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Parents Your view of Scouting

Have you ever asked yourself: "What would I like my son to grow up to be?" Maybe you think in terms of his career or things you want him to have. But have you ever thought about the kind of person you want him to be?

Imagine your son walking down the street 30 years from now. When people see him, they say things like: "There goes Andy—he's really been a good friend"; "There's James—you can always count on him"; "There's Bill—you'll never find a better man."

Please review the following list of words. Do they describe the man you hope to raise? Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent

You've probably heard that list before. It is the Boy Scout Law. If you are asking yourself, "Why should we get involved with Boy Scouts?" think about what you'd like your son to be when he grows up
—and those 12 words.

We emphasize the ideals of Boy Scouting that are spelled out in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout motto, and the Scout slogan. Every Boy Scout should measure himself against these ideals and continually try to improve.

Troop 468 is run by the Patrol Method. Patrols are small groups of scouts who camp together, cook together, play together, and learn together. Scouts gain confidence by serving in positions of patrol leadership. Working together as a team, patrol members share the responsibility for the patrol's success. Patrols are where Scouts learn citizenship at the most basic level. They are one component of what we call a youth-run, or youth-led, troop.

Boy Scouting is designed to take place outdoors. We camp. We hike. We get dirty. We get up close and personal with bugs and spiders. There's no way around it. Our program is largely built around outdoor activities. So, expect to have more laundry after a campout and to hear some interesting stories about wild things.

Nearly everyone knows Boy Scouting has a system of ranks in which Scouts learn progressively more difficult skills and take on progressively greater responsibilities. The highest of these ranks is Eagle Scout. Becoming an Eagle Scout is an important achievement that your son can be proud of his entire life. But turning out Eagle Scouts is not what the Boy Scouting program is all about. Advancement is probably the most visible of the Boy Scouting methods, and the easiest to understand, but it is only one of eight methods. We strongly encourage advancement, but we never force it—advancement is the Scout's choice, and he sets his own pace. We don't do "lock-step" advancement. And many great Scouts, and great men, never became Eagle Scouts.

Parents new to boy scouting -

You’ll notice the youth-led concept in Boy Scouting. It is different than how Cub Scouting works, and it is different from the way a lot of youth activities are run, where the adults decide what to do and the youth do it. In other programs our parental goal is to have fun activities for the kids that generate achievements.

Boy Scouting is different, and it is sometimes difficult for adults to realize that we have a different role and a different goal. In Boy Scouting, the role of the boys is to have fun activities and generate achievements. The role of the adults is not the destination, but the journey. That is, our responsibility as adults is to promote the "process" of Scouting. What is important for us is

* Not the food on the campout, but that the boys cooked it.
* Not a sharp-looking flag ceremony, but that the boys put it together.
* Not who would make the best patrol leader, but that the boys elect one.
* Not that Johnny learns first aid, but that Billy teaches him.
* Not that we cover everything on the meeting agenda, but that the senior patrol leader is in charge.

Our goal is not to get things done, but to create a safe and healthy environment with the training and resources that the Scouts need, and then let them do it. It can be a very messy business, and almost painful to watch. Meetings where the boy leaders are in charge can be chaotic. And it can be very tempting for adults to jump in and sort things out, because that is what adults do. But we have to remember that that is the process of Scouting. That is how they learn—even from disorganization and failure. We just have to remember that our business as adults is not the same as the business of the boys. It is up to them to get things done. It is up to us to make sure they have what they need, but (within the bounds of health and safety) not what they do with it.

Youth Protection – Troop 468, as part of the Boy Scouts of America, has a very strong program to protect our youth from abuse of all kinds. We require all of our leaders to be trained in Youth Protection. There are some rules we follow that you will hear about, such as two-deep leadership and no one-on-ones. That means that there should not be a situation where a Scout leader is alone with a single Scout. There are other rules and policies as well, and we encourage you to take the training and learn about Boy Scout Youth Protection.

We urge you to stay involved in scouting as a parent; for fun, for fellowship, for the boys who will be men tomorrow.

Excerpted from Orientation for New Boy Scout Parents
http://www.scouting.org/Training/Adult/Supplemental/OrientationforNewBoyScoutParents.aspx