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"Perhaps it is just my high school, but as a parent of a teenager I have to say expectations of what teens must do far exceed what was expected of teens 20, 30, 50 years ago. " While you make some cogent points, I believe the issue is an adult issue here as well. The expectations are those put there by adults, and the pressure is generally brought by the adults. Honors and AP classes, from my experience as a long term sub are not doing what they were intended to do. The grades are not accurately weighted by peer comparisons, but instead biased to higher grades, A and B mostly, because

Perhaps it is just my highschool, but as a parent of a teenager I have to say expectations of what teens must do far exceed what was expected of teens 20, 30, 50 years ago. First, they are expected to take college level courses in high school. When I was a kid, I took 2 AP courses, now ... If you want any chance to get selected by a highly selected university you need at least 8. Plus you need to have nearly perfect grades and an ACT/SAT that is very high. Then look at sports. When I was a kid you can simply walk on to most teams and the sport lasts the season. Now, the best t

It is difficult to talk about, until you do. A lot of us are exactly like you. We might be in different stages of dealing with our trauma, but we are all alike. Talking about what happened will help erase any shame you might have and help you realize that there was nothing you could have done. You are a survivor. What you survived was not only physical but mental trauma and just like seeing a doctor for physical trauma a mental health professional can help you with your mental trauma. DM me if you wish,

There are incredible pressures on kids today, but I'm not so sure scouting is much of an antidote to that anymore either. There can be just as much pressure to be "the best" and to achieve Eagle, and if kids don't or aren't as interested in the advancement process -- "First Class, First Year" -- they can feel like failures the same as they can in any other arena. It's an adult driven disease that has permeated almost every aspect of childhood -- first, best, most, etc.

3/18/2024: https://coronadotimes.com/news/2024/03/18/coronado-girl-scouts-celebrate-rosie-the-riveter-at-eponymous-rose-garden/ 3/22/2022: "Coronado Girl Scouts gathered near the Spreckels Center “Rosie the Riveter Roses” on Monday to honor “National Rosie the Riveter Day,” designed to raise awareness about the 16 million women who worked during World War II. Source includes a good interview of a "Rosie", 98 year old Betty Ridenour https://coronadotimes.com/news/2022/03/22/coronado-girl-scouts-celebrate-national-rosie-the-riveter-day-with-a-real-rosie-video/

Am I the only one that sees a connection to the controversy still hanging about in relation to females, especially girls, in the BSA? Great history. And I grew up with grand mothers and a mother that all worked, being a latch key kid in the fifties.

That is an amazing lesson for those young girls and being able to keep that history alive!

It is extremely difficult to talk about any of it. If any of the other victims are like me in any way, it is something of which I am still ashamed. Even now, I wonder if I might have done something different to avoid becoming a target. But mostly, I try not to let my memory do any more damage than has already been done. Sometimes, I can go days without any thought of any of it. You may call it "denial", I call it "survival".

Thanks, you are of course right in the general way. We have it much better today than in the past. That in itself may be a contributor to the seeming lack of too many to fend for themselves. There is no doubt that many young people are babied so badly that they do not have a clue of reality in the wider world. At the same time, some of us on here can extoll the benefits many of our mentees have garnered from being asked to think and act on their own. I keep getting reminded that while I too often get annoyed at the absolutely ludicrous ideas with which the proverbial helicopter adults con

Even with a red passport in addition to a blue one, I represent US scouting with the BSA when I'm in the BSA uniform. The Swedish flag goes on the Swedish scout shirt, the US flag on the US scout shirt. Puerto Rican flags make sense for Puerto Rican scouts. So unless they're in Scouts Ukraine in a Ukrainian scout shirt...