When Do Girl Topics Move to Open Discussion?

[TLUSA]

4 minutes ago, Cburkhardt said:

The express marketing activity of the newer organization is to tear away at our organization with searing press releases, web site postings, media appearances and similar advertising.  This naturally causes BSA folks to avoid interactions with them.  Our organization has not responded in kind.  I have no quibble with organizations embracing the dogma of specific religious faiths and limiting membership and activities in accord with the selected  religious principals.  I have only best wishes to organizations that do so.

I understand where you're coming from. There have been times where I wish my organization would stop obsessing over the competition and just focus on themselves for once. 

[Cburkhardt]

Youth in our country deserve thoughtful and positive leaders as role models.  The culture grows coarse when we rip at each other.  Every girl we have attracted to our all-girl scouts BSA Troop would not likely have joined other organizations for a variety of reasons.  Our 25 girls are learning about our wonderful country, it’s citizens and yes, it’s multitude of religious organizations.  All should seek to serve young people and avoid the urge to conflict.  Our organization chooses to accent the positive and recruit unserved families. I urge the same approach on the part of other organizations.

[allangr1024]

On 4/5/2019 at 9:49 PM, TLUSA said:

I understand where you're coming from. There have been times where I wish my organization would stop obsessing over the competition and just focus on themselves for once. 

TLUSA,

It is good to hear from you.  In my area there are only 3 real TL troops, and they have been set up as either extensions of or replacements for the church youth ministry.  The adults involved that I have met were part of a Cub Scout pack or were new BSA dads when the cut occurred, and don't seem to be as familiar with the BSA program as I would have thought.  The area point man is a quiet guy who is the head of a troop at his local church, but is not that familiar youth leadership principles or the Patrol Method.  I would expect there to be more TL troops in our area, as we in Eastern Oklahoma have a strong tradition in Scouting, and a lot of BSA volunteers are shaking their heads and saying, "What is going on?"

To be fair, when TL started, a TL troop leader started going around to BSA troops in our city trying to recruit adults and their sons into the TL organization.  They would go into BSA troop meetings and spread a bit of decent ion among the ranks.  The district Pro's found out about it and started a pro active campaign to fight this by having the unit commissioners visit each troop and warn them about the TL "Plot" to tear the the BSA troops apart.  TL got the rap for it, and I don't think the bad blood will vanish soon, though most current volunteers do not know the history or the accusations hearled by each side against the other.  

I for one am a strong believer in the Patrol Method as defined by "Green Bar Bill" Hilcourt in his Scoutmaster handbook of the 1930's.  In this he shows how giving decision making authority to patrol leaders, who are elected by their patrols, brings about growing character in the scouts, as well as a sense of ownership by the scouts.  I am not sure how this has come over to your organization, as the example I saw divides the scouts by age along the age of 14, with patrol leaders either appointed by adults from the older age group, or perhaps younger trailmen being able to select patrol leaders from the older group.  I admit I have not read the TL handbook, and may be seeing untrained adults trying to figure it out.  It seems that there is more "Troop Method" adult led stuff going on.  You will have to set me straight.

Thanks.

[TLUSA]

1 hour ago, allangr1024 said:

I would expect there to be more TL troops in our area, as we in Eastern Oklahoma have a strong tradition in Scouting, and a lot of BSA volunteers are shaking their heads and saying, "What is going on?"

TLUSA is still a growing organization and new troops are popping up every week. This is the latest map of troops in Oklahoma. The red markers are pre-chartered troops and the gray markers are the pointmen. 

1 hour ago, allangr1024 said:

To be fair, when TL started, a TL troop leader started going around to BSA troops in our city trying to recruit adults and their sons into the TL organization.  They would go into BSA troop meetings and spread a bit of decent ion among the ranks. 

That is unfortunate. Adult leaders with TLUSA shouldn't be recruiting like that. I'm pretty sure recruiting tactics like that are highly discouraged by the home office.

1 hour ago, allangr1024 said:

I admit I have not read the TL handbook, and may be seeing untrained adults trying to figure it out.  It seems that there is more "Troop Method" adult led stuff going on.  You will have to set me straight.

The adults shouldn't be untrained. They receive guidance and resources from the area pointmen and the home office.

http://jointhetrail.traillifeusa.com/resources/24688.pdf

https://www.traillifeusa.com/wp-content/uploads/TroopLevelPositions.pdf