Boy Scouts of America free essay sample

The Scout Oath reads, On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. The Scout Law states, A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, bedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. In addition to the mission, Boy Scouts of America have a vision statement: The Boy Scouts of America will prepare every eligible youth in America to become a responsible, participating citizen and leader who is guided by the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Boy Scouts of America was established in 1910 as a part of the international scout movement and was chartered by Congress in 1915. In 1910 BSAs mission was to teach [boys] patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred values. Although the mission is worded different today, it till holds true to the core mission of teaching boys ethical values. We will write a custom essay sample on Boy Scouts of America or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The National Executive Board governs the Boy Scouts of America, however the National Council runs Boy Scouts of America. The National Executive Board are elected members, regional presidents and up to five youth members. The 2012 report listed 76 members. The board is directed by an elected volunteer, the National President. The CFO is given the title Chief Scout Executive and serves as the secretary of the National Executive Board and is a nonvoting member. To date there have been 1 1 Chief Scout Executives and 33 National Presidents. Wayne Perry, a retired businessman, is the current National President. In May 2014 Robert Gates, a retired civil servant and university president, will take over from Perry and serve as the National President. Wayne Brock was appointed to Chief Executive Scout in August 2012. The National Council is a much larger entity than the executive board. The council consists mostly of volunteer Scouters who are elected National Officers, Executive Board Members, regional presidents, local council representatives, members at large and honorary members. The councils role is to promote the Scouting program within a designated geographic area. They have four major functions, membership, fund development, maintain standards and policies and serve organizations using the scouting program. Daily operations of the National Council are directed by the Chief Scout Executive and other national professional staff however the whole National Council only meets on an annual basis. BSA can be summed up as one movement with six programs, Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venturing. All of the programs have the same ims of building character, learning the responsibilities of citizenship, and developing personal fitness. The programs mostly differ according to age group. Tiger Cubs is for boys in first grade. Cub scouting is for boys between the ages of 7 to 10. Webelos Scouts is for 10 year old boys. Boy Scouts program is for boys between the Venturing is for young men and women between the ages of 14 and 21. Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts are family and home centered programs whereas Boy Scouting is designed as an outdoor program. Varsity Scouting emphasizes high dventure and Venturing is more of a focus on leadership and growth through teaching others. Exhibit 1 shows the membership of each program at the end of 2012. Cub Scouts (including Tiger Cubs and Webelos Scouts) had the largest membership with Just over 1. million members. It seems the introductory programs are more popular than other programs. As a whole BSA is well known throughout America, in fact, they are a big part of American Culture. People associated with BSA are usually described as earnest and honest individuals and media continues to highlight Scouting community projects and acts of service. The BSA isnt all good though, like all organizations there is a sha dow side. In BSAs case, this shadow side includes numerous sexual abuse cases and discrimination against homosexuals. Prior to 1994 there were 2,000 reported cases of abuse. The BSA introduced the Youth Protection Program in 1988 leading to more accountability among leaders and less opportunities for abuse. More recently, BSA has been put in the spotlight because of their stance on homosexual leaders. In July 2012 a BSA committee reviewed the BSAs stance on homosexuality and came to a unanimous decision ecommending that the BSA should maintain their policy about not allowing homosexual adult leaders. This was followed by cuts in financial ties and a great deal of public oppression. In May 2013 the BSA National Council voted to remove the policy, emphasizing that membership should not be based on sexual orientation because all sexual conduct is not allowed. All in all BSA is a well-organized organization with a long-standing history that has had a significant impact on American culture. Its deep roots probably lead to ingrained business practices that re hard to change although the change in policy concerning homosexuality proves that the National Council can change policies if they can gain a majority for a certain decision.