felt a lot of guilt over how poorly I did the job. We only had one boy and paired with another ward who had 2. Neither I nor the the other guy were gung-ho and, to be honest, I have some pretty negative feelings toward scouting from my youth days for reasons mentioned all over in this conversation. What I REALLY wanted to do was get to know these boys and have some fun helping them become young men, but once I got some leader-specific training I realized that if I was going to meet the goals they put on us there would be no time for fun. It didn't help that I was also primary teacher for this age group so that I was expected to prepare a lesson each Sunday and a scouting plan/activity for each week plus other merit-badge pow-wows, camping trips, jamborall, etc. I simply couldn't do it with my commitment to family and work and so the boys progress suffered and I felt like a crappy leader all the time. I was ECSTATIC to be released and called into the EQ Presidency.

I agree with what several have voiced. The scouting program is not a program that can be done halfway and requires somebody who loves it to give the boys the experience they deserve. Further, it's so driven by merit badge accomplishment that just trying to make boys appreciate the outdoors and be solid young men with confidence has to take a back seat, usually to the detriment of all involved. Then you add Duty to God on top of it all and you're just causing resentment with a lot of parents/leaders and a feeling of complete inadequacy for boys who are trying to keep up and do life and just can't.

FWIW, when I was called to the position, I didn't feel like I could say no as the bishop told me I was the 3rd person they'd asked. We have a small ward without a lot of "extra" folks to fill callings. The only guy who ever rocked scouting in our ward is now in the Bishopric. In some ways this feels like asking somebody off the street to walk in and run a nuclear reactor with no training or desire to do so. You might get lucky and he knows something about the subject matter and really want to learn...but chances are better he doesn't. It's not fair to anybody and I, for one, won't be heartbroken if the Church just decides to move on from BSA and structure the YM program more like the YW. I'm just thankful I have all daughters.