Issues & Politics
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LATEST POSTS
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I am definitely not a fan of the current administration, but I think everyone should keep these changes in prospective. 1. I find few scouts who advocate for our current list of Eagle required merit badges. We have far too many citizenship MBs and most of them are already covered in school. I didn't have an issue with Citz in Society, but I also found little value with the badge. You can still guide your troop in the spirit of the badge. 2. Transgender scouts are still allowed in the program. I was scoutmaster of a troop with a transgender scout and there are various challenges you have to navigate. I didn't allow them in female bathrooms, I made sure they were in a three person buddy group, I didn't let them tent with a female, etc. I still made sure they could participate and told them to let me know if anyone gave them crap. The changes would essentially align to how I ran the troop which I think is appropriate. 3. I don't think anyone would argue against the military benefits. Perhaps they would like to push further but so far, I think scouters should move on to figuring out how to keep meetings fun, how to encourage scouts to fully embrace the patrol method and the other key aspects that scouters engage in every day and week. -
Nothing more fun than watching your kid get the big trophy. However, many scout parents get that same dopamine rush from seeing their non team kid excel in scouts. Being in an Eagle Scout ceremony, with congratulatory messages from mayors and members of Congress, sees some parents almost turn purple with pride. It's all good. I think the issue for scouting is that there are more kids and families that enjoy other youth activities more. That's because they are more fun and appealing to kids and easier to access and understand by parents. Scouting has been focusing on everything but those issues for decades and it's had a culmulative effect. Every newly diverting crisis that develops, like this one, only deepens the hole. -
Scouting really didn't/doesn't need the West Point Camporee or Jamboree to deliver program though. Both events serve very few scouts in the scheme of things. I think the potential loss of the Eagle Scout promotion and pay upgrades was likely much more consequential, especially since attaining Eagle is the single most important marketing point for the US program. It's a potential benefit noted in almost all the marketing materials and is positioned as almost a Good Housekeeping seal of approval from the U.S. Military of the scouting program. That, and the ability to operate units on US bases were likely the biggest items on the table.
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By InquisitiveScouter · Posted
Review the recent history of BSA, and you can make the same statement about their other major policy changes. And all of these changes, I would argue, have not been about what is right. They have been about money. This one is no different. -
By BetterWithCheddar · Posted
That's a completely reasonable hypothesis.
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