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If you substituted race, skin color, or any religious or ethnic category for gender in this comment, it would be off the charts offensive. I don't know why the moderators continually give a hall pass to comments like these. They have no place in scouting. It's one thing to recognize adolescent behavior like showing off; it's another thing entirely when you start attempting to make broad assessments that stereotype skills and character traits in discriminatory ways.

It’s not about functioning together, it’s about maximum growth opportunity . Scouting is not about enduring each other to eventually get along. As you said, boys and girls are mixed to all the time. The scouting program puts the youth in situations where they makes decisions that expose their character. Boys aren’t intimidated by the girls natural instinct of management and details, they welcome it. But many adults confuse the boys stepping back as a result being intimidated. It is instead the logical action of giving space for letting the girls do what they do best, and the boys find bor

I fully expected Scouting to go co-ed when they started having girl troops. On one hand, I believe that we are in an era of equality now and not only do girls deserve to have the same opportunities as boys in Scouting but boys need to learn how to function in a co-ed environment of equality. More women than men go to college now and so most men will be working for women in the near future. On the other hand, there is absolutely no denying that boys will behave differently in co-ed environments. Boys will "macho up" when there is the possibility of looking weak in front of girls. I

I just found out that our pack doesn't meet in the summer. I'm not sure why. Seems like a great way to lose members. I seem to remember Scouting being a year-round activity. We've overcome so much sluggishness to start building the pack, and then we're going to waste it?

The Longhouse Council, William Hillcourt Museum is about to launch a new Historic Trail, The Erie Canal Trail. The kick off celebration will be done at the Erie Canal Museum on June 18. A patch, hiking staff medallion and historic trail medal will be available. The patch and medallion can be purchased by anyone but the medal has requirements to earn by any youth ages 10 to 18. Requirements are: Erie Canal Historic Trail Medal, Patch and Hiking Medallion Purpose of this award is to raise awareness of our local history and the role that the Erie Canal played, not only in New Yo

I like that as an option. Perhaps having them post a video to YouTube would give them a great experience and also help promote the award. I'll see about adding that as an option. Good thought.... Thanks... Considering this: 6: Write a report of no less than 200 words to explain what you learned about the canal and its historical importance as well as present day uses. Submit it to your unit leader for review. Optional requirement, post a video to YouTube of 3 minutes or more about your experience, what you learned and sharing shots of what you saw and did while earning the award.

FAMILIES PAY FOR A 12 MONTH PROGRAM I am a firm believer in the 12 months of program for both Cubs and Scouts. I rebuilt the pack by sons were in back in the late 80's and we had all the sports to compete with along with nintendo and atari games and we had the single parent issues but we built a great 12 month program and instilled the habit of participation. We didn't shut down from May through September like many packs and the result was nearly 100% retention (except for a family here and there that moved out of the area). It was great. Dens met both indoors and outdoors and did field

@Ojoman welcome to scouter.com

I'm now in the Longhouse Council in CNY. I expect that this council has had a far more significant membership downturn than most having dropped over 90% of its membership since 2000. Most of that happened prior to covid. While I dearly hope that the council will turn things around the staffing is so reduced and we have dropped so many units that it will almost take a miracle. In the meantime we do have a wonderful 'William Hillcourt Museum at Camp Woodland in Constantia, NY and I am now on the committee. If any of you folk are within a reasonable distance you are welcome to come and visit. The

Correction: My final paragraph about Lone Scouts was directed to "Scoutmaster Fred" cited in RememberSchiff's post.

I find some of the above postings about girls in Scouts BSA to be rather speculative and uninformed. As founding Scoutmaster of a now-50+ member Scouts BSA Troop for Girls, my experience and direct observation is that our girls are attracted to the program for the identical reasons as boys are. My experience is also that our Scouts successfully organize and lead our troop in ways that are different – playing to the things girls emphasize and strengths they have at the Scouts BSA ages. Our operation works supremely well as a single-gender organization. for reasons I do not need to fully unde

I disagree with the idea the idea that "only boys are interested in action and adventure" and "girls are interested in planning menus". I think the "action and adventure" available through Scouting appeals to boys and girls equally. I also disagree with the assessment that logistical planning is not in the boys' "wheelhouse". I can't think of a single Scouting activity that wouldn't appeal to outdoor-oriented girls the same way it appeals to outdoor-oriented boys. I do not think this is an issue in mixed-gender Scouting.

Our PLC decides the distribution of funds. They do all the work anyway. Sometimes they will surprise you though. After the last fundraiser they donated 10% to the WOSM Ukraine Scouts Humanitarian Relief Fund. We also do camp cards and popcorn sales specifically to support the Council, and with other units in the District, maintain the local camp, as the Council no longer will. I made the mistake of donating to FOS using the monthly payment option this year. They made their pitch in February. Since then I’ve received 5 phone calls from our DE that they aren’t sure they will get a

There is some benefit in single gender and some in mixed. For me, I would like to let troops choose if they want to be single gender or mixed gender. Some parents do want a single gender experience for their kids. Others don't care or want an integrated experience. IMHO, let troops choose their personality.

Being wired differently is not an answer, simply an excuse. If the youth can function in school groups or church groups and so on, then they should be able to do so in Scouting. As noted more than once from my own experience as a sub teacher, which meant many variants in students, groups became balanced pretty much once stabilized. While middle school girls often took over a group initially, in many case the boy(s) came forward to challenge. And in many of those, the group output became far more viable and reflected both sides, so to speak. Sorry, the psychologists that claim the males ar

You've revised the definition of equity. Equity does, in fact, take into account that some of us came into the world with an inability to give "it the old college try." For example, when I was getting manipulated by my school district to pay more taxes than my neighbors did because I had just arrived and lacked the privilege of a lower home assessment due to a rising market, I could ask for an equitable decision in spite of the letter of law that was written in favor of long-time residents of the district. The judge saved me thousands. Equity lets someone who has come lately to the game t

Late to this post. In my district, cub scouts are done by over half. Virtualized cub scouting did not work. Packs that continued in person activities as much as possible during the COVID fear campaign are the ones that are healthy today. Packs that did not, lost a bunch of cub scouts. Another factor driving scouts out of the program is the push towards more classroom type activities instead of more outdoor activities. Recruitment has been significantly down. It has to be all the advertisements looking for victims of sexual abuse, because of the BSA. My chartering organization will no lon

BSA's DEI statement. I struggle to see how the statement below would cause anyone to resign. The Boy Scouts of America promotes a culture where each youth, volunteer, and employee feels a sense of belonging and builds communities where every person feels respected and valued. Leading by example and encouraging each other to live by the values expressed by the Scout Oath and Scout Law, we welcome families of all backgrounds to help prepare young people to serve as successful members and leaders of our nation’s increasingly diverse communities.