The Benefits of Joining Scouts: an Inside Look From an Eagle Scout.

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hi everyone! It’s Matt here.  And I want to share a little bit about Scouts with you today.   Scouting has been one of my fondest memories.    I joined Scouts at age six and spent years working my way up the ranks and ultimately earning my Eagle Scout.  This part of my life has had a big role in shaping the man I am today.   This year my son joined Cub Scouts and I am looking forward to doing it all again with him! So, let’s talk about the benefits of joining scouts! 

What is Scouts and What are the Benefits of Joining Scouts?

As a time-tested foundation of many lives and careers, the Boy Scouts of America continues to be a well-loved institution for many boys (and now girls) across the world.  The Scouts are an iconic symbol of goodness, wholesomeness, and selfless generosity that continues to inspire and grow generation after generation.  Unlike a lot of what kids are exposed to in the modern world, the Scouts strive to educate and grow kids through a timeless methodology, best articulated through their Oath ”… to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”  

It rests on the concept that we each have a duty to God and country, a duty to others, and a duty to ourselves.  Its underpinnings are the idea that through self-improvement, and a sort of rugged individualism, we can do what serves others, inspire ourselves to grow, and ultimately better the community we live in through our good deeds.  Scouting is really a club of like-minded parents and kids who come together to work on concepts that should be standard in good parenting, focusing on servitude, kindness, and self-help as a means to improve society, and ultimately pull ourselves and others upward toward success.  Its defining principles have developed millions of kids, to a large or small extent, giving them additional tools to navigate the world in a new capacity.  

How It Works 

Scouts join local Packs (for kids ages 5-11) or Troops (for ages 11-17).  They get together usually on a weekly or monthly basis to go over different educational material that focuses on practical skills like camping, hiking, emergency preparedness, citizenship, and similar ideas.  The study and mastery of skills result in the Scout earning a merit badge or a belt loop.  These badges denote the Scout has put in the time and demonstrated a basic understanding of the skill.  Earning badges is a lot of fun, and a centerpiece of the learning design that focuses on teamwork, practical knowledge, and service to others.  Smaller groups (dens and patrols) get together with other Scouts occasionally for bigger group meetings and camp-outs.  Parents are welcomed and encouraged to participate, as we all know raising a child requires active parental involvement and inspiration throughout the growth and development process.  As a child gets older, and as they earn more badges, they will graduate through many increasingly complex ranks and excursions, eventually earning the much-coveted top rank of Eagle Scout which is something I am proud to have accomplished myself and I share more about below.   

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts

The Cub Scouts program (that Jake is in right now) is available to boys and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade, or 5 to 10 years of age and their families.  Its membership is the largest of the five main BSA divisions (Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, Venturing, Exploring and Sea Scouting).  Cub Scouting is part of the worldwide Scouting movement and aims to promote character development, citizenship training, personal fitness, and leadership.  It focuses on younger kids and therefore is a fun, light-hearted, yet very valuable program for the development of young minds.  By trying to develop a child’s character, along with basic life skills, Cub Scouts instills a sense of worth in kids that often can’t be gained from school alone. They learn to grapple with relatively difficult situations, overcome adversity, and learn something about themselves in the process.  Cub Scouts advance through several ranks – lion, bobcat, tiger, wolf, bear.   Jake just advanced from a Wolf to a Bear.  A scout in fourth or fifth-grade advances to Webelos, a slightly separate distinction that acts as a bridge between being a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout that is celebrated by all.

Scouts USA was formerly called Boy Scouts of America and there are countless benefits to joining scouts.  You may wonder, “What is the purpose of scouting?”, well, the mission of Scouting is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them meaningful values.  Youth are trained in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations. 

For members, the Scout method is part of the program to instill typical Scouting values such as trustworthiness, good citizenship, and outdoor skills, through a variety of activities such as camping, aquatics, and hiking.  Scouts advance through seven ranks – Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First class, Star, Life, and Eagle. These ranks are increasingly challenging and denote a boy or girl aging, becoming more self-reliant, and advancing in their service to their Troop and community.

Eagle Scouts

Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank, is the ultimate aim for most Scouts.  An Eagle Scout has shown perseverance in climbing the ranks, navigating increasingly difficult badges and excursions to demonstrate a sense of accomplishment and maturity few others display.  It’s hard work, with the average age for attaining the rank at 17.2 years.  A Scout must earn all six other ranks, participate in a lot of meetings and camp-outs, and take a very active role in leadership within the Troop.  The final hurdle before earning the rank is completing the Eagle Scout Project. The project is something involved, complicated, and requires a lot of planning, leadership, and practical knowledge.  It’s a project that enhances the community, serves others, and leaves a lasting mark on the world.  Many famous people are Eagle Scouts, including Neil Armstrong, Steven Spielberg,  JW Marriott, Jr, and Gerald Ford.   Many have found their place as leaders in this country or in the companies they run.  You while not all have reached this high honor, you will also find that an incredible amount of successful individuals have spent some time in Scouts and there are many benefits of being an eagle scout

Being awarded the rank of Eagle is a life-long symbol of hard work and dedication, and something to be proud of for any Scout and their parents.

