Coed Troops

[Eagle1993]

From Facebook

 

An announcement was made today during the BSA National Annual Meeting regarding Scouts BSA. The BSA has received feedback through member surveys, councils, and other sources that have encouraged a third option be made available to serve youth and their families interested in Scouting. This option would be a “combined troop” option to help serve all youth and families that wish to participate in Scouting guided by the Scout Oath and Law. The National Executive Committee (NEC) has authorized the Scouts BSA Committee to conduct a limited pilot from September 1, 2024, through July 2025. The Scouts BSA Committee will collect feedback from participants and make a recommendation based on the data on the program to the NEC in 2025.  

 

More information will be forthcoming. Thank you for your service to Scouting and for providing every young person and their family with the opportunity to participate in Scouting’s life changing programs.

[skeptic]

Nothing new, only that maybe they are finally listening.  But trial is not really needed in my view, as it is obviously the best option for small units already, allowing them to officially do it.  We all are aware it is already a silent choice for many.  

[scoutldr]

What a surprise (not).  We conspiracy theorists knew this was the plan all along.  Now that the objecting religious sponsors are out of the way, time to make the move.

 

[InquisitiveScouter]

23 minutes ago, scoutldr said:

What a surprise (not).  We conspiracy theorists knew this was the plan all along.  Now that the objecting religious sponsors are out of the way, time to make the move.

 

If you wanna get away from cookies, this is a good place to do it 😜 

As long as you stay away from popcorn 😛  

Edited May 7 by InquisitiveScouter

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

Such wonderful news! Finally, US scouting normalizes. 

[Eagle1993]

Baby Steps of America.... I expect we were headed to coed all along.

[rallybug]

From what we were told at (boys) Troop committee meeting last night, it will be girl patrols within a combined troop - our troop decided not to join the pilot program at this time as a) the feeder pack is about 4 years away from crossing over any girls, and b) there is a girls troop and boys troop under the same number already at the next (contiguous) city to ours, so it would make sense for them to have the opportunity to try it, especially as they have just lost their meeting place.

[mrjohns2]

My experience with our boy and girl troops have lead me to not want us to go coed.
 

Numbers wise, our troop has flourished now at about 15, leak at 22 last year. The other troops in our district that have acted like a girl patrol are in the 3-7 range and not really growing. 

We have a “brother troop” and do some joint activities. We meet at the same time and place, just different rooms. It works well. 

[BetterWithCheddar]

I've been pretty supportive of the recent membership changes, but I gotta say - I have some serious reservations about coed troops.

Middle school may have been the 3 worst years of my childhood, but Scouting was my refuge at that time. It was nice to go on outings with the boys in my troop without having to worry about impressing anyone. By high school, I was more self-assured and wouldn't have minded participating in a coed troop, but I do worry that we're denying our boys (and girls) a growth opportunity by integrating them at this stage in their development. The march toward school 2.0 continues.

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

2 hours ago, BetterWithCheddar said:

Middle school may have been the 3 worst years of my childhood, but Scouting was my refuge at that time. It was nice to go on outings with the boys in my troop without having to worry about impressing anyone. By high school, I was more self-assured and wouldn't have minded participating in a coed troop, but I do worry that we're denying our boys (and girls) a growth opportunity by integrating them at this stage in their development.

I lived it - actually more than what the current proposal is, because gender wasn't a consideration for patrol formation - and my experience was positive. Not just "not bad".

The presence of both genders in the patrol was both a moderator of antisocial behavior in both genders as well as a key condition of real-world leadership training.

I was bullied in middle school, and scouting was my refuge, too. I can relate to that. And maybe you personally did need a single-gender environment right then. I'm not you, I don't know. But your experience isn't the only possible one. I needed a mixed-gender patrol. I would not have wanted to be in a patrol with just other girls. The option to have that should be there. I see that it still isn't, but at least normal troops is a step in the right direction.

It's the standard option, globally. Scouting isn't really about gender identity exploration. We're about outdoor adventure. That's our thing. 

