Goodbye, Boy Scouts

[makattak]

Here's the thing,  making Scouting coed wasn't something I was a big fan of.  But, if I had a daughter, I'd rather her be in Scouting BSA than the Girl Scouts.  Better at teaching important life skills.  I know, because I've seen First Aid taught in both programs.  BSA classes were longer, and more in-depth, with skill testing at the end.   The GSA class was over in two hours, with badges handed to everyone.

As for the whole boy/girl things, it's really no different than marching bands, youth groups, or other coed activities.  You do due diligence to prevent the sex, keep them supervised,  and teach the program.  Yes, it will change, because boys will act differently with girls around, but the lessons are still the same, and still worth teaching.

I have three girls. And I'd much rather them learn the lessons from the Boy Scouts than the Girl Scouts, because Girl Scouts are insane.

You know what I did? I found a different program designed for girls that teaches them better lessons than the girl scouts.

That throw-away statement in your quote that I bolded is HUGE. It's not a, yeah, things are just different now. The point of Boy Scouts (and, similarly, the original girl scouts) was to free boys and girls from the pressures of the opposite sex and learn, grow, and develop for at least a short time.

I can recall being 14 years old. And, like any other 14 year old, I was a red-blooded male interested sex.

I can recall an entire 2 weeks where any concern about sex was pretty much absent (imaginations still existed.) Hiking with my troop through the mountains of New Mexico, exhausted many days, learning and experiencing and growing outside of those concerns. I did not appreciate what it meant, in fact I didn't even realize what had happened at the time, but looking back I can see how useful an experience that was.

I have no idea if Trail Life will grow to become as useful as Boy Scouts, but, for my boy's sake, I pray it does, as "Scouting" doesn't seem to understand the mission any longer.

[Marnoot]

Hiking with my troop through the mountains of New Mexico, exhausted many days, learning and experiencing and growing outside of those concerns. I did not appreciate what it meant, in fact I didn't even realize what had happened at the time, but looking back I can see how useful an experience that was.

^This is (or more and more was) the most important value of Scouting. Yes, skills X, Y, and Z are nice and helpful and valuable, but they're almost besides the point. The experiences are what are of the most value.

[Sideways_8]

Wow, boys and girls in their late teens and early 20s at an event together, and some may engage in sex.  I'm shocked by this.  Shocked I say.   

Frankly, what I am shocked by is that someone involved in Scouts isn't sticking their heads in the sand, pretending that these young men and women aren't all virgins with no such desires.  Far too many of the Scout volunteers I've met seem to ignore the fact that teens boys and girls think about sex a lot, and will engage if given a willing partner and 15 minutes of privacy.

I fondly remember my early 20s working at Philmont. Boy Scouts by day, party animals by night.

[Ron]

The high adventures have been co-ed for some time now haven’t they?

I was disappointed when I heard the news but I’m encouraged hearing the opinions of actual Scout leaders here in the forum.

Most of the scout parents I interact with seem to intuitively understand the character building part of the high adventures like Philmont.

Ideally, philosophically, I believe there should be an all male space where boys learn how to be men. We unfortunately don’t live in an ideal world and philosophy is useless without practical reality.

If an all male alternative springs up that does a better job than the Scouts then the Scouts will become a primarily female group.

[Hawkmoon]

I'm bringing this thread back because this piece of news fits the thread title:

https://apnews.com/4415256925664852096cb7d57abe1df8

As of January 1, 2020, the Mormons will start up their own substitute for Scouting, and that will take 400,000 Scouts out of the program. According to the article, that's 18 percent of the membership. What the article doesn't make clear is that many of the troops are sponsored and run by the Mormons; with the Mormons pulling out, it's probable that entire troops will disappear.

[230RN]

Well, at least one troop of 400,000 Scouts will disappear. :)

[HankB]

Depends on what the Mormons actually do with their program.

From the linked article:

One of the advantages we always had with Scouting is that it wasn’t ‘churchy,’

Article said Mormon youth already had 2 hour Sunday services plus other religious instruction, and the "new" Mormon scouts would get awards featuring images of various Mormon temples. Wonder how this will go over with the 400,000 kids used to scouting.