Boy Scouts

The Boy Scout program is for boys who are in sixth grade through high school (or are age 11 to 17). Scouting continues to offer young people responsible fun and adventure; instill in young people lifetime values and develop in them ethical character as expressed in the Scout Oath and Law; train young people in citizenship, service, and leadership; and serve communities and families with its quality, values-based program.

Information

• Program
• Aims
• Methods
• Advancement
• Uniforms

Program

The Boy Scout program is for boys who are in sixth grade through high school (or are age 11 to 17).

The Mission Statement of the Boy Scouts of America is as follows:

To prepare young people to make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

The Boy Scouts of America has, over the years, developed an effective set of guidelines and practices with which we accomplish this mission. These practices encompass aims and methods targeted at participants in each level of the program.

Aims

The aims of the Boy Scout program are simple. The three aims of the Scouting program are Character Development, Citizenship Training, and Mental and Physical Fitness.

Character encompasses a person's personal qualities, values and outlook. The Scouting program strives to develop character in its youth through the development of confidence, honesty, self-image and self-reliance, respect for their religion and for others, and through developing special skills and interests.

Participation in Scouting helps train youth to become good citizens by instilling the values of service to others and respect for the environment, learning about our national heritage and our social, economic and governmental systems, and promoting knowledge of and respect for cultural diversity.

Scouts learn to become and remain mentally and physically fit through participation in outdoor activities, developing healthy habits, alcohol, tobacco and drug avoidance, using good judgment and being resourceful in solving problems.

Methods

The methods by which the aims are achieved are listed below in random order to emphasize the equal importance of each.

Ideals

The ideals of Boy Scouting are spelled out in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout motto, and the Scout slogan. The Boy Scout measures himself against these ideals and continually tries to improve. The goals are high, and as he reaches for them, he has some control over what and who he becomes.

Patrols

The patrol method gives Boy Scouts an experience in group living and participating citizenship. It places responsibility on young shoulders and teaches boys how to accept it. The patrol method allows Scouts to interact in small groups where members can easily relate to each other. These small groups determine troop activities through elected representatives.

Outdoor Programs

Boy Scouting is designed to take place outdoors. It is in the outdoor setting that Scouts share responsibilities and learn to live with one another. In the outdoors the skills and activities practiced at troop meetings come alive with purpose. Being close to nature helps Boy Scouts gain an appreciation for the beauty of the world around us. The outdoors is the laboratory in which Boy Scouts learn ecology and practice conservation of nature's resources.

Advancement

Boy Scouting provides a series of surmountable obstacles and steps in overcoming them through the advancement method. The Boy Scout plans his advancement and progresses at his own pace as he meets each challenge. The Boy Scout is rewarded for each achievement, which helps him gain self-confidence. The steps in the advancement system help a Boy Scout grow in self-reliance and in the ability to help others.

Associations With Adults

Boys learn a great deal by watching how adults conduct themselves. Scout leaders can be positive role models for the members of the troop. In many cases a Scoutmaster who is willing to listen to boys, encourage them, and take a sincere interest in them can make a profound difference in their lives.

Personal Growth

As Boy Scouts plan their activities and progress toward their goals, they experience personal growth. The Good Turn concept is a major part of the personal growth method of Boy Scouting. Boys grow as they participate in community service projects and do Good Turns for others. Probably no device is as successful in developing a basis for personal growth as the daily Good Turn. The religious emblems program also is a large part of the personal growth method. Frequent personal conferences with his Scoutmaster help each Boy Scout to determine his growth toward Scouting's aims.

Leadership Development

The Boy Scout program encourages boys to learn and practice leadership skills. Every Boy Scout has the opportunity to participate in both shared and total leadership situations. Understanding the concepts of leadership helps a boy accept the leadership role of others and guides him toward the citizenship aim of Scouting.

Uniform

The uniform makes the Boy Scout troop visible as a force for good and creates a positive youth image in the community. Boy Scouting is an action program, and wearing the uniform is an action that shows each Boy Scout's commitment to the aims and purposes of Scouting. The uniform gives the Boy Scout identity in a world brotherhood of youth who believe in the same ideals. The uniform is practical attire for Boy Scout activities and provides a way for Boy Scouts to wear the badges that show what they have accomplished.

Outdoor Activities

Local councils operate and maintain Scout camps. The National Council operates high-adventure areas at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, the Northern Tier National High Adventure Program in Minnesota and Canada, and the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base in the Florida Keys . About 70 councils also operate high-adventure programs.

Conservation

Conservation activities supplement the program of Boy Scout advancement, summer camp, and outdoor activities and teaches young people to better understand their interdependence with the environment.

Advancement

In the Scouting program, recognition is gained through leadership in the unit, attending and participating in activities, living the principles of Scouting and developing a proficiency in outdoor life, useful skills and career exploration.

Measurement is done by means of skills. Skills are designed to provide Boy Scouts with a chance to achieve the three goals of Scouting: good citizenship, growth in moral strength and character and mental and physical fitness. Skills allow a Scout to grow in confidence and self-reliance and provide good wholesome fun.

Unlike Cub Scouting, Boy Scout rank advancement does not depend on a Scout's age. Every new Scout starts at the same point - the Scout badge. Starting a few years after his peers does not make it impossible for a Boy Scout to earn the Eagle Scout award. The Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class badges involve learning by doing, and are focused on outdoor activities. The Star and Life badges are earned by working on Merit Badges and holding leadership positions in the troop. The Eagle Scout award is Scouting's highest rank. It is a sign of distinction known the world over. The Boy Scout Merit Badge program exposes Scouts to new skills and ideas, helping them to grow in to positive contributors to society.

Uniforms

The following parts are worn with the uniform:
Pants and shirt - Official Boy Scout olive trousers or shorts and official Boy Scout tan long- or short-sleeve shirt with red shoulder loops are worn.

Socks - Official olive socks (with red tops).

Neckerchief and slide - Each troop decides on neckerchief and slide to wear

Belt - Official Boy Scout olive web belt with metal Boy Scout buckle.

The Boy Scouts of America has always been a uniformed body. There are many reasons for this. One reason stands out above all the rest. We wear the uniform because it is a means of identifying ourselves openly with the principles to which we are committed-character development, citizenship training, and physical and mental fitness.

The fact that youth and adult members of Scouting wear a uniform doesn't mean that we're all alike. We come from different ethnic and racial backgrounds. We have our own religious beliefs and political views. We are each individuals with our own family traditions and loyalties. So the uniform is not intended to hide our individuality. But it is a way we give each other strength and support. It is a bond that ties us together in spite of our differences. It is a way of making visible our commitment to a belief in God, loyalty to country, and to helping other people.

The Scouting movement is built on positive values. As we wear the uniform, we are openly identifying ourselves with those values where everyone can see us. We stand together, not alone, in encouraging others to live by those same principles. Boys and adults alike should take pride in belonging to such a movement and wear the uniform as it is intended.