DRAFT: DE&I merit badge requirements

[InquisitiveScouter]

5 hours ago, Navybone said:

Which requirement includes discussing any form of sexual conduct or gender identity other than welcoming them or that generalizations or stereotypes are wrong?  

How can you discuss those topics without the Scout understanding the meaning of the terms?

[qwazse]

@Navybone, I think @InquisitiveScouter was referring to “perceived sexual orientation.”

But, specifically to my issue, many people who could counsel on DE&I in a practical sense (e.g., anyone who owns a business of any size and needs to follow state hiring practices), might not be interested in helping a scout navigate these particular requirements. For example, they might not know anything about WOSM, so already there’s a disconnect. IMHO, any requirement that’s self-referential — that uses language that one would only understand if they were a scout — is a poor one.

Secondly, it is one-sided. It discusses what DE&I initiatives can do in a positive sense, but it makes clear that a scout is not to explore how DE&I initiatives might conflict with someone’s ideals. Many counselors — for any badge — want to help a scout approach the content forthrightly. This is especially true for older scouts who want to understand if a skill has limits. One limit of DE&I is that it costs real money and takes time and energy to implement. Some forms of implementation are a facade, while others can be deeply rewarding without requiring a “commitment to the cause.” I am concerned that many good counselors have never themselves written out any kind of DE&I promise or made any kind of commitment. Being people of action, they did one or two things in their profession or hobby that wound up promoting DE&I and then kept at it. Those are the people who I’d like my scouts to meet.

But this is still a draft, and not what I’d show prospective counselors. So I’m happy to suspend judgment.

[Jameson76]

20 hours ago, ParkMan said:

This seems like a trivial merit badge to earn.  Basically you do:

• talk about some stuff around DEI - can probably be done in 30 minutes
• create and give a presentation - an hour maybe
• attend a local event - an hour or two depending on the event.

In the grand scheme of things, this seems pretty simple.

Sadly you do not even have to attend a local event... or learn about such an event that occurred historically. 

100% Classroom and discussion.  No actual "doing".  Just indoctrination

[CynicalScouter]

5 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

How can you discuss those topics without the Scout understanding the meaning of the terms?

I am trying to see how this might work. Would simply defining the terms work?

"Sexual orientation": a person's identity in relation to the gender or genders to which they are sexually attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, etc.

"Gender identity": Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex at birth or can differ from it.

And leave it at that? Or is even this so much that we are going to see units defer this to parents?

[InquisitiveScouter]

21 minutes ago, CynicalScouter said:

I am trying to see how this might work. Would simply defining the terms work?

"Sexual orientation": a person's identity in relation to the gender or genders to which they are sexually attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, etc.

"Gender identity": Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex at birth or can differ from it.

And leave it at that? Or is even this so much that we are going to see units defer this to parents?

No, that's fine...and, oh, by the way...let's offer this one at Summer Camp, too!  Jimmy is 15, and this is zir (Jimmy's preferred pronoun) second year on staff.  Ze doesn't have the merit badge zirself, but if ze teaches it, we will sign it off for zim.

Can you imagine how the merit badge mills will go with this one??

BSA has a good amount of work to do on this draft before they cut it loose to parents and some religious CO's.

Edited December 19, 2020 by InquisitiveScouter

[Eagle94-A1]

22 minutes ago, CynicalScouter said:

And leave it at that? Or is even this so much that we are going to see units defer this to parents?

That is what BSA has historically done, and several units will continue to do. As others have posted, this is such a landmine, that even public school systems do not officially do this.

 

3 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Can you imagine how the merit badge mills will go with this one??

 

DON'T GO THERE!

[CynicalScouter]

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

That is what BSA has historically done, and several units will continue to do. As others have posted, this is such a landmine, that even public school systems do not officially do this.

I also suspect that the MBCs involved will simply skip those items outright and go with the rest. Although Scenario  2 requires it be discussed

Quote

Your friend John confides in you that some of your peers in school are making insulting comments about his perceived sexual orientation. He tells you that a group of students created an imposter account to impersonate him online. Posing as John and using his contact information, they start posting messages on the site.

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by CynicalScouter

[InquisitiveScouter]

Just now, CynicalScouter said:

I also suspect that the MBCs involved will simply skip those items outright and go with the rest.

Can't!  Must complete the requirements "as written"

 

[ParkMan]

3 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

100% Classroom and discussion.  No actual "doing".  Just indoctrination

I would encourage us to not put this merit badge in terms of politics.  Let's focus on the goals and the content and use it to broaden the horizons of kids in the program.

