Restoration Of the Methods of Scouting

A Scout is shaped by the Methods of Scouting. They are the pillars of the BSA program.

• The eight methods of Scouting have been stable in name but not in substance.
• Since the 1980s, emphasis shifted from spirit to structure, from mentorship to management.
• This page calls for restoring the true character of the methods, not just their titles.

The Eight Methods of Scouting: Then and Now

1. Ideals: Oath and Law

It used to be that a youth was not a Scout until he went through his Tenderfoot Investiture. The lights were dimmed. The Scoutmaster lit candles. The youth pledged to follow the Oath and Law. It was a moment of commitment and joining, not just reciting.

Today, some troops skip the ceremony entirely. A new Scout simply begins repeating the Oath with others at weekly meetings. No moment of commitment. No ritual of meaning.

Trustworthy. Barriers to Abuse policies now treat trust as a liability. Adults are told they must not trust youth unmonitored. A Scout cannot walk alone anymore. Youth learn that adults are potential threats. No one-on-one contact. Since we do not trust them, Scouts do not adhere to the standards of the past.

Loyal “to all to whom loyality is due, your Scoutmaster ….” Barriers to Abuse suggest that loyality to your Scout leaders is not a virtue. It’s a danger.

Obedient has been undermined by rules that are essentially impossible to actually obey. For example, traveling alone from your campsite to your Merit Badge area is forbidden, but required if you are the only member taking that badge.

Thrifty used to require a Scout to pay his own way and not accept handouts. When I was a Scout, it was forbidden to earn money in uniform or as charity. Today, popcorn sales and camp cards are “sold” as a way to hide that the money is not earned; it is charity.

Clean includes sexual restraint. An expectation of discipline, modesty, and respect for boundaries. Policy changes have undermined that clarity.

• Romance between Scouts remains forbidden during Scout events.
• A policy experiment allows boy and girl troops to combine into a single unit that meets and camps together.
• By explicitly acknowledging and approving of previously existing combined troops during the announcement, National celebrated those troops and leaders who had broken clear rules. Thus, encouraging future violations of Trustworthy and Obedient.
• Combined and linked boy and girl troops are required to have separate camping areas by gender. But they are not required to be separate sites; they are often adjacent areas in a single site.
• Yet a boy and girl cannot walk together unaccompanied. Even if they are the only two Scouts traveling at the same time to the same destination.
• Trans-identifying youth are assigned by identity, not biology, which negates all the above proximity rules.
• Likewise, there are provisions in the rules to restrict heterosexual Scouts, but none that restrict openly homosexual Scouts.

There is no coherence to these rules. Only contradiction. Some rules strive to prevent romance. Others seem to set the stage for it.

Clean remains in the Scout Law. But the contradictions undermine not only this ideal, but other ideals as well. Given the pressures toward promiscuity in popular culture, this is not a place to sow confusion.

2. Patrol Method

• When I was a Scout, the Patrol Method was not just a structure, but a way of life in the troop. Patrols:
  • Camped separately.
  • Cooked independently.
  • Were the center of advancement through First Class Scout.
  • Frequently (almost constantly) competed with the other patrols in the troop.
  • Functioned as a semi-autonomous unit.
• Now, most troops have a separate New Scout Patrol with a Troop Guide (appointed by the SPL) and an ASM as leaders.
  • This is where nearly all advancement through First Class takes place. And thus is where almost all teaching of Scout skills takes place.
  • The Assistant Scoutmaster assigned to this patrol frequently takes on the role of teacher. Advancement through First Class happens almost entirely within the adult-managed pseudo-patrol.
  • The Troop Guide functions more as an assistant to the ASM than a true Patrol Leader. He lacks the independence and authority of a Patrol Leader. And the elected Patrol Leader, if there is one, is under him.
  • Scout skills are taught here, but largely absent from the other patrols and the troop level.
  • After a year, the New Scout Patrol is typically kept together as they have become friends. They join the full life of the troop. A new New Scout Patrol is created.
  • As a result, patrols vary in size and character, with some consisting of older Scouts than others.
  • Patrol competition has largely disappeared. The varying sizes and ages have created an unfair playing field. And no obvious topics for competition, as the patrols no longer focus on Scout skills.
  • Scout troops do camp by patrols. But apart from the New Scout patrol, patrol camp life no longer focuses on advancement to First Class and its Scout skills. Scouts still have fun in their patrols. But that fun is no longer focused on the personal growth and interaction of the advancement program.
  • Thus, in most troops, patrols are mostly for control and attendance.
  • The troop program centers around earning Merit Badges, rather than Scout Skills and patrol competition.
• The current (2024) Wood Badge syllabus actually discourages patrol competition by having the patrols compete in games designed such that cooperation between opponents gives better results than working for victory. It explicitly teaches that patrols should not compete in the usual sense of the word. This is not Scouting. This is not what kids want. This is not what Baden-Powell intended.

