This is a Technique

[John-in-KC 311]

I don't endorse it, I just report it. I'm going to cross-post in OA too.

 

Bobby is 9 and in his Bear year.

 

Susie is 7, and is a member of LFL.

 

Susie's attending with the Tiger Den.

 

Gender integration: A unit, a Chartered Partner and a Council have cracked the code.

 

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2012/01/16/hispanic-cub-scout-pack-comes-columbia/

 

http://media.columbiamissourian.com/multimedia/2012/01/15/media/011512_hispanicscouts025A_t_w600_h1200.jpg

[Basementdweller 608]

hmmmmmm, John,

 

 

Lots of us already do this in an unofficial capacity.......We have a sibling den. they pay dues and participate parallel to their brothers.

 

I may call my DE and ask about LFL and registering girls in the Pack. That should be a fun call

[Jeffrey H 25]

Well, I guess we can say she is officially registered with the BSA. She looks quite natural in her scout uniform. I noticed that her shirt is khaki rather than blue.

 

 

[Eagle732 27]

"At a rally she attended in September, the pack learned how to fish, shoot pistols and use a bow and arrow"

Wow, not only is she the first girl Cub Scout, she's also the first Cub Scout to shoot pistols! Maybe there is hope!

[Eagle732 27]

I'm not up on the LFL program but I thought it was a school based program.

Can little Alejandra earn rank or does she have sit and watch as her den mates get their Bear badge?

Maybe she'll be the first girl Eagle Scout, she's already earned her Pistol Shootin' Merit badge!

[Lisabob 13]

hmm, in response to a couple of things:

 

1) She's described as a 4th grade webelos. Webelos can wear the khaki shirts.

2) It wouldn't be the first time on earth that a reporter got some small detail a bit mixed up. Did these cubs actually shoot pistols at a council cub event? Who knows. Could've just as easily been bb guns and the reporter messed it up.

 

So no point in getting all hung up on those things, in my mind. Ironically, I notice that the reader comments on the article get hung up on tangential issues, too.

 

 

[Scoutfish 16]

WEll, while I have never pushed for co-ed scouting, nor have I rallied against it....

 

I think it's pretty cool they are pulling it of without anybody looking at it in any other way than just a normal thing.

 

And the girl ( based on the picture ) isn'y trying to "pinkify" her uniform. She's studying that map just as much as any scout in my pack would , if not more.

 

 

I guess I could even go as far to say that - that pack isn't going to hurt how my p[ack runs or how effective it is in one way or another either so.......More power to pack 121. Looks like they are doing a pretty great job so far.

 

 

Of course, you also have to take in reporter knowledge and accuracy too:

 

"Pack 121 might be unusual in Columbia from a demographic standpoint, but it functions no differently than any other troop."

 

AWESOME! This pack is definantly ahead of the times! Not only are they co-ed, but have PL's, SPL's, and such too?

 

 

 

[Eagle732 27]

I'd like to hear from someone who knows about the Learning for Life program.

I understand it is a separate entity of BSA.

Is someone who signs up for L4L a member of BSA?

Can a 12 y.o. girl become a member of a troop?

The BSA Youth Application say specifically that Cubs and Boy Scouting is open to BOYS.

I guess parents could fill out an application for their daughter, submit it, join a pack and attend meetings if the leaders allow it.

I guess anyone can buy a scout shirt.

[Eagle732 27]

From another article about this pack:

"Boy Scout Troop 121, sponsored by the Newman Center, has expanded to include a Cub Scout pack focused on the Hispanic community. The new group meets at 2 p.m. Sundays after Spanish Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Although it is targeting Hispanic families, its open to any first- through fifth-grade boy, Troop 121 Scoutmaster John Stansfield said. United Way is supporting the program, which means membership is being offered at a reduced cost of $25."

[moosetracker 132]

Well I am much more for this in order it reach the Hispanic population, and their family oriented culture, then I am for BSA Soccer, and "BSA is not about the outdoors and getting kids out in tents", in the comment by CSE Mazzuca, in attempt to change BSA to cater to Hispanic families, and the assumption that they do not want to do the outdoor stuff that American boys do..

