The first girl Eagle Scout

[captainron14]

So, back to the original thread.

 

Lacking any hard evidence other than the old "my friend heard this from someone who heard...." this whole subject is nothing but a urban ledgend. A tired one at that.

 

Who ever is behind this should have waited a bit longer, say about March 31? It would have gone over easier then!

 

The only thing that was proven here is that a lot of people will "jump" at the littlest thing!

 

BTW, Mr. Bob, did you meet Elvis at NOAC too?

I was "told" that he was part of a Dance team with Bruce Lee and DB Cooper.;o)

[BrentAllen]

RE: Girl Scouts lack of outdoor program.

 

The Girl Scouts have a canoe base in the Boundary Waters (Northern Lakes Girl Scout Canoe Base), just down from Charles L. Sommers on Moose Lake. We ran into a Girl Scout Crew coming out of one of the portages. Check it out. http://www.studio2b.org/escape/destinations/event_details.asp?eventid=302

 

Note: They do include a trip to the mall. :-)

[Apache Bob]

captainron14 - my friend was talking to a Venturing national person at another event at NOAC. The subject was dropped as the other event started. That ended the conversation. My friend is not in Venturing.

It was not that the Girl Scouts were going to merge with us but that we were going to change the advancement for the Venturing Girls.

You are correct. We will see in 2010 if it takes place.

 

[SR540Beaver]

BrentAllen - Note: They do include a trip to the mall. :-)

 

It's all good. Everytime our troop does a Northern Tier trip, they always include a stop at Cabelas.

 

[clc5105]

Last night after a meeting I mentioned this thread to the Crew President(a female)and my daughter who is the V.P of Programs for the crew I'm the Advisor for.

I cautioned them that this was a rumor, and only a rumor, with no facts to back it up, and that it would probably never happen. However, after they heard the rumor about a female venturer possibly attaining the rank of Eagle Scout both said "That would be so cool. I wish it would happen. How cool would it be to be a girl Eagle Scout."

So what I'm trying to say is that if it ever did happen I do believe that there would be a surge of girls joining Venturing. The President of the crew and my daughter both quit GSUSA because they were no longer interested in the GSUSA program and Venturing was more appealing.

[qwazse]

I think my crew has a different take. The majority of young women are from two very good GS troops. (One of their leaders is my co-advisor.) For them, our crew provides the balance of activities that they want (shooting, climbing, backpacking, more campouts than the average girl is asking for ...). They definitely devote a good portion of their time to "girls only" activities.

 

The next younger group (my daughter being one of them) tended not to be GS (for long). They are up for more high adventure experiences, and really want to set themselves apart from the stereotypical "mall girl." One or two of them may be interested in awards and recognition, but for most that's a secondary goal.

 

So, my perception is that although female venturers might be more knowlegeable about and primed for advancement to Eagle, it wouldn't be a significant draw to the venturing program. (Perhaps that's why Venturing calls their awards "recognition" and not "advancement".)

 

The young men are mostly multiples of one troop, and to a man are focused on advancement within the troop. Most of them have been doing that since 11, and are going to maintain that momentum. I do encourage them to choose service projects that can involve both troop and crew members, and only a portion take me up on it. This makes me think that there is some benefit to allowing some space for "boys only" instruction.

 

My only frustration is that "separate but equal" is impossible. So from age 11-13 the boys (and their dads) are gaining the outdoor skills and equipment for high adventure, while the girls (and their moms) are gaining some valuable organizational and management skills.

[boomerscout]

does anyone know if the Campfire Girls (aka Campfire, as it's now co-ed) has more of an outdoors program than has the Girl Scouts?

[emb021]

"does anyone know if the Campfire Girls (aka Campfire, as it's now co-ed) has more of an outdoors program than has the Girl Scouts?"

 

the organization is now called "Campfire USA". Its been co-ed since 1975, and for awhile was "Campfire Boys & Girls".

 

I do know that they still do camping and the like, but can't tell you how much camping is a part of their program, or just an option that the local unit may or may not do.

 

 

[SR540Beaver]

The mention of Campfire USA got me interested in seeing what they offered here in Oklahoma. I found this upcoming annual weekend event for adults in the Tulsa area council. It is called BOW - Becoming and Outdoors Woman. Over the weekend, they have four 3.5 hour sessions where the participant choses subjects they want to learn more about. Things ranging from kayaking, canoeing, firearms, turkey hunting, tracking and dutch oven cooking to fiber spinning and pine needle weaving. The variety of subjects is astounding.

 

http://www.tulsacampfire.org/Tulsa_Camp_Fire/BOW_files/BOW%20Brochure%202009.indd.pdf

[SR540Beaver]

A little further investigation tells me that BOW is a program from the University of Wisconsin and they have events all across America and Canada. I have never heard of them. I believe you have to be 18 to attend, but this is something that might appeal to older Venturing Crew girls. I wonder why BSA doesn't support this as a partner.

 

http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/bow/index.aspx

 

Note: From looking at the links to programs in other states, it appears that it is offered thru many state's departments of wildlife or natural resources. Oklahoma is the only one I found where it is offered thru a Campfire USA council.(This message has been edited by sr540beaver)

[click23]

This might all go back to what wahooker mentioned, last month the BSA signed a memorandum of mutual support with the American Heritage Girls, http://www.ahgonline.org/uploads/Press_Release_MOU.pdf

[click23]

I knew I had seen more about this somewhere http://ideas.scouting.org/akira/dtd/6242-2119

 

Its status is "In Progress", which means it is being reviewed by national.

[qwazse]

The last two posts have me wondering two things:

- Is there a discussion group among AHG's somewhere about when they will have the first boy "Stars and Stripes" recipient?

- Why don't we give boy scouts a chance to earn venturing silver award without joining a crew?

My point is that instead of "overselling" Eagle, maybe we need to give due recogniton to these parallel awards. That way, a young woman with Stars and Stripes or a young woman or man with a Silver Award will garner the same respect that our Eagle Scouts have come to earn over time.

[Buffalo Skipper]

The Venturing Silver Award (and Ranger and Quartermaster Awards) is based upon skill sets and concepts which are not a part of the Boy Scout program. It is based upon the framework of the crew and applies to "Methods" which are Venturing, not Boy Scout. Many of the "Ethical Controversies" presented in the Silver Award are exclusive of the Boy Scout and troop environment, and in fact are intended to be for more mature individuals than would apply to most Boy Scouts.

[boomerscout]

A lot of current teaching theory (I can't spell pedagogical