<p>Good luck to your son. If he likes the outdoors and you have found a good troop (which seems to be the case), your son should have a great time and plenty of opportunities to grow as a young man. I have never seen a boy so proud as when standing on the top of a mountain he thought he could not climb, or reaching the end of an 90-mile backpacking trip that he apprehensive about beginning and not sure he could finish. Just dont be too upset when he comes home from some of the camping trips tired, dirty beyond belief and on a rainy weekend with everything he took with him looking like it was placed in a shower for 30 minutes. More than likely he will have stories to tell that he will remember into his adulthood.</p>
<p>quopoe- I’m an Eagle Scout from North Carolina and have served as an Order of the Arrow officer for Section 5 (NC, SC, and GA). I had a GREAT time in Scouts, and North Carolina is truly an awesome state for a Scout. He’ll love it!</p>
<p>Tyr has a great list of questions. I would also ask how long it takes kids to reach First Class (preferably ~2 years), how many kids reach Eagle, and if the troop offers merit badge classes.</p>
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Heh, I was on the OA drum team; we <em>did</em> beat drums and chant. :o</p>
<p>I’m the mom of a 12th grader who has been a scout since first grade. My H and I agree that without the active, well-run Boy Scout organization this college town offers, our son would be a different person. </p>
<p>Please let him go camping, and do not hover. Son’s troop camps every month, with each campout defined by a particular theme, including backpacking, water sports, fall feast, skiing, pioneering skills. In addition, the troop boasts fantastic participation rates in a highly organized 10-day summer camp every year. The benefits of the outdoor experiences are too many to list, but I’ll mention a few. His troop takes the “boy run” philosophy seriously, and as a result our son has been able to plan menus, go grocery shopping and cook his own food for cookouts for years. He has had many opportunities for leadership roles, and has learned how to exercise patience and authority when instructing younger boys. He is a wonder at building shelters from whatever is available and is the finest map reader and compass handler you can find. He plans and builds orienteering courses and teaches younger scouts how to avoid getting lost.</p>
<p>In addition to the regular camping, he has participated in three of the High Adventure outings: a 10-day canoe trip in the Canadian Boundary Waters, 2 weeks hiking at Philmont scout ranch in NM, and sailing in the Gulf with Sea Base.</p>
<p>Son’s other interests revolve largely around science, math and engineering. We credit the scouting activities with keeping him well-rounded, helping him learn to live and work with all sorts of people, and giving him many of the people skills that have made him a real leader in several school district organizations.</p>
<p>As for personal safety issues, my husband learned about that very quickly. On the first campout after son joined a new troop in the 6th grade, H started walking toward son’s tent in the “boy’s area” to say goodnight. He was quickly apprehended by other adult males and told that he was not allowed to visit any boy’s tent, or even be in the boy’s area, if he was alone.</p>
<p>As a mom, I don’t really encourage a lot of moms on the camping trips, although some of them go along once or twice when the boys are new to the troop. One of the benefits of the program is that older boys learn to instruct younger boys, and moms hanging around inhibit that. </p>
<p>If your son finds a good troop, with experienced leaders who care about scouting as an organization, who remain active even after their own sons have grown up, you will be very pleased with the experience, and so will your son.</p>
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<p>A Triple Crown!!! Congrats to midmo’s kiddo! :)</p>
<p>We have a couple of moms in our 90-boy troop who are ASMs and do go camping on weekend camping trips. The majority of our adult leaders are retired or active-duty military dads.</p>
<p>Warbler - Section Chief, good for you. My son has his eye on Section Chief, if being Elections Chairman at barely 15 hasn’t killed him!
He is in your neighboring Section.
