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LATEST POSTS
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Most of the best Troops and Packs in my area have older scouters involved. One major issue is that there appears to be less willingness to volunteer the massive amount of hours scouting requires from the upcoming generation of parents. One Troo I talked with mentioned that in the past there was some competition over who would be Scoutmaster and now parents want a program but don't want to volunteer. This may be a N of 3-4 and may not be widespread, but I get the sense that BSA sees a problem. Simplifying programs could be beneficial but could also lead to some really bad outcomes. I hope for the best but I respect Mike and if he is concerned I am as well. -
Once BSA moved to admit girls, it should have changed the name to reflect its dual membership. Once BSA decided to accept girls' membership dollars, and charge girls the same fees that it charges to boys, it had a duty to make sure the general program experiences and opportunities were similar. That's what a well managed, functional organization would do. If it didn't want girls, and it didn't want their membership numbers and their membership dollars, then it would have made sense to retain the old name and the old perspectives and live with that. But that's not what the organization did, and girls are now part of the organization and have been for six years. It is past time for the name to change and for units and patrols to be non gendered. I used to think non gendered units only needed to be an option, but that is still extremely limiting especially when you see some of the recent comments. Girls who are crossing over to a troop and paying the same dollars should have the same opportunity to find a unit as boys do, but right now they don't. I do think that the organization, in its typically dysfunctional way, has completely mismanaged the addition of girls to scouting since its launch in 2018. Its regrettable that it has become such a distraction from other issues that BSA is also mismanaging equally well through poor leadership. A lot of these issues around girls should have been resolved six years ago around the time of their addition, and not now while there are more serious post-bankruptcy issues that BSA, or I guess now SA, needs to be focusing on, like preventing more SA. -
By Eagle94-A1 · Posted
Western Society has focused on girls and women for the past 40+ years. Even the current studies that say girls need all girl environments at times, neglects the fact that boys need it as well. It's on my to read list, after I finish my current series, but A SELF MADE MAN, written by a women who impersonated a man for 18 months, discusses how society is so focused on women, that the mental, physical, and social needs of men are completely neglected. The author's conclusion: "I really like being a woman. ... I like it more now because I think it's more of a privilege." Part of having a discussion is the ability to leave your prejudices behind and listen folks are actually saying. Not really. Folks find their ways But what is upsetting is when boys lose their safe spaces, but girls do not. Some areas, like athletics, boys have their own space because of Title 9 forcing to have equal number of women's sports. But even then that can hurt boys. I know one university who had enough interest to field teams in two different sports, but because there was no interest by girls to increase their number of sports, those guys had to stick with being in a "club league" and not be a varsity team. More later. -
And here again we see reality in the U.S. Somehow, not sure we can pinpoint the change, our cultural viewpoints relating to interactions of youth at "those critical years" got skewed to paranoia, rather than growth and learning to deal. Maybe like the concept of the glass half full or half empty? Something less than positive happens somewhere and it is hyped by media and people with skewed reasoning and becomes an issue where it really is not the norm, nor usually a problem. Then the fear mongers grab it and make it worse. Then somebody does a "study", one preordained in most cases, and it escalates to that paranoiac state. Or so it may be from my eight decades of watching and listening and experiencing. -
By Eagle94-A1 · Posted
I have been told that Scouting has been my surrogate family, with the adults in my life being surrogate fathers, the Scouts in my youth as surrogate brothers, and depending upon what age as an adult I was, me serving in a older brother or father role. I have served in various roles for over 30 years, and until recently also had a passion for Scouting. Read some of my posts over the past 5 years so see issues. I have rebuilt so much over the years, and the current state of Scouting is deeply depressing: declining membership, inability to get council support, ad nauseum. My troop is dying, and the adults were pushing to try and keep it alive. But the two recent changes, Name and coed, really disappointed folks. Now I read on Mike Walton's FB post about how they are "simplifying the Scouting program" which some are interpreting to mean "dumbing down." And that frightens me more than anything else, except the increasing cost of Scouting. Sadly too many professionals view it as a job, and not a movement. Very few good pros last long. Sadly to succeed as a professional, you cannot look at the long-term, only meeting your immediate goals, and let the mess to be cleaned up by those who succeed you. That felt by many who have spent years and decades with the BSA. Many of us have given up time and treasure, giving up our free time to make Scouting work. Sadly I have even sacrificed my family at times. Prior to my sons getting into Scouting, every single argument my wife and I had, save one, was over my involvement with Scouting: "another meeting!?!?" "Another camp out?!?!?!" , "Why can't you you go to dinner with my aunt while she is in town?" etc. But lately I am having a hard time supporting Scouting outside of the troop. So you are not alone.
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