School SafeRides program continues without gods

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

 

It only took them a few months to do the obvious:

http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/lewisboro/22091.shtml

 

The Boy Scout program, which has been financed by the

Katonah-Lewisboro School District for the past 23 years, was put on

hiatus at the end of last school year, after a parent complained that

members, who are John Jay High School students, were required to sign

a nondenominational "declaration of religious principles"

acknowledging the existence of God. But according to interim

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle, the school district has

reached an agreement with the Boy Scouts of America to run the program

without the religious declaration.

 

"We're pretty happy that we were able to work together," said Marc

Andreo, executive of the Westchester-Putnam Council of the Boy Scouts.

"After the questions came up during the spring, we went ahead and gave

them the opportunity to transfer their charter to the Explorer program

... it really was a natural fit."

 

Previously, the program had been run through the Venturers, a

co-educational branch of the Boy Scouts. In order to be covered under

the Venturer insurance policy, SafeRides volunteers needed to be

members of the Venturers, and the Boy Scouts required that all

members sign the declaration.

...

 

More at the link, which is mostly background info that has already been discussed.

[evmori]

Glad to see the Scouts are still involved in the program.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

And I'm glad to see gods aren't.

[OldGreyEagle]

Well then, its a Win Win Win situation

[evmori]

Yes it is! And no one is compromising their values!

 

 

[packsaddle]

Ed, I'm not sure about that. If this has been discussed previously in the threads, let me know but I'm wondering what the difference is if both programs are BSA?

It seems to me that if BSA thinks that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God. is a value for Venturing, then why is it not also a value for Exploring? Is it true for one but not the other? I don't think so.

 

I could understand the difference if this is merely an arbitrary requirement with little meaning beyond the need to exclude someone. But if it represents a real 'value' then in my mind it goes beyond something that can be set aside for the sake of mere convenience, just because it feels better that way.

 

[evmori]

The program was probably rolled into LFL.

[packsaddle]

So what if it was rolled into LFL. That's still a BSA program, right? If the declaration is a BSA 'value' rather than a membership hurdle with no more meaning than meeting an age requirement, then the 'value' represented by the declaration should be absolute.

If this article is correct, BSA caved on this one. They compromised this 'value' by making this kind of move. Maybe BSA doesn't expect LFL people to be able to "grow into the best kind of citizen".Or maybe the declaration IS just a membership hurdle that can be disregarded if needed. If so, I wish they'd be consistent with that approach across all the programs.

[skeptic]

LFL has had different membership requirements since its inception, mainly to stay within the schools. The change Explorers to LFL was done specifically to allow government sponsored posts, such as police and fire, to retain their sponsorships. They do not have the same leadership requirements and therefore can slide by the PC flags that were set to destroy them.

 

So, I guess we can say they buckled; or we can say that they have two separate programs run by one umbrella organization.

 

 

[GernBlansten]

If Duty To God is such a cornerstone to the BSA programs, why do they abandon it for LFL? Please don't tell me its to bend to the will of the people. Say it ain't so!

[skeptic]

"It isn't so!" It is so? According to the local executive, LFL is a completely separate program, but is administered through the BSA. United Way generally appears to be willing to include it in their funding when they will not include the traditional program. If you look it up, it has the Irving address, but is not listed directly under the National Council. But they seem to include the membership as part of their stats; so you decide.

 

 

 

 

 

Learning for Life offers seven programs designed to support schools and community-based organizations in their efforts to prepare youth to successfully handle the complexities of contemporary society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem. The seven programs focus on character development and career education. Learning for Life programs help youth develop social and life skills, assist in character and career development, and help youth formulate positive personal values. It prepares youth to make ethical decisions that will help them achieve their full potential.

Learning for Life programs are delivered in two methods:

       Instructional setting that utilize curriculum for grade K-12 as well as a component for Special Needs.

o      Seekers (K-grade 2)

o      Discoverers (grades 3 and 4)

o      Challengers (grades 5-6)

o      Champions (special needs)

o      Builders (7th and 8th Grade)

o      Navigators (High school grades)

 

       Work site based program (Exploring) that give high school aged youth hands on career experiences.

o      Exploring

 

[skeptic]

Sorry about the odd extra formatting. I tried to set off the part from the National related website by putting it in html; but looks as if some of the coding came with it somehow. Hope all can read it.

[le Voyageur]

Speaking as a cynic, the God of BSA is money, all the rest that National touts is just smoke and mirrors and a lot of baloney. Over the years, I've watched a lot of young, idealistic DE's quit the profession when they got a peek behind the curtain.

 

As it stands, LFL is a subsidiary of BSA created for revenue enhancement. As a subsidiary, BSA is free to exclude the DRP to protect the flow of money from their cash cow.

 

So how much is BSA raking in per year. Roughly, the numbers are less than 1.6 million participants in over 20,000 schools and organizations participating in the program.

At a cost of approximately $10 per participant and $250 per classroom it's easy to do the math, and understand why the DRP had to be excluded....

 

[Hunt]

For a perhaps less cynical way of parsing it, perhaps LFL is a way for BSA to provide service to people who otherwise wouldn't get it, even if those people don't ascribe to all of BSA's principles...just as we don't ask the recipients of the food that is gathered in Scouting for Food to sign the DRP.

[packsaddle]

Hunt, I'm not sure I understand your argument but you seem to be saying that the 'customers' for LFL are the persons enrolled in the program, and that they are equivalent to the needy persons who are the 'customers' for Scouting for Food - and that, as customers, neither should be required to pass the DRP test.

 

If I got that wrong I apologize. But if I've correctly interpreted your thoughts, why then do we not apply this approach to the 'customers' of the other BSA programs as well?