From National: Official Name

[AVTech]

My next move is easy.  When we create our linked Troop, I will step down as SM of the boy Troop and become the SM of the new girl Troop. My wife (my kids' stepmother) just finished all the SM required training, and will be our first trained female ASM. I will provide the same leadership and opportunities for my 13-yo daughter and her peers that I have for my 16-yo son and his. I am not sure why everyone has their underthings in a twist about this. The mission statement of the BSA has always said YOUTH, without mentioning gender. Our flavor of Scouting should be available to any kid who wants to sign up. I have no intention of providing anything less than the same program to the girls that we have always provided to the boys. My daughter is frustrated with GSUSA, because unless the leaders want to do outdoor stuff, it doesn't happen. The GSUSA program may work for some, but its open-ended structure doesn't work for everyone. Its exclusivity is self-limiting, and their insistence that only women should be role models for the girls is short sighted. I get it that the powers that be haven't been as organized or open about these changes as they could have been or should have been. But to turn your back on the program because of a chromosome change is hardly Scoutlike. Just my opinion, of course...

[allangr1024]

9 minutes ago, AVTech said:

The mission statement of the BSA has always said YOUTH, without mentioning gender. 

Sorry, AVTech. I have to correct you.  The copy of the Scoutmasters Handbook I got when I became a Scoutmaster in 2007 (copyright 1999)  had this quote in the section called "The Aims of Scouting" on page 7, "A goal of the Boy Scouts of America is to help boys develop into honorable men.  Scouting's values can be incorporated into a boy's home, school, and religious community, adding to all three and, in some cases, filling in where family, school, or religious support is lacking."  

They started replacing the gender term "boy"  with the work "youth" when they started contemplating the change.  In 2012 I started hearing rumors that there would be a merger between the BSA and the GSUSA, with some type of name change like "Scouts USA".  Of course everyone poo poo'd the idea, saying "it will never happen."  I guess the merger did not survive the meeting of the minds between the two organizations.  But here we are now.  

[AVTech]

I was specific about the Mission Statement:

 

"The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law."

[Eagle94-A1]

14 hours ago, FireStone said:

Isn't the BSA's core product a youth leadership and character-development program with an outdoor focus? Is that changing? 

 

Yes it is. Career Interest Exploring and STEM Scouts come to mind.

[FireStone]

Just now, Eagle94-A1 said:

Yes it is. Career Interest Exploring and STEM Scouts come to mind.

All optional areas of the program, no? Are any parts of the character-development and leadership aspects of the program being removed? 

[qwazse]

20 minutes ago, AVTech said:

I was specific about the Mission Statement:

 

"The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law."

Mission statements in general are pretty novel contrivances of corporate culture. I remember taking on roles in church leadership and a Wharton grad said we needed one, (because, really, the Good Book wasn't quite cutting it).   My brother was working on management theory about the same time, and he pitched the same thing to his church, who had even more ancient roots. I suspect this happened in a number of non-profits, and figure BSA was one of the leads in this, given how it actively sought leaders from it's most active corporate donors.

[jamskinner]

12 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

Depends on the boy and the girl involved and the situation.  My guess is that boys and girls will figure out who they want to hang with at various points in time.

Maybe they want to hang around other boys and now they won’t be able to. I know if I was in this situation I would look elsewhere. I guess we will see if others feel the same. The problem will be if that happens you can’t go back and bring those boys back in. 

[NJCubScouter]

3 minutes ago, jamskinner said:

Maybe they want to hang around other boys and now they won’t be able to.

Why won't the boys be able to hang around with other boys?  The girls are in a different den or a different troop, and even if "linked" troops function as a single troop, the girls are effectively in their own patrol(s).  The guys can hang out with the other guys in their den or patrol.

[jamskinner]

4 minutes ago, NJCubScouter said:

Why won't the boys be able to hang around with other boys?  The girls are in a different den or a different troop, and even if "linked" troops function as a single troop, the girls are effectively in their own patrol(s).  The guys can hang out with the other guys in their den or patrol.

Look at my other comments. It is hard not to see the writing on the wall. I believe Boy Scouts will soon be coed. It will start with cub scouts then eventually happen in scouts. National will roll over at the first sign of a lawsuit over gender segregation. Some girl will not be allowed to join because not enough girls are available and she will want to join the boys. 

This is exactly what happened with wrestling at several schools in Utah this year. 

[Eagle94-A1]

2 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

My wife just wonders how long I will continue with the troop......

Same here, especially since there is a demand to go full blown coed from some of the adults in my troop. When having a discussion about needing female Scouters on campouts , the response had been "turn it into a family camp out" if a female Scouter cannot go. Told my boys that I will not go camping  with the "linked troops" without a female Scouter present.

 

 

[Eagle94-A1]

44 minutes ago, FireStone said:

All optional areas of the program, no? Are any parts of the character-development and leadership aspects of the program being removed? 

Yes, outdoors.

[Jameson76]

1 minute ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Same here, especially since there is a demand to go full blown coed from some of the adults in my troop. When having a discussion about needing female Scouters on campouts , the response had been "turn it into a family camp out" if a female Scouter cannot go. Told my boys that I will not go camping  with the "linked troops" without a female Scouter present.

I guess we are on the other end of the desire for coed spectrum.  No plans for anyone currently in our unit to start a linked troop.  If persons (we have to designated them as an Unsubs (unknown subjects)) want to start a Girl Troop, we wish them well.  Family camping would be a no go for me personally.

[FireStone]

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Yes, outdoors.

You'll have to explain that. I've never heard that any outdoors components of the program were being removed. 

[ParkMan]

2 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Same here, especially since there is a demand to go full blown coed from some of the adults in my troop. When having a discussion about needing female Scouters on campouts , the response had been "turn it into a family camp out" if a female Scouter cannot go. Told my boys that I will not go camping  with the "linked troops" without a female Scouter present.

 

 

My challenge would be to give it a year after you go coed.  During that time, embrace the coed dynamic and work to make it great.  Your experience is the best protection against a watered down program.  

If after a year it's too weird, retire gracefully if you want.

[jamskinner]

14 hours ago, ParkMan said:

I do respect your opinions.  For months, I've read thread after thread about how girls don't belong in troops, about how the BSA lied to us.  I've listened for months as people has defamed the BSA, denigrated girls, and the GSUSA.  I think I've been beyond respectful of folks who want to vent.

But, for the sake of the movement we all hold so dear, there comes a point where we need to start saying - can we please move on.

The problem I have is you are not respecting others opinions. You don't have to agree with them, but when you say

"Instead of fearing that girls are going to ruining Boy Scouting, work with the girls to create really strong co-ed troops." you are assigning a motive of fear to people and telling people to align themselves to how you feel.  As far a moving on go ahead.  I am certainly unable to stop you from doing that.