hieudo

I can't take credit for this It's been going on for 85 years... hehehe, but it works for our organization On the program side, our hierarchy has a few more levels than a traditional pack, troop, crew. Since we are a Multi-Unit (If I made this up, the copyright 2016, hehehehe) made up of several units for bsa and gsusa, there is a Muilti-Unit leader / asst Multi-unit Leader that oversees the entire program from elementary school age through college and beyond (we actively keep up w/ our alums through social events to make the transition back easy and the bonds strong). This leader works w

Apologies if I don't articulate my point as well... I'm merely saying we pine over the perfect environment (almost a vacuum) for our boys to flourish and worry about influences that may throw their development in jeopardy, when their own resilience and adaptive skills are a lot stronger than we think they are. I may be incorrect, but that's what I read when you say "The Patrol in the Patrol Method is actually a somewhat fragile structure that can be disrupted by the smallest of interruptions". Being a product of our system and serving as a leader for 20+ years, I just feel (no studies involv

@ Ankylus - I have faith in the venturing program, but at 14+ years old, the optimum time to learn is over; just as in language or faith. And at this point... they are merely guest in the boy's house. Not real members. @ Eagledad - While I agree that child development is different between boys and girls, I don't think that boys are so delicate that in a situation w/ sisters and mothers that they cannot thrive. If that's the case we should consider keeping them separate for families, school and playground as well... Adversities breed strength and character right? We manage our develop

The ideals of the scouting movement are broad and non-gender specific. How you measure the success of a good program is not solely the # of eagles, outings, high-adventure, activities, how rough the boys are or outdoor skills, head count... It's the lasting impression of our bond w/ one another, w/ god, with our community and our country. It's pushing our kids to the limit of what ever engages them mentally, physically, spiritually, etc.... It's thinking beyond ourselves... How you get to these goals vary vastly from unit to unit... So while BSA lays out a basic framework; there are MANY pa

As someone said in a previous post, the international community has be coed for ages. So when Vietnamese scouting came to the US, it's always ingrained in our forefathers to be together. Unit finances are tracked separately just as a traditional units are, but we have help each other on fundraising efforts to go to summer camp, etc... If you think of it as a large eco-system, even when one unit supports another, its an investment in ourselves to have a consistently high program for our kids for their entire scouting journey. Maybe our FB can shed some light https://www.facebook.com/LDHDL

Council and district events only make up 20-30% of our outings (we have to pick and choose because we have so many)... those are the ones we participate as a traditional pack / troop / patrol. But events such as the pinewood derby, rocket launches, fishing trips, camping trips, etc... are done together. Since its one giant group, we pool from all of our units resources, leaders and skill sets, it's not uncommon for our older kids (boys or girls depend who's free) to work w/ your younger kids on a regular basis. We all meet at the same place / time every weekend. Another benefit is the path

My scout troop out of Houston, TX has been co-ed for 30+ years. You guys are over thinking this... We register w/ BSA and GSUSA, and our range is from Daises to Seniors and Tigers to Venture. Our troops, patrols and dens are not mixed, but we do everything together. Just as in school or family, it's natural for the whole family to be together (Mom's, dad's brothers and sisters). There no weirdness or hinderenced of our programs, we take the best of each program and progress. There are times when we do separate unit level activities, but by and large we are cohesive and it works.