OutdoorThinker

I am responding, because I was so completely enraged at Rooster's last response which included:

"Similarly, many young women are sheltered and protected from these realities. An argument can be made that their parents did them no favors. Nevertheless, many young women even today, are unaware and/or ill prepared to deal with the harsher realities of this world. Consequently, when they are the victim of a heinous crime, their suffering their victimization, is greater than that of someone who is less naive and/or more prepared to deal with such a reality."

As a young woman, with many friends who are young women also, I am appalled to think that there are people in this world who think so lowly of the capacity of women to be intellegent, street smart and overcome any shelteredness. None of the young women I know nor am I sheltered from the 'harsher realities of this world.' Just turn on the television at any given time. Obviously you have not encountered many young women recently...I would say that most young women of the twenty-first centuary are not sheltered to the 'harsher realities of the world' but rather they are knowledgable, strong, and the awareness has led them to becoming well prepared for problematic situations through self defense training, or at least heightened awareness when around dangerous situations.

Don't know too many scary stories, but our Venture Crew is high adventuring it tonight. We're going backpacking to hunt for the Jersey Devil.

I will admit I was no expert on outdoor skills upon being hired to be the Scoutcraft Director at my camp, but I spent a week at the Northeast Regions camping school and I was an expert in not only outdoor skills, but also on managing and teaching 16 year olds how to become expert Scoutcrafters also. I feel that my staff was exceptionally well prepared to teach the merit badges in my area and I feel very strongly that the boys that earned the merit badges in my area this summer really learned something and were not just getting signed off.

SPL_T15

The committee members for our Crew are not the same as the committee members for our troop.

Just a suggestion, to your problem of "But I still have trouble getting two scouts to listen to me, and they have leadership position, and one of them I think we are about to free him of his posotion, Quartermaster...."

if you are talking about the Venturing Crew rather than the troop, we've found that Crew decision making and such is best if there isnt a 'dictator' to listen to. We have a president who runs the meetings, but decisions are made by the whole group, and there really isnt anyone but our advisors to 'listen to' (and under some circumstances, they dont really get listened to either).

I feel that registering for the draft is part of the responsibilty that comes with the rights that all Americans have and thus women should have to register for the draft. Today's women have endless oppertunities, they can be leaders in business, political leaders, in the Boy Scouting, and are in fact in the miliatary, why not have them drafted too? I dont find the logic in the fact that women arent drafted. I can understand why ealier in American history they were not, but women are now equal players in the country.

Yes, yes, both the terms Crackel Barrel and Campfire (in a Boy Scout sense) were new to us (not to mention the skills learned to build a Campfire's campfire). There has been the need for lots of translating for me in Boy Scouting. Thanks OGE for being my Boy Scout to Outdoorthinker Dictionary. Other "foreign" words for the word bank included 'totem,' 'blue cards,''outpost,' and 'scoutcraft'(note: I learned what Scoutcraft meant AFTER I got my job as the Scoutcraft Director)and knot's names.

OGE: I didnt forget. I dont think I ever will and YoungSpikedEagle's look on his face when I hugged him upon recieving my Orienteering Merit Badge is also something that I won't soon forget. Oh good times with the crew!

Also, I am honored to be one of your scouting victories!

My "first" merit badge was Orienteering. The first crew campout was with the Boy Scout troop. Attendance of the crew was really low, in fact, I was the only girl and there was one other guy, so we spent our weekend with the troop that was doing their oreinteering merit badge. I completed all of the requirements with the boys and although, I couldn't techincally earn the merit badge, I was an honorary recipiant. Later that year, an advisor of the crew and his son surprised me by presenting me with my very own orienteering merit badge.

Now I am a merit badge counselor for 9 merit badges including orienteering. I guess the troop trained me pretty well.

OGE and his son and I are (both Young Spiked Eagle and I will be over 21 at the time) would love to take a Venturing Crew to the World Jamboree in 2007. Do you know how we'd start to get that ball rolling?

What OGE neglected to mention that the crew LOVES the Pine Barrens. The terrain is great. The trails are really nice. Not very much elevation. Great camp sites (with fresh water pump and latrines). I'd give it an A+. We've done some other backpack, but this is the first location that we're returning to. We're totally psyched about searching for the Jersey Devil on Halloween! WAHOO!!

The Pine Barrens may be a little out of your way if you're in New England, but it is well worth it!!!

Thanks for your input Scoutnut and SR540Beaver.

FOG, in response to your comment, I think you are missing the point, or at least part of the point. Girl Scouting has had a continuing problem with losing girls in middle school. My understanding is that Studio2B is an attempt (maybe not an ideal attempt, but an attempt nonetheless)to keep preteen girls interested in Girl Scouting. Although it is nontraditional Girl Scouting, it's aim is educating girls and help to develop their self-esteem and their character, which is a focus of the Girl Scouting movement anyway. My girls that I will be working with are similiar to the Boy Scout's Scoutreach boys, who are nontraditional scouts and have never had experience with the scouting program before. Perhaps a non-traditional program will work for them. We'll see what happens.

I will be starting to work with a Girl Scout outreach group of middle schoolers in the next month or so. Thus far in my Girl Scout leader career I have only worked with Brownie and Daisy aged girls. Although I am looking forward to the new group, I am a little apprehensive.

