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@AwakeEnergyScouter I feel your perplexity. But, that’s only because you’re not the first European scout who I’ve dialogued with. Americans thrive (wallow?) in paradoxes. The YMCA is chock full of non-Christians and women. My brother went swimming at the YWCA. Everybody in my town has participated in Jewish community center activities. None of that makes anyone feel trans or religion-fluid. Likewise, girls don’t shed their femininity being in programs for boys. For some it’s a status symbol. Being on-the-ground with American youth revealed this peculiar mental framework. When I started my Venturing Crew almost 20 years ago, the girls — especially Girl Scouts — who signed up were thrilled to be Boy Scouts. One told me as much and I had a hard time convincing her that she was a Venturer! There is something very valuable for many young women in this country to know that this “for boys” organization lets them work their program. I think it partly had to do with a “victim mentality” foisted upon them by activist types. GS/USA’s “girl power” mantra sort of plays off of that. In BSA, nobody told them they had any special powers. They could work the goals of this program (or not) and nobody made them feel like they were some kind of revolutionary. (Most GS/USA leaders who I knew avoided the whole “girl power” rhetoric. It was the literature that gave off an “us vs. them” vibe.) So, for some young American women, being a girl in Boy Scouts of America carried more prestige than being a young woman in Scouts BSA or Scouting America. Who really wanted there to be Scouts BSA Handbook for Girls and a Scouts BSA Handbook for Boys? No youth ever! All my boys get the one for boys (although I’ve offered to get them the one for girls if they wanted). I’d be curious to know how many girls there are who, given the choice, would ask for the “for Boys” edition.

I would say BSA intentionally obfuscated! It’s not hard to be plain-spoken when describing the programs. We currently offer: Cub Scout packs Boy Scout troops Boy Scout troops for Girls Venturing/Sea/Exploring Scout Crews/Ships/Posts for CoEds in High School and early adulthood. Tell the truth. Market accordingly. It’s not hard.

Moms who were fielding a very active GS/USA unit in our neighborhood retired. So we are a little behind in girls joining the pack. I’m starting to give those parents a warning that their daughters will need to recruit a critical mass for our CO to support them. The parent remain clueless that “family scouting”, “scouts BSA”, and “Scouting America” are just corporate doublespeak for the program of BSA4G that now operated in anddition to BSA.

So funny. When I was a PL, we raided our parents’ pantries for what we would need for the weekend. Each member was responsible for an item. Stopping at the store was usually a Thursday evening activity. My kids recently described me as “chaotic good.”

They didn’t beat Pitt football, but at least they’ll have more straight shooters!

You’re right. Networking is one of the great benefits.

Krone: This (NOAC) is the largest gathering of scouts outside of National Jamboree. World Scout Jamboree: hold my beer.

I hope this can be the case, but I’m skeptical that a broader-based ineligibility list will give us better data for statistical inference. The good news is that with greater market share represented by youth-facing programs with YP trained leaders, we should see persistent reduction in reports of abuse on independent health surveys of youth.

Have you taken PA’s course? BSA’s ain’t half bad in comparison. However, both just rattle off policy. I wonder if a better certification would involve role-playing exercises? That is essentially what makes life guard courses worthwhile. Obviously we aren’t gonna simulate victimization with YPT, but it might be possible to simulate a few victim responses, actually make that call to authorities, walk through reporting, etc …

If a national certification can be offered at camp, I’m fine with the transition. I was originally trained in ARC guard certification, then re-upped with BSA Guard. Our local pools honored BSA guard, so calling it “self-serving” is disingenuous. Guard certification serves the community. On the other hand, if instructors become hard to come by, fewer youth will pursue training. The nation’s waters could become more hazardous.

Seems like the proposed land could have all the lumber one would need to build some very stout shower houses. Ever since the one hidden camera incident, I’ve become incredibly skeptical of individual showers. (Admittedly, there are too few datapoints to draw serious conclusions.) Still, the property that’s been donated of the past 50 yearns has far outstripped the needs of the membership of many councils.

I talked to several erstwhile scouts at a D-day reenactment today. One (in his Luftwafa uniform) reminisced about World Jamboree and Philmont. He said the latter was extremely difficult, but that made it all the more memorable.

The main change is BSA membership decline. WOSM is no doubt feeling the pressure to raise funds to make up that gap. Introducing a program in a new country or helping neighboring scout associations is a costly enterprise.

From what I remember reading it was a BSA unit. I suspect it formed from the bottom up, pulling Japanese scouts and a few caring adults (perhaps even an officer on base) to make it happen. I’m sure any attempts by a BSA pro to start it from the top would have been rebuffed. It would be interesting to know how many other community interactions were made. Three years is an awful long time to watch a town spring up in your valley and not try to reach out.

Maybe for a campus that sits dormant for the summer, the ability to provide a week of housing and food (and perhaps local transportation) is a boost.