3. Outdoor Program

• Safetyism and logistics have diluted adventure.
• Discomfort is avoided, undermining resilience.
• Troops hike less often.
• Advancement through First Class is the most outdoor portion of the program. It has been sped up and takes place in a separate “New Scout” patrol. Thus not a part of the troop’s program.
• Outdoor Merit Badges for Eagle now have less rigorous alternatives.
• Merit badges are more often conducted in classroom environments.
• Worksheets and checklists have replaced experience with nature.
• Patrols no longer cook over fires; they cook over stoves. Or worse, the cooking is done by the adults for the entire troop. The handbook recommends against ground fires because they sterilize the ground beneath them. But without human intervention, forests burn regularly and renew themselves (called “fire ecology”). The idea that a campfire has a significant impact on nature is absurd and hubris. But it means Scouts are purposely discouraged from key outdoor experiences involving fire.

“A good scout knows how to build a fire, especially in an emergency, but knows there are reasons not to light one.” — current Scout handbook

4. Personal Growth

Personal growth was centered on ethical conduct: Doing your best, your duty. It was lived.

Now growth is measured with checkboxes and badges.

5. Uniform

Due to the high prices and less sturdy construction, full field uniforms (with the patches and badges) are rarely seen today on camping trips. Because of the speed with which First Class Scout is achieved, none of the ranks below Star mark a significant difference in status.

6. Advancement

Advancement was once a byproduct of participation. A process for personal growth.

Now it’s a goal in itself. A scorecard. It’s fast, shallow, and too often adult-managed.

With streamlined requirements and pressure to produce more Eagles, it feels like a checklist. See Race to First Class and Trail to Eagle pages for detailed analyses.

7. Association with Adults

“Success in training the boy depends largely on the Scoutmaster’s own personal example.” — Baden-Powell

The “no one-on-one” Barrier to Abuse cripples this method. Mentoring is not actually forbidden. But it is discouraged. Adults are framed as threats. Youths are discouraged from the chance to emulate, confide, and grow beside trusted leaders.

8. Leadership Development

• Scouting is a system of failure and picking yourself up. This is different from other youth organizations that try to prevent failure and thus do not prepare for adulthood. Lack of mentoring now blocks the connection to help the youth leader to succeed next time.
• Youth leadership training used to center on holding a position of leadership and learning by doing, supported by Scout skills and adult guidance. Now, youth leadership training (such as NYLT) is more focused on formal leadership theory.
• The premier adult leader training (Wood Badge) is even more focused on classroom-taught leadership methods. Why? Because it has been generalized to appeal to all Scout leaders, not just those running troops. So it no longer teaches how to support your youth leaders in an outdoor environment of Scout skills.
• Patrols no longer anchor advancement. The patrol is no longer the center of Scouting. Patrol Leaders have less responsibility, so the key youth leadership position no longer teaches as much.

What Restoration Requires

“Scouting is a game with a purpose.” — Baden-Powell.

Absurd rules are not fun. Checklists are not fun. Experiences are.

Doubt about your friends and leaders is not fun. Belonging to a gang, a patrol, that learns, plays, and grows together is fun. Classrooms are not fun, but the outdoors is.

A troop had three families that were friends both within and outside of Scouting. The families decided to visit a state park together. They jumped off of rocks into deep pools, among other things. As they packed up, one Scout offhandedly remarked that they would not have had as much fun if they were with the troop, given BSA rules. Stunned and somber, none could deny the truth.

Instead of encouraging fun, today’s Scouting suppresses it. But if it’s not fun, it’s not Scouting. And not popular. Numbers continue to dwindle.

Each of the eight Methods must be fully restored. Only then will we again offer real Scouting.

I did not set out to indict all eight methods.
I set out to understand what has changed since my youth.

But every pillar shows signs of fracture.
The changes that caused this are diametrically opposed to Scouting.
The damage is systemic, not random.
Whether out of ignorance or mistaken principles,
it was done by those entrusted to protect it.

Regardless, the weakening must not continue.