Raising a Cub Scout

My son Jake is a Cub Scout in Pack 38.   He started about 6 months ago and has become involved quickly, loving every Den and Pack meeting, finding new friends, and enjoying the few trips we have gone on.   We’ve spent the night in an old World War 2 battleship, took a field trip to the local fire station, and learned the Scout law, oath, and motto.  Jake’s given it his all, throwing himself at with gusto, encouraged each step of the way by a new rank or belt loop.  He gladly works on the concepts we are teaching, but even more, gladly takes part in the den games and activities, often highlighted by a bunch of 8-year old boys rough-housing and playing with abandon. 

Raising a Scout is a new adventure in parenting.  I try to let him direct his advancement and pick his outings.   We do a lot of talking and debating together, trying to figure out exactly how I’m going to teach a concept, and how he is going to learn it.  I think that, in many ways, is exactly what the founders intended.  It’s about dads and sons working together to overcome and grow. It’s about the process, the trip, the steps in the adventure along the way.  I don’t worry about making things perfect, I focus on the quality of the time we spend together and making the moments count because I know they aren’t unlimited and someday my little guy will be all grown up.  Throughout the journey of Scouting, I only hope that he picks up some valuable tools to become a better human, gain some small amount of wisdom, and figure out who he wants to become, regardless of the forces around him.  

My Memories of Scouting

As an Eagle Scout, I have spent many years in both Cub Scouts and being a Boy Scout.  Some of my best memories, of life as a child, my parents, and my friends revolve around the glow of a campfire, the long days of summer camp, and the immense fun of troop meetings in the basement on a church.  The joy of scouting was a joy derived from a simple time where right and wrong were clear, and where hard work paid off through the receipt of a merit badge.  Scouts were about camaraderie. It meant getting together with other like-minded boys in pursuit of something more, a sort of independence that only came through out-lasting adversity, creating things with your own hands.  

My Scouts was a program of another time, a nostalgic brand that centered around Americana, the woods, foil-packs, and campfires.  It taught me how to be a man, as much as anyone did.  It gave me courage, and self-expression, and allowed me to experiment with new ideas outside of the pressure of school situations.  Scouts taught me how to build a wooden race car, gave me license to find a great walking stick, and educated me that giving to others was an honorable and necessary thing to do. 

I remember using latrines, catching spiders, and watching the infinite stars in the night sky.  I folded flags, gave out meals to the homeless, visited the elderly at nursing homes, and taught younger scouts how to bind a wound.  It was a magical time limited only by my imagination and bounded by the sense that I was getting older, that ultimately youth would give way to adulthood, and boy-hood memories would fade into yesteryear.

History of the Boy Scouts of America 

We’ve talked a bit about the purpose of scouting and the importance of scouting but now let’s shift gears to the history of scouts.  The Boy Scout movement was founded in Great Britain in 1908 by a cavalry officer, Lieutenant General Robert S.S. (later Lord) Baden-Powell.  Powell began teaching the principles of military scouting to boys in a non-military setting, so they would be able to live off the land, track, observe, and conceal their movements in case of an invasion or a similar crisis. In 1908, Baden-Powell published “Scouting For Boys,” which was based on a military field manual he developed for soldiers during his career in the British service. Modified specifically for boys during times of peace, the book, which also dealt heavily with character and morality, became an instant sensation and triggered the emergence of the youth scouting movement.

Baden-Powell’s idea was that boys should organize themselves into small natural subgroups of six or seven under a boy leader—the patrol and patrol leader. Their training would consist of such things as tracking and reconnaissance, mapping, signaling, knotting, first aid, and all the skills that arise from camping and similar outdoor activities. To become a scout, a boy would promise to be loyal to his country, help other people, and in general obey the scout law, itself a simple code of chivalrous behavior easily understood by the boy.

According to a long-held Boy Scouts legend, a U.S. millionaire businessman and newspaper magnate named W.D. Boyce was traveling in London when he became disoriented and lost in the city’s dense fog. A boy affiliated with the new scouting movement guided Boyce through the fog, showed him his way and—when offered—refused to accept a tip on the notion that he was compelled by honor, not money, to help a stranger in need.  The boy told Boyce that we was a Boy Scout and that part of being a Scout was helping others. Of course, this left quite an impression on Boyce. This has become known as the Legend of the Unknown Scout.

When W.D. Boyce returned to the U.S., he founded the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in 1910.  Boyce’s encounters with the burgeoning scouting movement in England convinced him that character development, outdoor recreation, and survival training were critical if boys were going to grow into worthwhile men, particularly those who grew up in cities.

In April 1912, 17-year-old Troop 1 Scout Arthur A. Eldred became the first Eagle Scout.  Eldred has 18 merit badges when he was awarded the rank. The first World Scout Jamboree was held in London in 1920. BSA boys were among the 8,000 scouts from 34 countries that participated in the inaugural global scouting event.  By 1930, the BSA was so big that it was able to spin off an affiliated organization for younger boys while allowing the BSA to focus exclusively on older boys.

Thanks to the post-World War II baby boom, and the arrival and rapid expansion of the suburbs, the BSA enjoyed a massive boost in membership during the 1950s. In 1948, about 2.5 million Boy Scouts claimed membership in the BSA. By 1960, that number had more than doubled to just over 5 million, and many scouting traditions were born.

Over the years the membership of the Scouts has declined slowly.   With changing social norms, the rise of differing cultural views, and a transformation in the nation’s approach to education and parenting, the Scouts began to change as well.   Scouts is adapting and evolving in the 21st century.  In 2017 Scouting was opened up to girls too!  The board of directors voted unanimously to approve the change, which it said reflected the shift in popular culture and attitudes.  Many girls have since joined scouts and have even earned the rank of Eagle Scout.