WisconsinMomma

Little guy seems to have gotten it right!

Good comments.  The little sisters of almost all the boys I know in Cubs are in Girl Scouts already, and it puts the girl scout leaders in a difficult position to consider jumping ship.

We will definitely need direction from our CO, they support the BSA and the GSUSA,and they may have specific thoughts on yes or no to girls, and that will make things clearer.

Has anyone run this by their CO or COR already and what was that like? 

Hey Scouters,

I just want your practical advice, please, as there are many other threads to discuss the politics of adding girls to Packs.

My Pack will need to plan -- how will we handle the 18-19 school year?  This will come up at committee first, we have not touched it yet.   Will we actively recruit girls or wait for girls and their famiiles to show up and request Scouting?

Are there training materials on this?  I might be behind.  

Thanks!

@5thGenTexan -- great job!  Thank your for working with the boys.  

1 hour ago, NJCubScouter said:

Well, we usually seem to agree on most things, but not this time.  (But I'm not going to down-vote your post like you did to mine.    )

Sorry, I used the down to show disagreement, and wasn't sure if I'd make my own post about skorts or not.  

I will throw 2 cents in and say -- I think the skorts and socks are fabulous.  Now, they may not be practical for camp wear, but they are modest, appropriate and good-looking for meeting wear, they give girls an opportunity NOT to look like the boys, and they make a great look for photographs.  Yes, photographs, and we live in a Facebook - Instagram digital camera world where there will be many photos of girls in Cubs.  

Personally I was hoping for dusty purple shirts for the girls (LOL), but keeping the navy uniform and adding a skort is great, IMO.   There's no harm, and sharp uniforms attract many children to Scouting.  

Thank you for sharing the CBS Sunday morning info, I will watch it.  

On 2/2/2018 at 3:03 PM, Col. Flagg said:

My council/district also focuses on the high-revenue events for cubs and families.

I'm curious because I haven't much experience with council -- what does a high revenue event look like?   Our events seem mostly reasonably priced.

18 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

Will the new training still have the "Too Sexy or Not" uniform quiz? And what is this "Skorting" trend I am supposed to be on guard for--skirt snorts? I am so confused. Do I need to get additional PYT-YPT training now? HELP!

Sorry, uniforming is above your pay grade.  Don't stress over skorts.  The scout shops will have what is proper, and your unit can push the official uniform as their standard. 

Our Pack has not even discussed girls yet. We have other stuff to work on, specifically Blue and Gold and Pinewood Derby.  After that we will likely talk about girls for the next school year's planning. 

1 hour ago, oldisnewagain1 said:

With apologies to Will Rogers...

BSA has the best knot money can buy.

For  $25,000 you can get a Lapel Pin!  Cha-ching!

The Second Century Society
https://www.bsafoundation.org/donor-information/secondcentury/

And for $100,000+  to $1 million gifts, there are other goodies -- Rockwell prints, crystal, etc.  

And probably a lifetime of letters and emails asking for more donations.   

Well, I'm a person who might buy a knot someday, just because I feel like it, and whatever you choose to think of me, I'm not that concerned.  You should focus on your own achievements.  I didn't go for the den leader knot,  won't have enough time in service as Cubmaster to go for the unit leader award,  I might not get to enough roundtables for the Scouter Training award and our unit doesn't do JTE.   So I'm not really going to get any knots, and that's OK.  I don't mind a simple uniform, and I wear a  4 year service star (when I remember to put it back on after laundry).  But if I wanted to donate money and get a knot -- what's the big deal?   Financial donations help Scouting just as volunteer hours do.   And it's obviously what it is -- it's not like buying an Eagle knot, it's a knot specifically identifiable as recognition for financial support.  People who like knots would look at my uniform and realize that I, or someone in my life, made a large donation to support Scouting.  So what?  

I think this is cool, and perhaps not that different from what Philmont was already doing.  As I understand it,  if a leader was going for training programs, they have programs in place for family members of leaders including girls.  

9 hours ago, Back Pack said:

What you describe is a charity fundraiser. What describes is a charitable gift. Those are two distinctly different things. Giving to pbs and getting a towel is not the same as just sending them $100 without getting anything. 

It's not all that different.   You donate $100 to PBS  and get a $3 towel,   or you donate $100 to PBS.    The towel is an incentive, and it works.

