons, and share the home duties. He must do at least one good turn to somebody every day.

4. A scout is friendly. He is a friend to all and a brother to every other scout.

5. A scout is courteous. He is polite to all, especially to women, children, old people, and the weak and helpless. He must not take pay for being helpful or courteous.

6. A scout is kind. He is a friend to animals. He will not kill nor hurt any living creature needlessly, but will strive to save and protect all harmless life.

7. A scout is obedient. He obeys his parents, scout master, patrol leader, and all other duly constituted authorities.

8. A scout is cheerful. He smiles whenever he can. His obedience to orders is prompt and cheery. He never shirks nor grumbles at hardships.

9. A scout is thrifty. He does not wantonly destroy property. He works faithfully, wastes nothing, and makes the best use of his opportunities. He saves his money so that he may pay his own way, be generous to those in need, and helpful to worthy objects.

He may work for pay but must not receive tips for courtesies or good turns.

10. A scout is brave. He has the courage to face danger in spite of fear and has to stand up for the right against the coaxings of friends or the jeers or threats of enemies, and defeat does not down him.

11. A scout is clean. He keeps clean in body and thought, stands for clean speech, clean sport, clean habits, and travels with a clean crowd.

12. A scout is reverent. He is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion.

What mom wouldn’t want her son to embody these practical principles as he graduates into adulthood? What prospective bride would not want her groom to “be prepared” to take responsibility for doing those tasks, chores that he must complete? What dad wouldn’t also benefit from the mutual accountability of teaching these things to his son and knowing that his son is watching him to see if he actually does these things on a daily basis at home?

If not scouting, how about Christian Service Brigade, or Royal Rangers, or Calvinist Cadet Corps?

I’ve heard a lot of mis-information among Christians about these programs which is unfortunate since they can be very helpful in getting dads and sons together, outside, and away from the TV.

Please say a prayer for God’s intervention in the current membership policy crisis. Thank you!

I was a scout as a boy but would be hesitant to put my son in it now. Thanks for the other group ideas though. I will have to check them out. I would be interested if there is something with a doctrinal statement.

Josh, thanks for the feedback. When my son wanted to learn to play baseball, we signed him up and I attended about 95% of his practices and games — mainly due to the fact that little league is secular in our town and there’s no “Christian little league” circuit that I’m aware of (unless we count the ultimate frisbee league chartered to our Homeschool Assn. (;->) ).

Stephen learned a lot from two years on the team — he learned to scratch, spit, “cuss” and hear lots of vulgarity and profanity from coaches, parents, other players and their siblings. After the second season, he’d had his fill (and so had I) and like Pinocchio after his visit to “Pleasure Island” we felt like a pair of donkeys for having spent so much time being pals with the world.

Thankfully we could enjoy God’s grace in unlimited measure and we’ve (hopefully) grown in wisdom from the experience.

We had participated in AWANAs and Royal Rangers, but neither were enough of a leadership challenge for my sons at ages 11 and 14. Boy scouting in a church-based troop where the church was “actively” involved (not just rented space in the basement) worked well for us.

60% of the youth members were from Christian homeschool environments which didn’t make them perfect, but we were, as families, like-minded and the fathers were highly engaged. We made great use of the curriculum, the camp facilities and even summer camp programs. My sons witnessed on the parade grounds during free time and made some acquaintances from other units.

In November 2010, we started our own troop closer to home (we had been commuting 40 minutes each way to participate in this faith-based program), and to bring scouting to a new group of Christian homeschoolers who couldn’t commute that far on a regular basis.

As you’ll recall from your own youth, when done right, scouting has much to offer in terms of practical leadership (the boys organize and run the meetings), learning proper self-reliance (getting boys to do things for themselves and break free of mom’s apron strings is important, right?) and the effective emphasis on community service projects keeps the boys busy, too.

Scouting may not be the right choice for everyone (of course), but until this break on membership policies, we thought it could work well for us.

We’re in the process of investigating what it would take to convert to Christian Service Brigade (Battalion), but for the remainder of the year, we’re still plugging away at Eagle service projects and merit badges (unit studies) and camping.

Josh, if I can be of assistance, please contact me. I think that any outdoor program done with Dad, is a great investment in building manhood.

http://troop113.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/to-keep-myself-mentally-awake/

http://troop113.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/eagle-project-stephen-f/

Thanks for the reply. I was looking into the battalion as well. We do quite a bit of camping and hiking (which were my favorite parts of scouting) but I think the holistic approach would be good for him. Leadership involves the ability to do something well (or at least make good decisions) and I think the more a young man can learn the better. Plus I talked to him and he is excited about the idea which doesn’t hurt.