 

Yeah, makes me curious about LFL too.. All I know about it is that is where they now have placed the Explorer group, and it allows them to be more open to homosexuals and (I believe) athiests.. So although LFL is just that I always think of the Venture age youth.. I would imagine they do though have programs for younger & older.. But, can signing up fo LFL allow you to work on the cub scout ranks??? Hmmm... I think only if LFL has a way to award them officially.. Because as a cub scout you can not earn boy scout rank. But, then as a Venturer you can earn BS rank, but only in the condition that you are a boy, and have made it to First Class in a BS troop, and if no longer part of a BS troop, then the Venturing unit awards you the ranks, not the BS unit. She though is registered, which I guess would take care of any worries about being insured while out at a BSA event..

[momof2cubs 10]

I still don't understand the obsession with including girls in BOY SCOUTS. (cap for emphasis, not yelling).

 

I can only imagine the reaction of GSA if my son wanted to join one of their troops. I believe in a co-ed world for children, but some things ought to remain by boys and for boys.

[Abel Magwitch 10]

Moosetracker makes some interesting comments:

 

....Yeah, makes me curious about LFL too.. All I know about it is that is where they now have placed the Explorer group, and it allows them to be more open to homosexuals and (I believe) athiests.. So although LFL is just that I always think of the Venture age youth.. I would imagine they do though have programs for younger & older.. But, can signing up fo LFL allow you to work on the cub scout ranks??? Hmmm... I think only if LFL has a way to award them officially.. Because as a cub scout you can not earn boy scout rank. But, then as a Venturer you can earn BS rank, but only in the condition that you are a boy, and have made it to First Class in a BS troop, and if no longer part of a BS troop, then the Venturing unit awards you the ranks, not the BS unit. She though is registered, which I guess would take care of any worries about being insured while out at a BSA event....

 

Here is the Learning for Life mission and position statement:

 

Mission

To develop and deliver engaging, research based academic, character, leadership and career focused programs aligned to state and national standards that guide and enable all students to achieve their full potential.

 

Position Statement

"Learning for Life programs are designed for all age groups from pre-kindergarten through age 20. Youth participation is open to any youth in the prescribed age group for that particular program."

 

"Color, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, disability, economic status or citizenship is not criteria for participation."

 

From the Charter and By Laws of the BSA

 

"Clause 2. Learning for Life is a nontraditional, nonmembership,

educational outreach program that takes place during or after

school hours and is not part of the traditional Scouting program."

 

So it appears that this method of registering girls as LFL and letting them participate as Cub Scouts goes against the policies of the Boy Scout program as the traditional Boy Scouting programs do not allow girls, atheists or homosexuals."

 

But as long as it brings in money, the BSA will probably simply turn a blind eye.(This message has been edited by abel magwitch)

[moosetracker 132]

Thanks Abel, yeah part of the reason for it's design is so BSA can turn a blind eye to their own policies in BSA..

 

But I was surprised they stopped at age 20.. Maybe I am getting them mixed up with a second program also called Learning for Life which is college based, and you can take what you learned in life and apply it to reduce the number of courses you need to take at this college in order to earn a degree.. I know that is for the older generations who have been out in the working world, and are returning to college later in life. They must be two seperate organizations.

[Abel Magwitch 10]

LFL started out as in school scouting from what I recall. Then the BSA decided to morph the program into LFL when local chapters of the United Way stopped funding Scouting because it was considered discriminatory. Some United Way chapters only donate funds to the LFL program instead of the BSA program, yet those funds still go to the local BSA council.

 

Exploring now falls under the LFL division.

 

In some councils, the LFL membership outnumbers all the traditional membership combined, but it certainly brings in the dough.

 

But some school districts are starting to catch on that LFL is run by the BSA and have decided to drop the program.

 

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/florida-school-board-cuts-funding-to-boy-scouts-program-over-anti-gay-stance/

 

 

[Eagle92 110]

Abel pretty much describes LFL to a "T." It started from a program called In School Scouting and became a subsidiary of the BSA b/c it was originally dealing with schools, and using the teachers as leaders. There is an entire K-12 curriculum if memory serves for character development.

 

Exploring split in 1998 with the career oriented posts, usually chartered by companies and government agencies, remaining as Explorer Posts, but now under Learning For Life, with the "traditional scouting" posts and Sea Scout Ships, usually chartered by churches and civic groups, becoming Venturing.