Beth Ann Rosica: Scouting provides strong, positive, male role models for boys

My son just earned his Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting.

At the ceremony (known as the Court of Honor), scout leaders and others spoke about the prestige of this accomplishment. Potential employers often prioritize resumes with an Eagle Scout rank, some colleges offer scholarship money, and generally, the designation indicates a high level of leadership and commitment.

While certainly meritorious, those outcomes are not the most important.

What boys and young men need — and are craving — are strong, positive, male role models.

And scouting is the perfect opportunity for boys to be boys, mentored by adult male leaders.

Many boys start their scouting career in elementary school with Cub Scouts. Most often, they attend events and camping trips with their dads — usually their first and best role model!

Cub Scouts build pinewood derby cars and rockets with their dads, and it is often a toss-up as to who is more competitive, the boys or their fathers. 

And for those boys whose dads are not in their life, scouting is even more important.

As Cub Scouts, these young boys start to learn the tenets of scouting which are really principles for life. A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

As a boy-mom, I can’t think of a better set of values for boys to aspire to.

Equally important, time spent on scouting activities is time not spent on technology.

In our world where kids spend countless hours scrolling on social media or playing video games, scouting activities are “old school.” Scouts camp, fish, swim, hike, perform community service, and a myriad of other outdoor activities. And it’s primarily under the leadership of strong, male role models.

When boys “cross-over” from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, the role of the dad decreases and the boys and young men look to their scout leaders and older scouts for leadership and mentorship.

Scoutmasters and their assistants volunteer their time to fully support scouts as they grow from boys into confident young men. These men lead by example and create an environment of respect where scouts can make mistakes and learn from them. 

Scouting teaches boys how to become strong men and to be proud of their masculinity while also instilling respect for others, especially girls and women.

Adolescent boys crave masculine role models and are often drawn to toxic messaging, especially when they don’t have positive male mentors in their lives. In this era where crass social influencers like Andrew Tate attract adolescent boys with harmful messaging, scouting provides real male models who instill important values.

Many boys are so desperate for unapologetically masculine role models that they are drawn to Tate and others like him. However, these young men do not understand the destructive and negative messages that these icons spew on social media.

This is why our boys and young men are desperately in need of positive male mentors and deserve opportunities to disengage from the online world and interact with other boys in a healthy competitive environment.

Adolescent boys should be allowed to be unapologetically masculine and respectful towards women at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive, yet some in our society, like Tate, seem to push that distinction.

Michael Gurian, New York Times best-selling author of The Good Son: Shaping the Moral Development of Our Boys and Young Men, has written extensively about the importance of valuing masculinity in our society.

“One of the great tragedies in human life is to be born a male and not be guided toward the value of a man.”

Boy Scouts provides the ideal environment for adolescent boys to develop into strong young men and learn the importance and value of manhood, while participating in fun, challenging, and mostly outdoor activities.

As a boy-mom, I am incredibly grateful to our local Boy Scout troop and the leaders who volunteer countless hours for the sole purpose of guiding our boys to become strong, confident young men.

Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@broadandliberty.com.