Except for the best-run Venturing crews, BSA’s mainline programs facilitate an unhealthy fixation on advancement.
Distracting from adventure, this creates an unwelcoming environment for youth uninterested in advancement and encourages negative perceptions of youth who do not achieve terminal ranks.
Whether a youth member is interested in advancement should be irrelevant to that youth’s enjoyment of a BSA program.
Part of this is cultural, where by overcoming the fixation on advancement we can more easily appreciate youth experiences different than those that are advancement-seeking. Part of this can be achieved by refactoring advancement at all levels so that it prescribes a robust adventure program, leading to achievement as a natural result of active participation.
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