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Outside Magazine: Boy Scouts Should Allow Girls


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Yes 1972, The Improved Scouting Program.

Back in the day (here he goes), Boy Scouts was the only game in town where I could be with friends and AWAY from  Mom, DAD, and annoying adults.  There was some adult association but not the dominatio

I am against allowing girls in Boy Scout troops for a variety of reasons, but in a nutshell BOYS LEARN BETTER IN AN ALL MALE ENVIRONMENT JUST AS GIRLS LEARN BETTER IN AN ALL GIRL ENVIRONMENT! (caps fo

But it appears as if the BSA IS following the way the YMCA went.

 

Yep, and the results will be the same.  But getting BSA to realize that may be a futile effort at best.  Until people see the destination they are headed for, they won't change their mind.  Most don't see it in time to make the change.

 

Oh, yes, my tag line.  A day late and a dollar short.  :)

Edited by Stosh
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You are right.  When I was college age through mid 20s, I would have loved a Boy Scout program where I could canoe, hike and build skills.  IMHO, the BSA youth program would have worked great for this age ... especially as those new adults would want to really learn the skills and build the experiences and explore the MB topics. 

Sounds like the BSA made a mistake in never really implementing a Rover program.

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Whatever comes of this, it's blatantly clear BSA's social media outlets are pushing girls in scouting.  Almost every photo used for an article feature mostly girls, or an even mix in them.  That's not by accident. 

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Sounds like the BSA made a mistake in never really implementing a Rover program.

 

There should be something there. Maybe there is and I just don't know about it. I always wished that I didn't take a long break from scouting when I went away to college and in the years afterward. I guess I could have just looked up a local troop near campus, but my priorities in my early years at college weren't exactly in line with the virtues of scouting. :)

 

But what might have gotten me back in the fold is some sort of campus scouting initiative or a program focused on the 18-to-20-something age group. Not sure if it was just my troop or if it's a more widespread problem but I kind of felt like once I turned 18 there wasn't much happening to keep me engaged and active. Might have been cool to get in with a group of similar-age young scouters and do weekend camping trips, on-campus and/or local community service, etc. 

Edited by EmberMike
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Gee, if one wants to do the Rover program for "young adults" they could open the age up to 40 or before one has to get out of the parent's basement whichever came first.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of filling the gap between 18 and when people come back to scouting with their own kids. And it doesn' thave to be a program. I'm actually opposed to adult programs that might take away resources and/or focus from the youth program. Just brainstorming something that mght help keep young guys involved in some way, or at least keep them active in the ideals of scouting even after they're no longer going through the youth component of the program. 

 

Again, maybe this already exists and I just never took advantage of it. Not sure if the BSA already tries to address those years from 18 into the 20s. 

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they can be active by just joining local units and working in leadership positions.  Most of the scouter veterans here seem to have stuck with the program long after their kids moved on.  Conversely, maybe between 18-30 they use that time to, apply the skills learned in scouts to the world outside of scouts for a few years, find the right someone, get their adult lives in order, car, house, career, children, .. so they can rejoin scouting with those kids of theirs.  

Personally, I don't see the need to have any program to keep "the ideals of scouting" active in an adult's life.  If an adult isn't keeping the ideals of scouting at the very heart of all they do in their adult lives, either consciously or subconsciously.... the scout program failed that man as a boy.  People have to grow up sometime.  

 

Edited by Gwaihir
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they can be active by just joining local units and working in leadership positions.  Most of the scouter veterans here seem to have stuck with the program long after their kids moved on.  Conversely, maybe between 18-30 they use that time to, apply the skills learned in scouts to the world outside of scouts for a few years, find the right someone, get their adult lives in order, car, house, career, children, .. so they can rejoin scouting with those kids of theirs.  

 

Personally, I don't see the need to have any program to keep "the ideals of scouting" active in an adult's life.  If an adult isn't keeping the ideals of scouting at the very heart of all they do in their adult lives, either consciously or subconsciously.... the scout program failed that man as a boy.  People have to grow up sometime.  

 

 

I'm not promoting the idea of Rovers, but the most troublesome scouters I have worked with were adults who didn't have a youth scouting experience and were using our unit to get that experience. In our council, probably half the Woodbadge staffers are these adults. If only there were a program that would give them an outlet for getting some of that experience. 

 

Barry

Edited by Eagledad
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There used to be info in the back of the scout handbook about APO, which was kind of pitched as a stay-active-while-in-college option.

 

I know that APO still exists, and still uses the Scout Oath and Law as their basic principles, although its relationship with the BSA may not be what it once was.  One of our Eagle Scouts was a member of APO while in college and told me about some of what they do. 

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