Why scouting fails in LDS troops (compared to non-LDS troops)

[bYuPride]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Our stake needs a good Scout Master. Should I put in the good word for you to President Perry?

ha ha! honestly, i don't have much experience... however, i would be a fantastic asst. scout master. i enjoy camping and seeing little dudes succeed. while still in school it would be pretty tough, but i would be interested in helping out.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by bYuPride

ha ha! honestly, i don't have much experience... however, i would be a fantastic asst. scout master. i enjoy camping and seeing little dudes succeed. while still in school it would be pretty tough, but i would be interested in helping out.

I was mostly kidding, but I do know that my son does not like the current scout master, nor do a few other kids. The scout masteris a bit too much concerned that they put scouting above everything else in their lives. There were a number of times that he wasn't really happy that my son chose basketball over an overnight scout camp.

If you really are interested, I could give you his name. Perhaps you could be one of those volunteer types who go on the camp outs to help.

[bYuPride]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

I was mostly kidding, but I do know that my son does not like the current scout master, nor do a few other kids. The scout masteris a bit too much concerned that they put scouting above everything else in their lives. There were a number of times that he wasn't really happy that my son chose basketball over an overnight scout camp.

If you really are interested, I could give you his name. Perhaps you could be one of those volunteer types who go on the camp outs to help.

The Lord will inspire President Perry when the time is right for me to help in the Scouting program.. Heavenly Father knows I can only handle Weblos kids right now. Seriously though, I like scouting in and all, but I can already tell you I'd have a tough time with this dude and his philosophy on scouting. Let alone camp with the dude..

Long story short. No need to tell President Perry!

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by bYuPride

The Lord will inspire President Perry when the time is right for me to help in the Scouting program.. Heavenly Father knows I can only handle Weblos kids right now. Seriously though, I like scouting in and all, but I can already tell you I'd have a tough time with this dude and his philosophy on scouting. Let alone camp with the dude..

Long story short. No need to tell President Perry!

Ok, I won't suggest you to do that.

There is nothing wrong with taking care of the Webelos. You may even get to go to Camp Tracy with them. That place is a hoot.

[Sleeping in EQ]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

While the church has had long continuity with the scouting program, in
the sense that the church has been doing scouting for these many
decades, the primary problem, IMO, is actually continuity at the level
of the individual.

1. We ask adults who don't want to be scout leaders, to be scout
leaders. In other words, we don't get qualified capable volunteers
like non-LDS troops. We call people. Is there anyone less effective
than someone who doesn't want to be there? Is there anything worse
than having an ASM called, who immediately lets it be known that he
will only rarely be available and shows zero initiative? I've been
blessed with great colleagues. But perhaps something some of you can
relate to: over 2 years we have gone camping every month except once
(canceled due to ice storm). I've only begged off for one campout (the
one that was canceled it turned out). But every other adult has told
me that they can't come many multiple times. Sometimes canceling at
the last minute, other plans, out of town, etc. It's a matter of
priorities. I'm just as busy as these brethren, but I've made it more
of a priority. Again, I am not criticizing, I am merely observing.

2. We do scouts at the ward level. Wards often have poor continuity
in the sense that people move in and out. There have probably been 5
scoutmasters in my ward in the past seven or eight years who no longer
are in my ward.

3. Even if you grew up in a strong troop, that doesn't translate into
institutional knowledge. I grew up in a great troop. We were a
full-uniformed well-oiled machine. Fast forward many years and I am
called as SM after having not had any interaction with scouting since
being a kid. I want to make my troop like my old one. I say "we need
full uniforms". I tell everyone. And then it doesn't happen. Many
things that I tried to make happen weren't happening. Well, come to
find out that my SM wasn't doing all the work. He had a strong,
functioning committee. He had well-off members in the ward who were
financially supporting the program, helping kids get uniforms and
things like that. He had the entire ward behind the program. Nobody
explained to me when I was a kid how the operation worked. It just
worked. From my perspective as a kid, things just happened. I didn't
know how they happened. And now as an adult, I've found making those
things happen to be very difficult. Changing an entire scouting
culture in a ward where people move in and out and where SMs average
just 1 year.

4. When someone is called into scouting, they know it is temporary.
Why invest in a lot of training for something that is temporary?
Non-LDS may see it as a lifestyle, or at least a 10 year investment as
their kids grow up in the troops. Me? I serve at the whim of my
Bishop. Even if I love my calling as SM and serve with all my might, I
know the rug can be pulled out at any second. And I know I may never
have any calling in scouting again, even if I am good at it and highly
motivated. That's not how it works for non-LDS.

5. Wouldn't it be interesting if scout committees were actually
empowered to select/call (under the Bishop's permission and keys)
scoutmasters and assistant scoutmasters? SM responsible to the
committee. That's how it works for non-LDS. Not how it works for LDS.
The SM responds to the Bishop and YM President. We had a brother in
our stake who did a real bang-up job as SM, really turned around things
and was a great example for new SMs like myself. Now he has moved to a
different state. And the idea of him having no scouting calling in the
church is a tragedy. Wasted talent. He will volunteer in a district
and end up serving non-LDS scouts if he isn't called into scouting.

6. The church has great members who are doing great work in scouting.
It's just that the way things are set up, the chips are stacked against
them. As long as the current structure holds, we will always have
relatively poorly trained leaders with little tenure.

I agree with many of these, but especially #2. Society is more mobile in general these days, and investment in most any calling has suffered.

[realtall]

An interesting experience: This past sunday we had combined meeting(EQ,HP,RS) the last hour. The first ten minutes of it was given to the high councilor who asked for donations to the scout program. Not the ward's troop. The BSA. He then handed out donation cards to everyone in the room. You know, the kind that BYU, or political candidates or whoever send you in the mail to ask for donations; check the amount, etc. Then the Bishop got up and bore his testimony of scouting.

I don't have any specific objection to this. Something about it just seemed slightly odd at the time. I've never had anyone hit me up for a non-church donation during church before.