Nike

Gold Award projects are very different from Eagle Scout projects. Usually they take more time, resources, and tons more paperwork. (Ask a Senior/Ambassador advisor and watch her/him grimace.) Also, many projects are judged on their sustainability over time as well as the size and depth of the impact they have on the community. GSUSA is more liberal than BSA. That's a fact. It was a pretty radical idea in 1913 for girls to participate in Scouting. Some aspects of the GS program have gone waaaayyy over the left hand edge. I hope those elements will fail as astoundingly as the last program redo in the mid 90s. GSUSA has forgotten that children, boys and girls, want to be in Scouts because it looks like and should be a lot of FUN (isv: with a purpose!!! Premier leadership experience for girls in America is a great thing to tell corporate sponsors. But to market to kids it has to be FUN.

Coming back to thier senses... 1) Remember that girls join scouting to have FUN. Not be little indentured servants to society learning to be leaders. 2) Don't worry so much about girl empowerment and focus more on girl fun 3) Dump the fluffy, navel gazing badges and programs and get out there and do something fun and different. 4) Dump the New AGe wackiness utterly implicit in the new Journeys books. One of the consultants is the wife of a cult leader, for gosh sakes. Lastly, get some real girl scouts into the HQ and get the bureaucrats out in the field with a pack and a compass. If they can find their ways home, good for them.

Well, GW, start a troop!! (Because the people posting here just don't have enough going on. )

Re: Goats and diaphonous gowns. Check Spiral Scouts. Re: PP and GSUSA. There have been local level and national level associaitons in the past. However, down here in the South we have to fill out a "Sensitive Topics" permission form for anything more in depth than the circulatory system. Re: AHG creeps me out. I checked them out as an alternative to GSUSA and found their organization to be more like BSA but they were too jingoistic, "hearth and home," and Christian-right for me. I just wish BSA could start Girl Guides America or GSUSA would come back to thier senses.

You heretic, Kudu.

As much as I complain about GSUSA, as a leader and parent, AHG creeps me out mightily. I hope BSA knows who they are getting in bed with.

I spent last week teaching archery. How come they don't know left from right or which hand they write with?

HOw many kids play board games or with tiny soldiers any more? How many kids fold their own laundry? (OK, my boys like the "pile" method, but they can fold.) Who wears velcro or no-tie tennis shoes? These all involve fine motor skills, and in some ways we are taking all the finger manipulation and bending out of life. I taught 2nd grade girls knots two weeks ago, and they had as hard a time as your boys.

I believe that everyone can lead to a certain extent. You will rise to the level of your incompetence, unfortunately that's pretty low for some people.

What should an SM do if he is personally biased for or against a Scout that his decisions may not be seen as fair or reasonable? And, just wondering, but what has the Chartered Organization Rep or Inst. Head had to say about all of this? (This message has been edited by Nike)

Thanks so much. With everything going on with our move, camps, and deleting my entire e-mail program, I had no idea where to find it.

Does anyone have a link to the PTC Level B health form?

Advancement gurus, I always thought that a Scout *had* to be given some specific goals to work toward when he was not signed off on Scout Spirit or turned down at a BOR. True or just good advice? This whole mess has been caused by a failure to communicate well on both sides.

I just have to wonder what the big gaping hole is here that none of us can see, literally. I'd love to see a redacted copy of this file. Does anyone know how many appeals get sent to National every year and what the turn down rate is?

They must have some interesting tan lines and one heck of a sunscreen bill.

The law of averages will eventually catch up with such scofflaws when the higher authority won't enforce the rules.

Cooking for Eagle--Yeeeessss!!! Tenderfoot if you get your Aol--No. (I also don't like the non-sequential signing off on the T-2-1 ranks.) My son learned a lot in his first six months of BS that I just don't think could have been squeezed into Web 1 or 2. Beefing up Webelos is a great idea, though. Bring on the girls!!! My Daisy would love to be a Cub in a girl only den.

My son is going back for a second year at the Claytor Lake program at Powhatan. He loved it last year and said they had very good food.

Three years ago I got my son the long one. It fits now that he's sprung up a foot to be as tall as I am. If length is really a problem, you can sew down a fold on the back to take up a some of the extra fabric.

Sometimes we parents have to realize that we don't function so well with the same age group as our kids. I'm glad Eamonn helped that Mom out, and eventually she found a great fit for her in Scouting, but not with her daughter. (Much better than her packing up the girl and taking her van home!)

Don't forget pirates!! Because you can never tell too many jokes with "arrgh" in them.

Cookbooks are the classic Officers' Wives Club fundraiser and money sink. Cookbooks from years past are still available in many post gift shops. If you have a supportive community you may be able to sell out by Christmas, but be prepared to have at least some inventory for two to three years.

Red loops will never go away until BSA can ban red grosgrain ribbon and sewing machines.

Why wouldn't your troop committee listen to a suggestion? Unless it is completely out of my lane, I volunteer to get my suggestions off the ground. In your shoes, I would suggest at a Committee meeting that I would be more than happy to help organize three adults to sign up to do BORs at every meeting. If there are no BORs to do, then we can sit around and shoot the breeze with each other in the adult space. If after three months (school months), the new system isn't working, go back to the quarterly thing.

The vast majority of what Lisabob details above is exactly what Girl Scouts doesn't have, and our national dues just went up to $12. I'd pay $20 if GSUSA could give us the services BSA did/will for $10/$15.