At least in my patrol, we were truly brothers and sisters in scouting. The vibe was different from school in terms of sexual tension. I can't know for a fact, of course, but I'd like to think that a regular patrol would still have been a refuge for you. If not, the single-gender option remains.

[Eagle94-A1]

After talking to a professional recently, the writing in the wall that the "trial" period of 8/24-7/25 will be successful and full integration will occur. Also from the discussion, if you do not go coed, the council may not be able to help you recruit.  I know my troop's volunteers will be meeting about folding the troop at the end of the year. Between existing challenges, and hint that we need to go coed or we will not be supported hit hard.

  But as @Scoutldr said,

16 hours ago, scoutldr said:

What a surprise (not).  We conspiracy theorists knew this was the plan all along. 

 

3 hours ago, BetterWithCheddar said:

Middle school may have been the 3 worst years of my childhood, but Scouting was my refuge at that time. It was nice to go on outings with the boys in my troop without having to worry about impressing anyone

That is the sentiment of a lot of the boys I have worked with over the years. Sadly there are fewer and fewer places for just boys. The same research GSUSA uses to support girls only places and organizations, also supports boys only places and organizations. But sadly society could care less about boys and men. Maybe that is why men are essentially checking out. 

[DannyG]

If girls need girls-only spaces, why did they join the former "Boy" Scouts of America? Like a lot of folks here, Boy Scouts was my refuge in middle school when I could pal around with my friends in the woods not worrying about social pressures from school. It was a gender-segregated program. Imagine my surprise when I got to high school and found there were girls with similar feelings and interests. Not all of the girls, but quite a few. Why did we deny them the opportunity of a program that goes outdoors to teach self-reliance, teamwork, determination, and leadership? Before you say girls have Girl Scouts, they are not the same program. Frankly I don't know much about the Girl Scout program, but I know it is not Boy Scouts for girls. (anecdote: Many of the girls I met in high school tried the Girl Scout program, got tired of it and left.) Youth today grow up different. They aren't taught there are different roles in society for men and women. I believe we should all have the same opportunity. 

[Eagle94-A1]

4 minutes ago, DannyG said:

If girls need girls-only spaces, why did they join the former "Boy" Scouts of America? 

Because GSUSA was not meeting their desire for an adventurous program. And their leadership does not want to change.

While society does indeed teach there are no differences in roles,  psychology and other sciences do show otherwise. Give me until the weekend to get the research collected.

15 minutes ago, DannyG said:

Why did we deny them the opportunity of a program that goes outdoors to teach self-reliance, teamwork, determination, and leadership? 

Because research from way back, and event to this day, shows that both boys and girls need their own spaces without the opposite gender present to develop.

16 minutes ago, DannyG said:

Before you say girls have Girl Scouts, they are not the same program. Frankly I don't know much about the Girl Scout program, but I know it is not Boy Scouts for girls. (anecdote: Many of the girls I met in high school tried the Girl Scout program, got tired of it and left.) 

 Again, GSUSA has not listened to their base, and have lost many over the years.

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

46 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Because research from way back, and event to this day, shows that both boys and girls need their own spaces without the opposite gender present to develop.

If that were true, millions of young people all over the world wouldn't have developed into the adults they are today. But we did.

And even if you take it as true - scouts isn't a gender identity curation movement. We're an inclusive outdoor adventure organization. 

[Eagle94-A1]

49 minutes ago, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

If that were true, millions of young people all over the world wouldn't have developed into the adults they are today. But we did.

And even if you take it as true - scouts isn't a gender identity curation movement. We're an inclusive outdoor adventure organization. 

Regarding research, there is a ton of research, not only from the past but also current that supports single gender learning and spaces. GSUSA uses it so support their rationale as to why they do not allow boys into their program. Which no one has a problem with.

Some Scouting associations, while coed, do segregate the sexes at the Scout/Guide age. Cubs is coed, then you have Boy Scouts and Girl Guides for 11-13, then coed 14+

And how many WAGGS countries are coed, and those associations are members of both WOSM and WAGGS.

Edited May 8 by Eagle94-A1