Scouts: A Dying Breed?
Both our sons were in the Cub Scouts and then Boy Scouts. They did community service, learned basic survival skills, and generally had a good time with earning badges and camping out regularly. Each of them persevered and achieved the highest rank in Boy Scouts by earning their Eagle Award. In general, the public is aware of the program and even if they don’t know exactly what an Eagle Scout is, they have some sense of the distinction and honor it represents.
Our daughter joined Girl Scouts in second grade as a “Brownie”. She spent nine years doing community service, earning badges in various life skills, developing leadership skills, and of course selling the famous Girl Scout cookies once a year. Last week she achieved the highest rank in Girl Scouts by earning her Gold Award. Unlike her brothers, she found recognition of the Gold Award among her peers to be almost non-existent, and we discovered a public that was unfamiliar with it unless you compared like “an Eagle Scout for Girl Scouts”.
Are Scouts a dying breed? Maybe. It’s hard to tell as things change and mutate over the years. Maybe Scouts are going the way of 4-H, FFA, and FHA. (If you don’t know what these clubs are, click on the link and discover a slice of history.)
Whatever the future holds for Scouting, I’m grateful that my children were able to participate and grow through these programs. Thank you Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
I wonder how many parents encourage their kids to join the scouts these days? My brother and I were both in the scouts.
Congratulations to your kids for achieving the highest rank.