As for the drum beating, yeah I’ve pieced together some things, although I’m “not supposed to know”! He enjoys OA more than even regular Boy Scouts, somehow those are his guys. Did you ever go to NOAC?</p>
<p>Midmo, what a great affidavit for Scouting.</p>
<p>[living my life through my children]</p>
<p>WashDadJr is an Eagle Scout with five palms who has also done the triple play: Sea Base, Philmont, and Northern Tier. He’s also a member of the Order of the Arrow, and will earn his sixth palm on June 16, two days before his 18th birthday.</p>
<p>[/living my life through my children]</p>
<p>The best thing he’s ever done, though, is hundreds of hours teaching tiny 11-year-olds how to pitch a tent, tie a knot or start a fire. Now that he’s mature and interesting, he’s going off to college in three months. Little ingrate.</p>
<p>cangel- Good for him! Yes, I went to one a couple years ago at Iowa State. I had a blast. :)</p>
<p>WashDad- SIX palms?!? Impressive. :eek:</p>
<p>My son also had a great time a one of the NOAC conferences. Right now I am realizing how fast time flies, as I can’t remember whether he went to the one in Iowa or Indiana. Unfortunately, there were conflicts and he was not able to attend the more recent conferences. </p>
<p>I am a little envious of the boys who had the opportunity to attend Sea Base and Northern Tier. My son’s troop, unfortunately, never had an interest in either of them. All they wanted to do was go to Philmont every other year. Old legs and all, I am now familiar with a good number of the trails at the ranch.</p>
<p>Quopoe – everyone’s already said it above and the emphasis on “two-deep” leadership and child protection is solid in almost every troop. I’ll only emphasize two points. First, the “program” that all have mentioned many parts of here, really does take the boy from the “mom-centered” cub scout pack to the “dad-centered” boy scout troop and focuses on the values that produce good adults. So your feelings and concerns are normal, and expected! That the Boy Scout program “works” is evident from the posts by former scouts.</p>
<p>Second, the values that are inherent in the program, from the 12 points of the scout law to the “boy-led troop,” models appropriate behavior and emphasizes how those values can guide decision-making. Moreover, they come at a time in a young man’s life when peers present many opportunities for a trip down the wrong path! A few years ago a long-serving county sheriff here retired and, having mentioned all the felons he transported to the state penitentiary, was asked in a news article what he talked about to them in the long ride. He said “I asked each one if they had ever been in Scouting – either boy scouts or girl scouts – not one ever said yes.” </p>
<p>Lastly, my son’s interested in a service academy appointment. His eagle scout rank, service projects, senior patrol leader position, formal national youth leader training, Order of the Arrow (scouting’s “honor society”), and teaching skills to younger scouts are all examples of leadership that will go on his college application.</p>
<p>Scouting is one of the best programs there is for young people. When your son pins the Eagle Scout “Mom Pin” on you and then thanks for all your support, you’ll not regret your decision!</p>
<p>quopoe–I’m a proud mom of 2 Eagle Scout sons, and I was lucky that their father was interested in going on campouts, etc., because I was not. The closest to that experience each year that I participated in was the annual Scout Show at the local mall, 
and even that overnight once a year almost killed me with the hard floors and no sleep! 
