Tom-
I feel your pain. I run the Wilderness Survival Merit Badge, as well as teach Venture crews on the subject, etc. Some of these kids are sooo out of touch with the wilderness that they have no idea about how to go about starting a fire. I've witnessed the "group fire building" someone always takes over and wastes all the matches because they don't know how to use matches! Can you imagine teaching bow-drill methods (fire by friction) to these kids?
The problem is that they don't PRACTICE!!! They don't practice knots, lashings, fire building, shelter building, etc. They might have to build a survival kit, but they don't maintain it. I'm 18 years old, I got my Eagle award last year. I practice these skills all the time, in all kinds of conditions, and I'm still not perfect. These kids aren't really encouraged to practice because the BSA is so rabid with the Leave No Trace principle. There is a way to practice without destroying the wilderness. I could go on for hours, but that's my opinion I could be wrong. I'll sum it up like this: "There is no graduation day in the school of the woods".--Horace Kephart