Coed Troops

[Eagledad]

  On 5/8/2024 at 6:42 PM, skeptic said:

Agreed; but that does not have to be lost with Coed or even with changes in views of normal human interactions.  We are only one of the players, and the family should be the number one, with schools and maybe churches  involved as well as families allow.

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Everyone here uses the normalcy of family, schools and churches as a justification to normalize scouting. Scouting was always intended to be different to give ethical and moral growth a chance for males.

Nobody today wants to admit males and females are different and different programs give both genders the chance for the best growth.

A scout is brave is the first trait to go in this culture.

Barry

[HICO_Eagle]

I remember boys hiking the 3+ miles from the Boy Scout summer camp to the nearby Girl Scout summer camp in the evenings in the late 1970s.  As was said earlier, "where there's a will, there's a way" -- but we don't have to make it easier for them.

I personally felt there was a place for -- nay, a need for -- single-sex instruction in some things.  The vast majority of teenage boys I knew -- from the time when I was a teenager myself until present -- don't focus well when there's a teenage girl nearby.  Or rather, they focus well but not necessarily on what I need them to focus on.  Having said that, I resigned myself to having lost that battle (and several others) years ago which is why I am now retired from Scouting.

Edited May 8, 2024 by HICO_Eagle

[PACAN]

So will there only be one handbook for coed troops?

[Eagle94-A1]

 

  On 5/8/2024 at 5:43 PM, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

My troop had zero couples in my entire time. All coed all the time including tenting together.

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Times do change. Didn't WOSM mandate that condoms be available at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree? Yes, they did.

 

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

As long as it's consensual, I don't care.

My point was more that scouting isn't automatically going to turn into a meat market just because you have girls and boys scouting together. I see a lot of FUD about this and since it's so far all scared speculation as opposed to lived experience I figure sharing would be helpful.

[Armymutt]

  On 5/8/2024 at 5:43 PM, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

My troop had zero couples in my entire time. All coed all the time including tenting together.

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You had 1 male and 1 female in a tent together and never had any contact of a sexual nature occur?  

Edited May 8, 2024 by Armymutt

[Eagle94-A1]

  On 5/8/2024 at 8:37 PM, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

As long as it's consensual, I don't care.

My point was more that scouting isn't automatically going to turn into a meat market just because you have girls and boys scouting together. I see a lot of FUD about this and since it's so far all scared speculation as opposed to lived experience I figure sharing would be helpful.

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With respect, I was in a coed Sea Scout Ship, adviser in several coed Explorer Posts/Venturing Crews, and also did several international Scouting activities, including a WSJ.  I saw a lot of couples, and I have seen a lot of problems.

[Eagle94-A1]

  On 5/8/2024 at 8:41 PM, Armymutt said:

You had 1 male and 1 female in a tent together and never had any contact of a sexual nature occur?  

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At one European camp I was at, the couple were not responding to anyone, and folks pulled the tent pegs out to have the tent collapse to get their attention.

[mrjohns2]

  On 5/8/2024 at 6:58 PM, Eagledad said:

Nobody today wants to admit males and females are different and different programs give both genders the chance for the best growth.

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Well, I’m not sure about programs, but I am pretty sure my daughter (and other Scouts) in our troop wouldn’t have stepped up and spoken up with boys in their troop. 

[RememberSchiff]

  On 5/8/2024 at 8:37 PM, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

As long as it's consensual, I don't care.

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"Sexual activity is prohibited in Scouting."

https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Understanding-and-Preventing-Youth-on-Youth-Abuse-Training-for-Camp-Directors-facilitators-Guide-2024.pdf

https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Understanding-and-Preventing-Youth-on-Youth-Abuse-Training-for-Camp-Staff-and-NYLT-Facilitators-Guide-2024.pdf

Edited May 8, 2024 by RememberSchiff
add quotes.

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

  On 5/8/2024 at 8:43 PM, Eagle94-A1 said:

With respect, I was in a coed Sea Scout Ship, adviser in several coed Explorer Posts/Venturing Crews, and also did several international Scouting activities, including a WSJ.  I saw a lot of couples, and I have seen a lot of problems.

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Not saying nobody ever got together withing scouting, or that relationship drama can't cause problems, but again, scouting doesn't automatically turn into a meat market just because girls and boys are doing the same things. That's all I'm saying. 

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

  On 5/8/2024 at 8:41 PM, Armymutt said:

You had 1 male and 1 female in a tent together and never had any contact of a sexual nature occur?  

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We slept in big circular canvas tents. If you're looking to prevent sexual activity at scouting events, it's perfect. Only the most daring exhibitionists are going to have sex with an audience of people you personally know and will eat breakfast with the next morning. For the same reason it's hard to get away with CSA when the entire patrol is present at night.

[Armymutt]

  On 5/8/2024 at 9:23 PM, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

We slept in big circular canvas tents. If you're looking to prevent sexual activity at scouting events, it's perfect. Only the most daring exhibitionists are going to have sex with an audience of people you personally know and will eat breakfast with the next morning. For the same reason it's hard to get away with CSA when the entire patrol is present at night.

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So you never did any backpacking?  I don't know of any BSA troops that use giant tents.  Maybe things are different today, but we had 2-man tents.

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

  On 5/8/2024 at 9:25 PM, Armymutt said:

So you never did any backpacking?  I don't know of any BSA troops that use giant tents.  Maybe things are different today, but we had 2-man tents.

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Of course we did backpacking. And our leaders made us divide up that whole heavy monstrosity to carry with us.

At the time I thought it was ridiculous, but now as a leader I think it was in part for budget reasons (the reason given) but also in part to prevent miscellaneous interpersonal problems by keeping the whole patrol together.

[qwazse]

  On 5/8/2024 at 8:17 PM, Eagle94-A1 said:

Times do change. Didn't WOSM mandate that condoms be available at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree? Yes, they did.

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It wasn’t a mandate. It’s been a matter of course for decades. And, it would even be in place if international youth events were all-male. Public health officials’ deployed this strategy to forestall death. Prior to the 90s, the occasional newborn was always possible but didn’t mandate preventative measures.