STEM Scouting

[SeattlePioneer 144]

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My opinion:

 

We've lost the real intent Baden-Powell wanted for Scouting:  A game with a purpose.

 

I don't care if the emphasis is historic camping or STEM:  If it can be a game with a purpose, it'll support the youth.  If it's not a game, then it won't capture their desire to participate.>>

 

 

Personally,  I don't think that just any old game will work.

 

Hiking and camping appeal to the adventurous nature of a pretty significant percentage of boys ---and adults.

 

 

 

But BSA rolled out "Soccer and Scouting" a few years ago with the aim of appealing to Hispanics.  That drew in boys to play the games,  but not adult volunteers to run the program.  And not much interest in crossing over from soccer to a regular Scouting program either.

 

 

When the council got tired of paying staff people to run the program,  they dropped it.

 

I had experience with chess in high school.  Out of 2,000 students in our high school,  about a dozen had an interest in chess and about a half dozen interested enough to participate in tournaments and such.  And that was for a chess team that won the city and state chess team championships in 1968.

[CA Scout Mom 9]

I think many boys enjoy science, math and technology and as a country we should be promoting it!  Our youth need to be prepared for the jobs of the future, and the jobs of today, many of which involve, yes...science, math and technology.  I'd like to see more STEM-related merit badges.  One of the most popular non-outdoors outings that our troop makes is to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Open House in Pasadena.  

 

This is NOT to say, however, that Scouts don't enjoy the outdoors because they do!  I just feel that there's room for both the great outdoors and STEM.  And, full disclosure here--my husband owns a technology company and it is not easy to find talented help.  But, Boy Scouts are reliable, trustworthy, creative, etc.--combine all that with the needed technology skills for the workforce and you've got a super-star!  Just saying...

[Stosh 3452]

I'm all in favor of the STEM Scout program as long as it stays separate from the Cub and Boy Scout programs and makes enough money to keep the Councils off our backs at FOS time.

[walk in the woods 888]

In the corporate world there is a constant battle between those wanting to achieve success through focus and specialization on core business (where an organization should have competitive advantages) and those wishing to diversify by branching out into other areas of business to decrease exposure to risk in the core business.]

Defining the core business (mission) is even tougher I suspect and is at the heart of this particular debate.  4-H for example has apparently decided their core competence isn't agriculture but rather youth development.  There's still ag in the science part of the program but there are many different curriculum choices for the kids, including things like robotics.  (FWIW, 6million youth, 612,000 adults, 3500 pros.  BSA has 2.4 million youth, almost 1 million adults and how many pros?)  Anyway, if our core business is youth development through the outdoors then we should focus there, if our core business is youth development by any means necessary then we should probably be looking at expanding programs.  Question is, what business are we in?

[vumbi 44]

In case any 'moderators' are thinking about moving this to Issues and Politics, I refer to this quote from Stosh:

"I&P is a little like the Dead Letter department of the US Post Office.  It's basically the kiss of death for the thread for a lot of people."

Amen to that. Putting a topic thread in Issues and Politics is not only the kiss of death as far as I'm concerned, it renders all previous discussion before the move a waste of time. As an alternative, you could, you know, actually 'moderate'.

 

As for STEM scouting, I am not all that concerned about keeping it separate or mingling it into the current program. I AM, however, skeptical of the ability of BSA to provide a STEM program in any way that doesn't focus on the TE while mostly ignoring S and perhaps M as well. I am not the least bit impressed with what I have seen so far.

Edited September 4, 2015 by ya lazima vumbi