Should boy scouts allow girls

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December 18th, 2017 at 7:27:29 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
I could well see a "Top Down" problem, a leadership failure. A desire to have every would be scouter declared 'a winner'. An over emphasis on safety and lack of real challenge. A bland experience for all.

One couple taught a sailing class in Maine and made it clear that the kids would get wet each and every time. If the weather was good they would leave the dock and if the weather was "iffy" they would leave the dock and the kids would learn what choppy water looked and felt like and learn to react properly to changing conditions and unforeseen wind and wave situations. The parents had to accept that the sailing class would not be mere babysitting, it would be rigorous realistic training; a learning experience in the real world, not in some imaginary cocoon. This was not scouting administered, but it was an example of what appears to me to be wrong with scouting. The scoutmasters want to avoid headaches and trouble and nuisances, so they just let the kids run around and play. Very little supervision, no controversy. Just run the scout den as a baby sitting club with benefits for their own kids.

Once the leadership is eroded, the content of the programs gets even more gutted.

Sure girls joining a rifle club will be fewer in number than boys wanting to join it, but the girls form a needed core of interested members and you bet the boys learn to respect a girl who knows how to handle a firearm, just as they learn to respect a girl who knows how to handle a belaying pin. Suburban moms who refer to themselves as Taxi Drivers don't have time to drive to two different destinations and scouting is like anything else, it will be "co-ed" of necessity irrespective of any desires. The Taxi Drivers soon learn to enjoy not having to separate the sexes in the Taxi anymore because kids learn how to behave properly at all times and in all situations.

Certifications for scout leaders? Its beginning to look like Yacht Club certifications. American sailing training classes are meaningless and even USCG certificates seem to hold little value in the real world. Insurance companies insist on training to British Yacht Club standards. Everything is too watered down, too bland, too devoid of actual content.
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