Older Boy Scouts and

your Mission

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Why your troop, why your older scouts

need a crew

Steven Myers

Retired Scoutmaster Troop One Akron

Associate Advisor Crew 2001, GTC VOA,

Central Region Venturing Committee

Myers@uakron.edu

This presentation for Scoutmasters was prepared for the Old

Portage Roundtable, Great Trail Council on 8/10/2017. The

actual presentation is slide 1 to 19. Slides 20-31 are bonus

material which have to do with age specific issues of older

scouts and their needs including a discussion of rites of

passage.

Much of this came from the Troop Leader’s Guidebook,

Volume 2, the Chapter on older scouts which I had the honor

to contribute.

Also, accessed was a campaign of the Central Region Area 4

Venturing called: Why your troop needs a crew.

Three of my University of Scouting courses were combined to

make this presentation. I apologize for any disjointedness of

the presentation. I did not “show” this presentation, but rather

used it as my talking points.

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Take aways

• Venturing is as

beneficial to a troop as

is a Cub Pack.

• Boy Scouts and

Venturing are really

different.

• Troop - Crew

partnerships can help

young adults flourish.

What do you see?

What is common• One Oath, One Law

• One Mission

“The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is

to prepare young people to make ethical and

moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling

in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law”

Think of Scouting is a single youth

development program, extending from age 7 to

age 21, all guided by the same mission, oath

and law.

Boy Scout Methods

1. Ideals

2. Patrols

3. Outdoor Program

4. Advancement

5. Adult Association

6. Personal Growth

7. Leadership Development

8. Uniform

Venturing Methods

1. Leadership and Mentoring

2. Group activities and adventure

3. Recognition

4. Adult association

5. Ideals

6. Group Identity

7. Service

What’s different?

Mottos:Do your Best (Cub Scouts),

to Be Prepared (Boy Scouts),

to Lead the Adventure (Venturing).

What’s different? YPT needs.

1. Every adult needs to be

Youth Protection

Trained (Y01)

2. But every adult who

works with older Scouts

really should take Y02

(Venturing Youth

Protection)

3. Personal Safety

Awareness Training

(youth version)

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A new common YPT is to be released in 2017.

Venturing is not

Boy Scouts with Green Shirts

– Venturing does not follow a Boy Scout Troop model. Venturing is

stronger if crews Meet Less and Do More!

– The youth Lead their Adventures with youth mentors and adult

advisors.

– Every youth officer from President to Activity Chair has a partner

who is his Advisor

– Advisor and Scoutmaster are not similar roles!

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Contrast a typical Scoutmaster

Conference

The Scout learns

The Scout is tested

The Scout is approved (book signed)

The Scoutmaster Conference

The Board of Review awards the rank

With an Advisor Conference

Structured Personal

Reflection

Goal Setting(Goal Setting

training)

Planning (Project Management

Training)

Implementation(Time Management

Training)

Assessment

(The AdvisorConference)

Punch line:

Why should a Scoutmaster care

about Venturing?

Because you are going to lose your older Scouts sooner or

later, either because they turn 18 or because they decide to

pursue other interests. The only questions are

1. when they will leave and

2. where they will go.

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Why do older Scouts Leave?

“.. too often troop leaders treat Scouts who are in high

school about the same way they treat those who are

middle-schoolers. They think the same activities will

interest them, the same badges will motivate them, and

the same leadership styles will inspire them.

As a result, many older Scouts leave Scouting

altogether and pursue activities, licit or illicit, that they

think are more age appropriate.”

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Working with Older Boys, Troop Leader Guidebook, Volume 2

Venturing appeals to the older

youth

• Designed for the young adult in high school and college.

• Designed to emphasize things that young adults enjoy

• Focused on the things High School students care about

(ALPS) while getting ready for major transitions in their

life

– Newest trainings: Goal Setting & Time Management, Project

Management, and Mentoring)

Your troop will grow and retain

members

• Your Boy Scouts will have broader and more adult-like

opportunities that will keep them in the program and help

us achieve the mission of the BSA.

• Some 14-17 year olds are going to leave your troop

anyway, how much better if they remain in the BSA?

• 18-20 year olds are more likely to register as ASMs with

your troop if they are active in a “sister”-crew

• Your troop will have more Eagles and the average age of

your SPL will increase

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Your Older Scout will Flourish

• A scout that had done it all may lose interest especially if

their “older-boy” program is mostly helping the younger

scouts.

• A crew will offer an adventurous program designed for

young adults that will expand beyond what a troop can

do and thus meet their needs.

Scouts may be in a Troop and a Crew

• The scout that joins your crew will likely stay on your

charter.

• Your troop gains all of their Venturing friends to help out

your troop from time to time.

• All youth benefit when your sponsor adopts a “Family of

Scouting” concept that serves “all youth” from first grade

until age 21.

Venturing

• Keeps Boy Scouts active in a scouting program

• Gives your scouts more experiences

• Adds more leadership practice for scouts

• Provide more challenging/difficult adventures that

younger boy scouts may not handle as well

• The crew does not have to be directly associated with

your chartered organization

One final thing –

• Unlike Boy Scout troops, all Venturers practice

citizenship through a representative democracy

that starts as the crew and rises all the way to the

National Venturing President and his cabinet.

