qwazse

I think it's out of a belief that we have something magical. Those of us on the inside think we're merely capitalizing on the inherent easy-to-please good nature of young boys. Folks on the outside think we've accumulated years of privelage in a society that largely believes boys should be in the woods, and that figures girls don't have time for such shenanigans. We have, if you will, a brain trust. My 90 year old aunt recalls a Campfire Girls program that put her under canvas for multiple weeks through the summer in a program chock full of Indian lore and lots of hikes in the Catskills. Somewhere between then a now, Americans got it into their heads that girls just don't need that sort of thing. Some folks think BSA is uniquely positioned to set things aright.

I'll let folks who've experienced this first-hand share links to details. In general ... First of all, there's paperwork (http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34427.pdf). Councils take interest in successful events design for participants from outside the units' community. They "offer" to supply a professional for your event. (Sometime this is actually quite good. Other times, meh.) They professional will strongly suggest a portion of the proceeds to go back to council. Therefore, he/she will expect expect you to raise the fee sufficiently to meet that earnings target.

Makes sense from a mom who has not tried to give her girl the same opportunities through the GS/USA as her boys had through the BSA. What your argument boils down to is "This is not BSA's problem to solve." And, it's a solid one. Except for that third point of the scout law.

The one the boy won't even try!!!

Although the website by @@perdidochas will probably help you, you may also want to look up a real person in the "contact us" page on http://www.boyscoutsla.org/. They might be able to connect you with several people who have the kind of program you would like to be in. You would join BSA as an adult. And filling out an adult application does result in a background check. For most young people that's no big deal. But the paperwork may slow things down. That's why talking to someone face-to-face will be helpful.

It's good to see this up an running again. So, from last year's Jambowlree. How much of the proceeds went to your scouting program? Any idea how many scouts were supported as a result? I ask for a several reasons: First, you might attract a few more teams if they knew how much of their $8 went to scouting. Second, someone else might want to try this with their favorite sport, and the financials may be a deciding factor. Thirdly, fundraising from scouting activities on this side of the pond draws the attention of our councils, and where we are told the checks should go can get "interesting."

I believe you believe that. However there is no logic in unisex movements per se attracting a more liberal movement. For example, the pro-life movement, NRA, and many other social "conservative" lobbies have benefited from attracting as many women as men. It is entirely possible that, seeing a program that attracts and supports young men and women in practicing duty to God and Country, conservative CO's would be drawn back to the BSA.

What I think worked well for us is that I brought a couple boys (brothers, it turned out) from our troop to the den meeting. After introductions, the dad and I took all the parents to one room and left the scouts to talk to the Webelos. My thinking: no matter how much of a fun guy I am ... those boys are five times more fun to talk to on their bad days. All of those Cubs crossed over to a neighboring troop, but this year we decided to merge. And although the adults are making that difficult, the boys are doing fine. And the older brother who visited that den was just elected SPL. (We're ignoring any concerns about paperwork to be processed or numbers on sleeves.)

The "issue" here, is that some activist women no longer find "home" in an organization that has adopted feminist ideals. (I am referencing feminism here with the utmost respect.) The post-modern popular "ideal" of womanhood for young women with a passion for scouting is much different than the revolutionaries of the last century would have ever predicted. It's more Sacajawea than Sanger.

I knew that I was an Eagle when my project was complete to my satisfaction ... Including a three page workbook of one hand drawing and two typewritten sheets, single-sided triple spaced. Everything that followed was perfunctory.

I up-thumbed so DR's reputation will remain unsullied.

oops. Also posted the same link on the other thread. Sorry for the mess.

Also here http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/23/us/girls-in-california-are-latest-to-seek-to-become-boy-scouts.html

I assist the SM, so my ideas take a back seat. But I try to generate as many opportunities as possible for the boys to be more independent an responsible than they were last month. All this stuff is a "two steps forward, one step back" kind of thing.