[CynicalScouter]

10 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

I would encourage us to not put this merit badge in terms of politics.

It was conceived in a very polarizing, political time our nation.

It was announced amid BSA issuing two (arguably) very political statements from BSA that black lives matter (vs. Black Lives Matter the movement/organization).

The mere USE and acknowledgment of these terms ("gender identity"; "equity"; "institutional racism"; "Systemic racism") is to many a political statement that these things exist. There's at least 10-30% of Americans who do not think these things exist at all and, given the lower-case c conservative nature of those who participate in BSA I suspect that number is higher in BSA among leaders and parents.

You want to not put this in terms of politics? That's impossible given how permeated the merit badge is with political terms.

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by CynicalScouter

[ParkMan]

35 minutes ago, CynicalScouter said:

It was conceived in a very polarizing, political time our nation.

It was announced amid BSA issuing two (arguably) very political statements from BSA that black lives matter (vs. Black Lives Matter the movement/organization).

The mere USE and acknowledgment of these terms ("gender identity"; "equity"; "institutional racism"; "Systemic racism") is to many a political statement that these things exist. There's at least 10-30% of Americans who do not think these things exist at all and, given the lower-case c conservative nature of those who participate in BSA I suspect that number is higher in BSA among leaders and parents.

You want to not put this in terms of politics? That's impossible given how permeated the merit badge is with political terms.

 

Yes - because the minute a Scoutmaster announces the merit badge as:

3 hours ago, Jameson76 said:

 Just indoctrination

Then it prejudices the content. 

I am fine discussing that this is a topic that involves some politics, but let's leave our own personal politics out of this.  We do not need a Scoutmaster in that 10-30% who doesn't believe that discrimination exists injecting their own personal beliefs.  Let's make this about listening to others.  Let the Scouts recognize that whether they think discrimination exists of only part of the conversation.  Equally important is whether people perceive that they are being discriminated against.  Let the kids get the maximum benefit from the learning experience without adding in our own personal beliefs on the topic.

[CynicalScouter]

15 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

I am fine discussing that this is a topic that involves some politics, but let's leave our own personal politics out of this. 

That is never going to happen for three reasons:

1) There mere statement of these terms is a political statement. There's no neutral. There is no "personal politics". If you use the term, you've endorsed that it is a debatable point. To many, that's not true (they don't believe gender identity exists or the institutional racism exists).

2) It is going to raise a giant conflict with COs. Imaging being a unit chartered with a Catholic Church. "Sure, we have to be inclusive, but women will never be priests." "Sure, we shouldn't discriminate, but this Catholic-chartered unit will never, ever have an openly gay leader, ever.")

And that's "Easy". Again, the mere MENTION of sexual orientation and/or gender identity runs count to tenets of some CO's.

3) The parents are going to rebel on this. I can absolutely assure you they will. And they won't charge the parapets at national or even at council. They will simply let it be known to the SM or the MBC (or both) that they are no happy and the MBC will be sure to skip that part of the merit badge.

This is designed to fail

[InquisitiveScouter]

24 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

Equally important is whether people perceive that they are being discriminated against.  Let the kids get the maximum benefit from the learning experience without adding in our own personal beliefs on the topic.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201908/perception-is-not-reality

 

Or...if perception is reality, then what do you do with this? https://www.npr.org/2017/10/24/559604836/majority-of-white-americans-think-theyre-discriminated-against

Edited December 19, 2020 by InquisitiveScouter

[CynicalScouter]

This is a list of states that allow for parents to opt in/opt out their children from sex education in public schools.

I suspect there will be a push to have a similar opt-in/opt-out for scouts.

https://siecus.org/resources/opt-in-vs-opt-out-state-sex-ed-parental-consent-policies

•34 states + DC: Opt-Out

•4 states: Opt-In

•2 states: Both Opt-In & Opt-Out

•10 states: No Opt-In or Opt-Out

[InquisitiveScouter]

7 minutes ago, CynicalScouter said:

This is a list of states that allow for parents to opt in/opt out their children from sex education in public schools.

I suspect there will be a push to have a similar opt-in/opt-out for scouts.

https://siecus.org/resources/opt-in-vs-opt-out-state-sex-ed-parental-consent-policies

•34 states + DC: Opt-Out

•4 states: Opt-In

•2 states: Both Opt-In & Opt-Out

•10 states: No Opt-In or Opt-Out

Thanks, @CynicalScouter!  This crucial piece hadn't even crossed my thoughts...

Wonder if the MB writers and those who will make the final decision to promulgate will consider the wide body of state law??  Or will they push something and have it blow up in their faces??