Alrighty Then, Now That We Have That Settled....

[blw2]

I have such mixed feelings, but I'd guess 5 years sounds about right Stosh!

 

On one hand I see the need for the separation..... an opportunity for the boys to be boys.

 

But I suspect that girls might bring in a "special interest" to make scouting a bit more interesting for the older boys....

 

and as a father of a WEBELOS scout with two younger sisters coming up behind.... I'd like to see a better option for my girls than the GSUSA.  

I've had very little involvement with my Daisy Scout, now Brownie.... as I am not made to feel all that welcome..... at least not nearly so as the moms are in the pack and troop.

 

Overall, I would welcome coed I think.... but I strongly think it needs to be done with separation.... such as girl dens and boy dens, not coed.... and likely the same separation with patrols.

Separate, but come together as one unit.....

[Stosh]

yes so true..... but the elves are already knocking that line of goods off the pedestal!

https://www.keebler.com/en_US/cookies-and-more/fudge-shoppe/coconut-dreams-cookies.html

and 

https://www.keebler.com/en_US/cookies-and-more/fudge-shoppe/grasshopper-cookies.html

OMG! I gotta buy stock in Keebler, they're my new BFF's!

[blw2]

OMG! I gotta buy stock in Keebler, they're my new BFF's!

no kidding!

 

We've done a couple single and double blind taste tests in my house.

my favorite GS cookie is the somoa.

I actually prefer the Keebler Coconut Dream over the somoa

my wife says that somoa is better.....

 

regardless, the elves have done well and these cookies are very good indeed!

[BDPT00]

I may stand alone, but I think there are merits to having separate groups for boys and girls. Having co ed groups changes the dynamics.

You're not alone.  I agree 100% regarding the dynamics.  There needs to be a place (in our society) where boys can be boys, and girls can be girls.

[walk in the woods]

The other problem with co-ed, at least as I've observed it, is all the adults fawning over a girl who outperforms her brother or another boy.  Don't believe me?  Name one pitcher from last years Little League World Series.  You know, the one who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  It's one of the reason I despise Cub family camping.  It would be a disaster in today's US culture to go co-ed scouting at the Elementary/Jr. High level.

[prof]

I think it's an excellent way to put the GSUSA out of business.

Would BSA put them out of business by taking all of their youth or would they put them out of business by merging with them?

[Gone]

Would BSA put them out of business by taking all of their youth or would they put them out of business by merging with them?

I'm sure there are plenty of people who believe Girl Scouts should remain for just girls.

[Eagledad]

I'm sure there are plenty of people who believe Girl Scouts should remain for just girls.

Well the Girl Scouts certainly believe that. Even if the discussion were raise to higher level, the BSA and Girls Scouts have an agreement for NOT merging. Something dramatic would have to happen for that to change.

 

Barry

[Scouter99]

Think of the permutations of "options" that BSA will have to manage with that combined with Monday's decision.

There's the ticket!!!  I shall found a religious sect which holds that only boys and men are good.

Edited July 29, 2015 by Scouter99

[Stosh]

There's the ticket!!!  I shall found a religious sect which holds that only boys and men are good.

 

You obviously haven't been paying attention.  That will never fly in today's society in America.  All men are bad, unnecessary and a nuisance.  Just take all the attention BSA, an organization dedicated to producing men of quality and it's under attack on a number of fronts.  There is no such thing as men of good character anymore.  

[Gone]

You obviously haven't been paying attention.  That will never fly in today's society in America.  All men are bad, unnecessary and a nuisance.  Just take all the attention BSA, an organization dedicated to producing men of quality and it's under attack on a number of fronts.  There is no such thing as men of good character anymore.  

 

Not all men, @@Stosh. They've even narrowed that down too.

[desertrat77]

All men are bad, unnecessary and a nuisance.  Just take all the attention BSA, an organization dedicated to producing men of quality and it's under attack on a number of fronts.  There is no such thing as men of good character anymore.  

If we believe some segments, we men are only good for moving heavy objects and killing spiders.

 

Ironic that of all organizations, the BSA is being attacked.   This crazy world needs scouting values more than ever.

[desertrat77]

Not all men, @@Stosh. They've even narrowed that down too.

True.

[SpEdScouter]

Alot of girls do boy scout stuff "under the table" so to speak meaning they participate in their brothers troop but are not official. One girl won our pinewood derby.

 

And thats a big one, the pinewood derby. Just why dont more girl scout troops do it?

[Rick_in_CA]

Now lets place our bets on how long before the girls get involved in more than just Venturing.... 

 

I'm going to project 5 years.

 

What say ye?

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, the vast majority of the world somehow makes it work. On the other hand I agree with some of the other posters that say boys need a place just to be boys (since there are so few of them now days).

 

There is also our American paranoia and prudishness which is a problem. When it comes to girls, all men are "threats" first until proven otherwise (just look at how the GSUSA treats men - that isn't really driven by ideology, it's driven by fear). Currently, venturing has a low profile and most people have no idea that the BSA has a coed branch (I remember a conversation I overheard at the last Scout-O-Rama, there was a parent that was insisting to the parent next to her that the female venturers (in uniform) were in fact Girl Scouts or perhaps American Heritage Girls as she knew that the Boy Scouts didn't accept girls). But allowing girls in cub and boy scouting will be very high profile.

 

How much do you want to bet if Boy Scouts went coed that YP rules would mandate separate camp sites, not just separate tents? Special restrictions on single men when dealing with female scouts (since while married men are threats, single men are worse threats)? Male and female only zones at scout camps? Male and female only swimming times at the swimming area? And coed patrols will guarantee that patrol camping (without adults) will NEVER be allowed again in the BSA.

 

Yes the rest of the world makes it work, but a lot of them tend to be much less uptight and fear driven then we are. Boys and girls tenting together? Sure. Boys and girls changing in front of each other? No big deal. I have even read articles that claim that German coed scout troops will go skinny dipping together (I have no idea if that claim is true - but since Germany is the land of coed locker rooms, nude sunbathing in city parks, and no clothing allowed coed hot tubs and saunas - I do find it somewhat believable).

 

There are already far too many silly and counterproductive (and as it has been pointed out in multiple threads here - some are actively harmful to youth) rules in the BSA. My big fear is that allowing girls will just give National the excuse to create a whole raft of new ones.