• Every voice gets heard

• The mechanism of this governance is called the

Venturing Officer Association

Council VOA

• Council Venturing President

(youth)

– Council VPs (youth)

• VOA Advisor and Associate

Advisors

• Crew Presidents and their

Advisors

Bonus Material:

Solutions within your Troop:

Find ways that older Scouts can flourish.

Encourage:

OA, Venturing, Camp Staff, Cub camp staff, participating and

staffing National Jamborees and World Jamborees.

Participating and staffing NYLT, NAYLE, ALTC, Kodiak and

offering leadership beyond the unit such as taking on the role of

Council Venturing President or VP, Lodge Chief or Vice Chiefs,

and so much more.

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Young Men need Rites of Passage

One way to meet the needs and retain the interest of

older Scouts is to develop additional rites of passage

in your troop.

– These shouldn’t be elaborate activities

– They can’t in any way resemble hazing.

– They should be simple ways to mark a Scout’s growth and

maturation.

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Create Rites of Passage

• Create a special troop neckerchief for older or select scouts.

• Find a special location for ILST or PLC Planning Weekend and don’t

ever take the troop there.

• Use Scoutmaster conferences for Star, Life and Eagle (ranks

typically earned by older Scouts) a specific focus.

• Develop a special ceremony for inducting Scouts into the older-

Scout patrol.

• Establish a servant-leader society within the troop and induct Scouts

who excel as servant leaders. Have adults select inductees initially

but quickly switch to having past inductees, including those who

have moved on to college and careers, vote on each new class.

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Working with Older Scouts

“A key to working with Scouts of any

age is to treat them as if they were

just a little older and more mature

than they really are.”

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Middle Adolescence (ages 14 and 15)

Late Adolescence (ages 16 to 18)

Adult Participants (Venturing – ages 19-20)

Middle Adolescence (ages 14 and 15)

A boy of 14 or 15:• Is in early high school

• May be struggling academically

• Is in the full throes of puberty

• May be as tall as many adults

• May be dating

• Spends significant amounts of

time away from home

• Is loosening his ties with his

parents

• Relies on Peers

• Yearns for the independence

• May engage in risky behavior

• seems to be a different person in

different settings

• shows less self-control and more

egocentricity

• Is increasingly aware and critical

of hypocrisy and adult failings

• Is becoming a better problem

solver, and begins to be able to

plan ahead

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Working With Scouts in Middle

Adolescence (typically ages 14-15)

• Young people at this stage are stuck in the middle

– no longer children

– but still a long way from adulthood.

• They can be easily pushed in either direction

• Treat middle adolescents as being more mature than

they actually are and they respond well

• Treat them as children and they act as children.

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To work with Middle Adolescence

• Eliminate the word boy from your vocabulary

• Set high—but achievable—expectations.

• Remind Scouts of their status. (“is this something a high-

schooler (or leader) should be doing?”)

• Acknowledge Scouts’ identity with their high school. Try

to keep up with their school and teams.

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To work with Middle Adolescence

• Help Scouts build strong peer groups in the troop.

• Build a strong older-Scout patrol to help them foster positive peer

relationships.

• Give older Scouts a chance to use newly found abilities to think

abstractly, solve problems, and plan ahead.

• Pose an ethical dilemma for them to discuss.

• Introduce the sort of problem-solving games common in Project

COPE.

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Late Adolescence (ages 16 to 18)

A young man of 16 to 18:• Nearly full grown physically

• Is thinking (and worrying) about

life after high school

• Is painfully aware that decisions

will affect the rest of his life

• Wants to prove to his parents and

himself that he’s ready to be

independent

• May have a job and access to a

car, which gives him spending

money, mobility, and a measure of

independence

• Has time-management issues

• Is more peer-pressure resistant

• May have a steady girlfriend

• Smaller group of male friends.

• Can reason abstractly and think

analytically nearly as well as

adults, but lacks the life

experiences that guide adults

• Is beginning to think about politics,

social issues, and global causes

• Has a relatively stable identity,

which is consistent across

different settings

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Working With Scouts in Late Adolescence

Late adolescence youth are living in two time zones:

NOW: They are intent on experiencing all that the

high-school years have to offer, and

NEXT: They are also focused on what’s next, college,

work, military, whatever

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To work with Late Adolescence

• Treat older Scouts as the 20-somethings they’re becoming. Strive

for a collegial relationship—not a leader/follower relationship.

• Try not to conflict with high school event or you send the signal that

Scouts is for the younger.

• Celebrate scouts that come when they can (don’t criticize them for

choosing to play soccer)

• Scouts want to be around people who celebrate their

accomplishments, so announce when your Scouts succeed outsize

of Scouts.

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To work with Late Adolescence

• Plan program for older scouts differently and appropriately

• Harness teens’ interest to tackle big topics and global issues.

Challenge them to plan service projects that focus on the root

causes of these issues.

• Connect the merit badge program with their classes in high school

and future career interest.

• Figure out what their needs are and help to meet those. Invite

college counselors and military recruiters to visit troop meetings.

Offer to write letters of recommendations.

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