My question is have any of you worked with the new Studio2B program? Has it been successful? What are your thoughts on the program itself? What are your girls thoughts on the program? I havent decided if I like it or not. We'll see what my girls think once we get up and running.

SPL_15, although I am disappointed, I have no intent to travel to Lousiana and hurt you. I'd enjoy a trip, but I am not into violence.

FOG, I dont have to cry to win arguements, enough said. From what I understand there's no crying in Boy Scouts anyway.

OGE, I guess the cats out of the bag. It's true, well, all of it except the 8 merit badges I am registered to counsel...the count is 9. But, who other than me and our Scoutmaster is really counting?

After four years and little emphasis on recruitment our crew is beginning to thin out as members are going off to college. We've been tapping into the troop that we're attached to and having some success. But we're looking for new outlets.

Has your crew recruited? Where? What recruiting techniques have you found to be successful? What have you found to be unsuccessful?

OGE, Packsaddle, I'll take it from here (I've been stewing over this post all weekend, when my crew was helping with a Scoutreach camporee).

SPL_15, is there anyway at all that these 14-17 year old girls want to join your crew because they enjoy high adventure and want to do something fun and different? I mean, seriously, they only want to join because they 'dig' you? When I joined my crew I only knew one of the guys (the other guys joined later) and I'll be honest, I certainly didnt join because I "dug" the guy I knew. The crew actually became more of a family (brothers and sisters, with advisors playing the role of "dad" and "uncle") certainly NOT a place to find a date...just thinking about that makes me feel a little icky.

Being a very happy member of a coed crew for four years, an ASM, and the only female scoutcraft director trained in the Northeast Region's 2003 Camp School, I hope that the girls not only succeed on your camp out, but impress you by their determination and skills. I hope that you'll realize they want to get involved because their interested in the outdoors. And I sincerely hope that one or more of them can set you straight about females in scouting, females in the outdoors and females in leadership positions (our crew, has only had female presidents and our Venture Youth Roundtable has only had female officers).

Best of luck with your crew. May you have the same success that we have.

I may be a liberal because I am young and idealistic and optimistic.

However, I am also a liberal beacause I believe in freedom of speech. I am a liberal because I feel that money should go to public education so that all children gain a good education and are able to be competitive for college and eventually the work force. I am a liberal because I believe no one should go to bed hungry at night. I am a liberal because I feel that workers have the right to ban together and right for better working conditions as well as better benefits and better salaries. I am a liberal because I believe that women have the right to make their own decisions, especially when it comes to their bodies.I am a liberal to be a voice to those who dont have much ability to speak for themselves: the poor, minorities, and women to name a few groups. I am a liberal because I think that conserving our natural resources and conserving our earth is a good thing.

Well, I am out taking a risk and writing about what I believe to a rather tough crowd when it comes to my political beliefs. I complied with your rules to the best of my abilities (and I went through several drafts editing some statements that broke the rules).

PackSaddle:

I got what I would consider nearly a gazillion notifications of the last few posts. Do you think there's anything we can do to fix that?

Becacuse I havent been a Boy Scout as long as I have been a Girl Scout I am unsure as to their official policy, but I know for a fact that Girl Scouts of the USA are nonpartisan. I feel very strongly that Boy Scouting should be nonpartisian. There was mentioning of right-wingedness of the Boy Scouting, but wouldnt you agree that LNT and the principles of ecological conservation are pretty liberal in thought? Just some food for thought.

OGE:

I didnt get to respond earlier, because I was without a computer the last few days. Anyway, I wanted to let you know, that we as a council youth board,too have had the same problem trying to get information from the regional and national youth boards.

Last spring I was thrown an application to apply to be Northeast Regions Youth Round Table (I am not sure what the official name is anymore) Preident. During a stressful week and a crazy whirlwind of essays and such, I finished the application, only to find out I had missed the due date anyway and the regional convention meet while I was to be training at National Camp School.

The application was the only information that I had ever gotten from the regional level, and I would love to seebigger things go on with Venturing at regional and national level. A regional Venturing jamboree or a national venturing jamboree (of course, the term jamboree should be altered for crews).

OGE, let me tell you, had I become the regions youth leader (slim chance, but we're talk 'what ifs' now) I would have made an effort to begin contacted the councils within my region and keep the Venturing roundtables informed as to what goes on at the regional level. Quite honestly, I dont know what decisions are made about Venturing there. Does anyone know?

Wow, sorry, didnt mean to be as verbous as I was. I just came back from my youth roundtable meeting, I suppose I am a little fired up on this topic.

All I have to say is OUCH.

OGE: That's a pretty harsh punishment, I think a simple promise that you wont do something like that again will be fine. Besides, I wouldnt want to take you away from your Venturing Crew. Those girls in your crew that you talk about, especially that Scoutcraft Director, seem to be quite the force to reckon with and I wouldnt want to upset them.

OGE, as soon as you find out, will you pass the information along. I'd love to have a word or two with the big three.

Or new girl OGE, why must we assume that our new poster is a guy? Have you learned nothing from those girls in your crew you post about. I am sure they would be sorely disappointed.

However, I do second OGE's Hip Hip Horray.

Rock on Dsteele! You've managed to say everything I was meaning to post, you just beat me to it!

To answer OGE's question, Baden-Powell was 54 when he married his 22 year old wife Olave. Yeah, he's definately the role model I want my brother to look up to.