Honestly, @@Eagle94-A1, you're doing a fine job. Any knit-picking is for other newbies in the room. Keep in mind that only Life scouts need PoR's. Sometimes it's better to give a bunch of scouts specific projects, and let the offices go to who the boys in the respective patrols decide they want to follow. There's no reason why a boy with Scout rank couldn't be a PL.

I believe so. For reference, below is Mamma's recipe. My siblings just unearthed it ... written in the back cover of the Searchlight Cook Book, labeled "Waffles": The proportions are hers.They differ from other Mediterranean recipies in that there is a lower proportion of sugar -- yielding a product that is more chewy than crunchy. The instructions are mine (from warm memories of working the stove in the basement with Dad while listening to the ball game on the radio). 1 C shortening 2 C sugar 10 eggs 2 t salt 10 t baking powder 5 T vanilla 2 T anise (optional) 10 C flour Combine ingredients in the order listed. Beat dough until smooth. Chill until ready to use. On a stove stop or propane burner. (Confession: I've been too chicken to try this on wood fires.) Heat a well-seasoned iron until water drops vaporize in about 2 seconds. (Don't know if that changes with altitude.) Scoop 1-2 teaspons of dough into a ball. Insert into iron. Squeeze about 10 seconds. Release for another 10 seconds. (The dough should hold the iron sufficiently tight.) Flip iron and heat from the other side. Heat for another 20 seconds. Open iron and drop cookie onto a cooling tray. They are stack-able after about a minute. Adjust the timing to your preferred level of brownness. Or, if you didn't season your iron properly, use a fork to pick out the bits of cookie in all of the grooves! Wipe the iron down with your favorite veggie oil, and sacrifice a few dough balls to lift the grit from the grooves. (Actually, I learned to like those gnarly cookies -- they weren't sequestered to the cookie jars.) I think this gets you about 4-6 dozen. Since there's nobody to listen to a ball game with anymore, I usually just make a half batch, and can knock it out in about an hour.

I neglected to give props to Heritage Reservation's Camp Liberty for it's patrol-cooking program. Each patrol is to send two members to commissary for food pick-up.

Oh, you poor soul. You must have never been to a western PA wedding (or wakes). Get yourself invited to (or crash) a couple of those, gravitate toward the cookie table. There's bound to be at least one Nona, Sitta, or Babcia who will have contributed a few to the medley. Best description: ice-cream cone unrolled.

That's a very good point. If all my friends (while practicing Safe Swim defense) said "come on in, the water's perfect!" I might join them. Here's the deal: youth will find a way. You say "Always two adults." They say "Thanks for the training, me and my buddies are gonna keep the $28 registration fee, buy some provisions, and hike and camp on our own. You say "Unisex". They say "No worries, my buddies (male and female) are going to camp on gampa's back nine that weekend." You say "No purple tents." They say, "No problem. No tents!" You say "Arrowmen: 1st Class Patch. Troop camping nights count only," They say, "Keep your sash, The ladies and I are gonna build this bridge in this camp over here." And frankly, I'm fine with that. I'll teach them the skills, and review their plans if they knock on my door. I don't check membership cards. The boys with the cards can earn bling if they want to and when they've got the skills and the plans, go hiking and camping with their mates -- their real patrol ... not the one defined by their membership restrictions. As far as I can tell. It's not a matter of if the greatest character-building organization this nation has ever known will be co-ed. It's a matter of if BSA will be that organization.

We're scouters. We get paid in smiles. 'nuff said. Like the smiles on the boys who were elected as PLs at last night's CoH.

You never overlapped with @@Kudu I took a paraphrase from his personal judgement: - A patrol leader's primary responsibility is to qualify to take his boys hiking and camping. - A patrol's job is to go hiking and camping as an independent unit led by their PL. A bit paltry, but the main reason I like that two-liner is that it's directive and paints a crisp picture. In addition: I take Webster's definition of patrol and work with that a little. Sometimes, because a lot of my youth are of Judeo-Christian background, I throw in a metaphor like "spy out the land" (hearkening back to the patriarchs Joshua and Caleb). For details, I send folks to the boy's handbook. If everyone in the room has SM's handbooks, you can use those.