I was more involved when our boys were Cub Scouts (they came up through the program from 2nd grade on), but it made for a wonderful activity for them to share with their dad when they “crossed over” into Boy Scouts. Our troop was extremely family-oriented–parents, siblings, all were around; the kids grew up together with the troop and their families. It was all expected and no problem if family members attended any event or activity at all, no matter what it was. If I were a single mom, I think I’d look for a troop that encouraged other moms to participate at the Boy Scout level–ours did, and that meant a lot. Get to know the other parents, especially the other moms, and ask around how you might best help out without seeming to “hover” over your son. There’s a lot of ‘independent togetherness’ at Scout events–campouts provide lots of room to have mom or dad nearby but not right on top of their boy every minute. Our boys felt empowered but safe and protected at the same time. They had a great time and learned a lot. Sticking to a long-term goal of making Eagle is an extremely worthwhile experience for a young man. Any Eagle Scout, young or old, will tell you the same thing. Good luck with your son!</p>
<p>Raptordad2013’s mention of the practical benefits of being an Eagle Scout (in terms of a good resume) is worth noting. My son recently was granted an internship with an office in the federal government. Interestingly, it was not his academic accomplishments at the university level that initially made an impression, it was being an Eagle Scout Award and having been awarded the Vigil Honor by the Order of the Arrow. These things do, in fact, make an impression.</p>
<p>Just as an aside, there is a lot of value to boy scouts even if they do not go for the Eagle. Of my 3 sons, none wanted to do all the things necessary for the Eagle, all were Order of the Arrow. They learned a tremendous amount by doing all of the activities, leadership, teaching activities. Yes, Eagle is a valuable accomplishment recognized and honored academically and in the “real world” but it is not the only measure of success Scouts are not failures if they do not go for Eagle. Some of the parents had a hard time with that notion.</p>
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<p>Another excellent point. The goal of Scouts is not to grind boys through a program designed to turn out Eagle Scouts. Troops that do this exist and are usually referred to scornfully as “Eagle mills.” Teaching new parents that achieving this distinction is a product of Scouting, not the goal, is usually a major challenge. WashDadJr earned his Eagle at 15 not because it was a major goal, but because he did just about every activity possible at a very busy troop. It’s telling that at 17-1/2 he is almost as active as he was at 11. That’s the best kind of Eagle Scout, in my opinion: one who does it for fun and the achievement markers come with it.</p>
<p>I was a member of a mediocre troop when I was a boy, and never made it to Eagle. I had a blast, though, and some of my fondest memories are of Scouting. It’s not about the badges.</p>
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<p>Tyr, my husband did all three of the High Adventures I mentioned in my earlier post. He liked Philmont very much but he LOVED the wilderness backpack/canoe adventure in the Canadian Boundary Waters. Get some literature and start feeding it to your troop. Your legs deserve a break. If you get there, look for the brand new fishing gear my son left propped up against a tree on one of the islands. It’s yours if you find it.</p>
<p>Sea Base can be iffy. When my son’s group went, the water was very choppy and some of the in-water opportunities were not available. (Of course, my husband’s report on that one is colored by the fact that he started suffering the effects of food poisoning one day after boarding the boat, and he had to be dumped off on-shore for several days, so he could be sick somewhere other than on a small, cramped sailboat.)</p>
<p>Me again…</p>
<p>My son’s favorite high adventure activity was Northern Tier in the Boundary Waters.</p>
<p>Singersmom07–Oh, yes; good point! We never pushed our kids to go that far or to join or stay in scouts at any point–they just liked the program and its activities and ended up setting the Eagle Scout rank as a goal for themselves (it definitely became a goal for them, though, I must say, though they will be the first to tell you that, sure; it’s not the badge or rank itself that matters). Neither my H nor I were involved in scouting as kids for much more than a year, so it was our sons who pulled US through the program–not the other way around. I always thought they might stop at some point, but they didn’t. They were having too much fun! I agree about choosing a troop that does not have an agenda of churning out Eagles; that’s important, and both kids and parents pick up on that subtext right away.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that one of the reasons my husband preferred the Boundary Waters was because the boys smelled a lot better. Very little water available at Philmont, and a lot more sun and sweat.</p>
<p>My son loved all of them. He badly sprained his ankle the last quarter-mile on the last day of the Philmont trek. I got the impression he was proud of his injury as he limped off the Amtrak two days later.</p>
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<p>This is true of any of the high adventure bases. Preparing for any kind of weather conditions is part of the learning experience. </p>
<p>Experiencing a varierty of those conditions when in the outdoors is the other part. :)</p>
<p>Great point Singersmom, I will confess that we are pushing son a bit to go ahead and finish his Eagle. He’s not big on badge earning, he enjoys teaching, leading, managing the younger Scouts - even though he sometimes refers to them as “the annoying ones” - and his OA activities. We have not pushed him to earn tons of badges beyond Eagle required, and to relax and enjoy the parts of Scouting he likes best.</p>
<p>Scouting is about leadership and learning, not hitting arbitrary targets.</p>