10 hours ago, David CO said:

I would prefer that we not encourage displaying economic class distinctions in BSA, especially on the uniform.

That is what the true concern is.  Is wearing the knot a display of wealth, or a display of support for the council,  a display of an honor given, or all or any of the above?  
Is it like wearing a Rolex or carrying a designer purse? (though those cost a lot more)   How people will view it depends on their own attitudes.  

ETA:  Here's the thing,  the BSA doesn't just run on volunteer support,  they need financial support too.   

9 hours ago, Back Pack said:

I don’t like bling I don’t earn. Why would someone wear bling they pay for? That’s like participation trophies. What fun. 

But if you work to save up $1,000+ and donate it to your council,  isn't your labor the earning part?  I agree that it's an example of thrifty and generosity that fits into Scouting.

If I wanted to donate $5k and put a knot on each of my family members,  I could, and, I really love our council camps and would not mind supporting the council in that way.   It is a different kind of knot and perhaps the oddest knot, but I don't think it's wrong or bad.  Wearing a weird knot might be fun and only the nerdy Scouters would look it up -- you know who you are!  LOL. 

And I don't think many Scouters are actually participating in financially supporting their Councils with large donations.  I don't think it's like a participation trophy. 

8 hours ago, Col. Flagg said:

I agree. To me charitable giving of any kind should come without (tangible) recognition. Maybe that's just me.

Oh baloney.  We are going to our library's wine tasting party next month and sponsoring a table.  (It's not very expensive to do so.)   A local liquor store and their vendors donate all the wine and spirits, and local restaurants donate all the food, and it's a wonderful event, and the names of the donors are on the tables.  It's a great way to do fundraising.  Some charitable giving is quiet, other giving is not quiet.  Neither is wrong.

I've looked at this, isn't it interesting?   I don' t have any knots, but I could Buy-A-Knot with a $1,000+ donation to our Council.  It is a little weird, but I don't see it as bad.  Donors should be thanked, and everybody likes bling.  

5 hours ago, Hawkwin said:

Understood, but you didn't put that section under scouts, you put it under families. Might want to clarify who and what you mean.

I think I should edit out my two personal peeves -- the food and adults talking.   It's cleaner and less about my preferences.  The den leaders can manage these things.

I view snack time as a tool to keep the kids busy and chewing so they can listen to some boring content from the handbook.   Sometimes you have to give a  short talk, and it's easier for them to listen when they are stuffing their faces.   We did  not always do snack, but when we did snacks, I tried to use the time strategically. 

I am more concerned with the kid bringing in an apple or fast food and finishing dinner at the beginning of the meetings.   

Ah!  No above the knee skirts!    I think the dress code where I worked once was 2" above the knee max.   This one is a little short. 

convicted or conflicted?   LOL. This one and the bringing in food were my two biggest pet peeves as a DL.  Kid coming in with a slurpee and seriously, slurping during a presentation -- doh!   For talking parents should be social but they have to keep their voices down or go in the hall so the kids can hear the meeting without distraction.  

19 hours ago, David CO said:

Everything council is bad. They're the bad guys.

Our council runs two great camps, and they offer great programming for kiddos.   So it's not all bad.  I appreciate those camps and we have made a lot of memories there!

On 1/30/2018 at 2:15 PM, Tampa Turtle said:

I'm impressed if any of the moms still KNOW how to sew on any patches...most of ours farm them out to a local shop. I do mine...you can tell because they are crooked and fall off sometimes.

I'd love to see some scans of the those patterns!

I know how to sew on patches!!!   Lookee here....  

Son #1 (first patch Mammal Study)  and Son #2 (first patch Nuclear Science, really!)
Now I need to teach the boys how, but when I was an early teen I did stuff like counted cross stitch.  I'm not sure how to teach them to sew.  Maybe that's s Dad job.   Side note, I am learning to knit...

Yes, I'm showing off my kids's sashes!  I'm a proud Scout momma.

I'm just going to commiserate and share what I think is some ridiculousness in our own Troop.

Troop library needs updating.   I suggest that the Librarian be given some money (modest amount) to go buy books.   

What they do -- they send three uniformed adults to the Librarian's house to go through the library with the librarian.   

My husband was one of the ones to go and I grilled him a little before giving up -- why does it take three adults to do this? Why couldn't the kid just do it himself with a little instruction and review?

Duh.   So sorry about the tents.