The real reason the Boy Scouts disappeared

[NealOnWheels]

A very interesting Youtube video from Ken LaCorte about the decline of the Boy Scouts. Not sure I agree with the claim of the title but much of the content is good.

 

Edited Tuesday at 01:16 AM by NealOnWheels
mention author

[Jameson76]

Well - the notation that Scouts did not change 1970 - 2000 is incorrect.  The Improved Scouting Program in 1973 took out a chunk of participants, then the pivot back, then the endless monkeying with the program is the start of the slide.  Also the BOY POWER MANPOWER program / effort (early 70's) wherein the plan was to have 33% of boys signed up led to massive membership scandals.  While the abuse trials starting in 2000 were a challenge, but the program was already down by half or more at that time

[DuctTape]

I have watched a few of his videos. He claims he only puts out the facts and leaves the opinions to the viewers, but what I have seen is little facts or cherry picked ones to support his opinions. If a viewer does not know much about the topic, this is easily missed.

[MikeS72]

11 hours ago, DuctTape said:

I have watched a few of his videos. He claims he only puts out the facts and leaves the opinions to the viewers, but what I have seen is little facts or cherry picked ones to support his opinions. If a viewer does not know much about the topic, this is easily missed.

I was skeptical of his 'facts' right of the bat with the comment the Boy Scouts have disappeared, (we have not); and the claim that in the latter half of the 1900's 20% of boys were Scouts. 

We discuss membership numbers every month at our Council Commissioner meeting.  While it has looked bleak for a while, at least in my council, numbers are starting to stabilize.  We have more units this month than we had at this time last year, and while only by a handful, we have more Scouts than the same time last year.

I am hopeful that some of the changes coming out of NAM will result in meaningful improvements and will put us on the path to sustainable growth.

[BetterWithCheddar]

This seemed like a (mostly) thoughtful take.

Aside from stating the obvious (lawsuits and recent membership changes have adversely impacted participation), he honed in on 2 other factors:

1. Civic engagement (Elks Club, Optimists, etc.) and church attendance has decreased in the US. These organizations have been major sponsors of the BSA and their parallel decline has resulted in less support for Scouting.

2. Society's definition of masculinity has widened. Fewer young men are expected to hunt, farm, fix cars, or join the military. Scouting was once viewed as an age-appropriate way to introduce self-reliance to boys. Today, those hard skills are less important in the information economy.

I especially appreciate the second point. I doubt I'd meet the standard of 1970s masculinity. I'm not handy. I maintain my home to the minimum standard and hire help the second I get in over my head. However, I do make a decent living. Plus, we live in a safe neighborhood and are on track for retirement. My son also has everything he needs, including most of my attention outside of work. By the 2020s standards of masculinity, I'm probably doing just fine.

Edited 1 hour ago by BetterWithCheddar

[skeptic]

37 minutes ago, BetterWithCheddar said:

This seemed like a (mostly) thoughtful take.

Aside from stating the obvious (lawsuits and recent membership changes have adversely impacted participation), he honed in on 2 other factors:

1. Civic engagement (Elks Club, Optimists, etc.) and church attendance has decreased in the US. These organizations have been major sponsors of the BSA and their parallel decline has resulted in less support for Scouting.

2. Society's definition of masculinity has widened. Fewer young men are expected to hunt, farm, fix cars, or join the military. Scouting was once viewed as an age-appropriate way to introduce self-reliance to boys. Today, those hard skills are less important in the information economy.

I especially appreciate the second point. I doubt I'd meet the standard of 1970s masculinity. I'm not handy. I maintain my home to the minimum standard and hire help the second I get in over my head. However, I do make a decent living. Plus, we live in a safe neighborhood and are on track for retirement. My son also has everything he needs, including most of my attention outside of work. By the 2020s standards of masculinity, I'm probably doing just fine.

Just now, skeptic said:

Change the word "Boys" to "Adults", and we are onto something.