I happened upon one of AyersTG's posts and found it so useful and interesting that I clicked on his username and spent a rather long time going through his past posts.

I know it is impractical and rather a long way from the UK but Tom's scouts do all of what I wanted scouts to be (and it wasn't) when I was young.

So, who else wants to join Tom's troup? Perhaps we could have a virtual scouting pack here on E2S?

Andy

It would be fun -Curse that detail of an ocean! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Me! Me! I want to join!

Actually, when I was a little girl I really wanted to join the Boy Scouts, because they got to learn how to do alot of things. I was so jealous. So my mom signed me up for Girl Scouts, and for two years or so I learned the value of sewing sit-upons, serving a meal and cleaning, and selling cookies. After "graduating" from the Brownies, I threw in the badge sash. We didn't even learn how to tie knots, just make trail mix.

From what I hear of the Girl Scouts today, it's gotten even worse for the outdoor-minded young girl. I wish they could come up with a co-ed type of program, with all the ideal values of the Boy and Girl Scouts, where I could volunteer.

I had the same miserable experience with Brownies. Our leader's idea of a camping excursion was pitching a tent in her back yard. I woulf have joined the boy scouts in heartbeat if I'd been allowed - they got to do all the fun stuff!

>> I wish they could come up with a co-ed type of program, with all the ideal values of the Boy and Girl Scouts, where I could volunteer. <<

Have I got a deal for you... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

BSA Venturing - 8th Grade / 14 thru age 20 - i.e., High School age thru early college age. IIRC, there are some pretty good Venture Crews generally in your area. Look for a high adventure crew and check it out.

It's darned hard to really make Venturing work well because youth in those ages have so many things competing for their time, so don't expect a regular-as-clockwork meet-every-week type of unit. But it's purposely coed (won't work worth a hoot if young men only - MUST have a solid mix of male and female for it to work; has nothing to do with boy-girl stuff, but rather the mix of ideas, attitudes, perspectives, etc).

And when it works, it is very cool.

OTOH, working with the youngsters in the traditional BSA program is flat out awesome and if you go aobut it purposefully, can really enrich the boys for life while being intrisically rewarding to you. Many of us really really want that to be coed like most other countries, but... BSA would put GSA out of business if it did that, even with the baggage I gripe about. Pick whatever theory you like about why they can't get together on it.

Traditional BSA would NOT exisit today if there were not many dedicated and talented adult female leaders. We currently have 2 ACTIVE female Assistant Scoutmasters that make most male counterparts look like nimrods - there are troops that would kill to have them. And we have at least a couple of female Scoutmasters who seem to be getting the job done just fine.

Boys and girls do need good role models outside the home as well as inside the family. I would not be in favor of an all-women leader team for a Boy Scout Troop, but a mix of male and female leaders seems to work extremely well. YMMV...

Check out venturing.

Regards,

Tom

Being a den leader (and former cubmaster) of a Cub Scout den/pack, I try to bring my daughter (16 months younger than my son) along whenever allowed and practical. She absolutely LOVES the activities, the great outdoors, and Scouting skills. I joke with her that she was the second person in our den to learn the Boy Scout Law (A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, ...). <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

She bridged from Brownies to Jr. Girl Scouts last spring, but clearly is loosing interest in the GS program. Even the leader - who is wonderful - is loosing steam and won't likely stay leading much longer.

Our plan is for my son to go into Boy Scouts next spring, and then as soon as my daughter turns 14, they'll both be moving into a Venture crew.

By the way, if you've never spent time with Boy Scout Summer Camp councelors who are older Scouts or junior leaders just out of Scouting, you've missed meeting some of the finest young men and women I've ever had the good fortune of meeting. Wonderful people!!

Boy Scouting (and Venturing) does really work!!!

Huh, Tom? Nimrod was a god of the hunt, I think celtic. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Sorry, can't help it, it just a compliment to me.

Nice; you are on a close track.

Actually, a biblical character - hunter, probably.

Once a derogatory US colloquialism, as I'm sure you know, which is how I meant it (explanation for non-US-colloquial readers)

Cuss word or compliment - ah, text doesn't convey tone and framework as well as being there an uttering words, does it?

Tom

Hey I'm in, so how do we get virtual Merit badges.

Nimrod was the bluilder of the very frist city on earth Babylon. He was the great grand son of Noah.

A lot depends upon the leader and their level of knowledge and comfort with the outdoors <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. My wife?s troops have gone rappelling, backpacking, rafting, made FSKs and PSKs and learned basic outdoor skills. Granted, compared to several of the postings from BSA leaders, even our troops have not perused with the same vigor, outdoor skills, but then it has to start somewhere.

There would be nothing preventing you from becoming a GSA Troop leader (other then some of the ridiculous rules <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />-which we sometime bend and the GSA bureaucracy) and implementing the ?outdoors? tone for your troop. Just realize there is a considerable amount of ?jumping through hoops?, but the girls in your troop would be the beneficiaries of your interests in the outdoors <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Pete

Same happened with the cub scouts I was in. My mother was the den mother and none of the other mothers were interested in helping and my mother wasn't the outdoors type so it ended up becoming craft scouts. My first yeat being a WEBELOW in boy scouts we did go camping once and did bring in the state AG agent to do a hunters safety class. I still have all my little badges and even the certificate from the hunters safety class. How do they do things in these times where a young boy/girl even mentioning the word gun or knife gets exepled from school, do you tell your scouts not to mention anything they did while camping so as to not offend anyone beacause you used a knife to make wood for a campfire <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Are you kidding? They made a campfire?? That's DANGEROUS. Sorry. No fire allowed. And KNIVES? The implied violence is just horrible. I'm OFFENDED! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Yep, that was my point, what do the scouts do now that all the gear they would use is too dangerous <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I was in 6th grade and a high school science teacher brough our class down to the park and let us see his gus for show and tell, I remember an M16 and muzzelloader. He loaded the old muzzelloader without the bullet and shot it in the air so we could hear the bang. 7th grade we shot bolt action 22.s at targets. The cub scout hunters safety class was in the school lunchroom. Now a days none of that is allowed now and if you mention the word gun yin a school you get a free trip to counseling <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
So how do the scouts camp without all that dangerous gear <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
sorry I just keep going on about the same rant, got strange looks at work the other day when I was talking to a female unix admin and she was talking about renewing her CCW we got strange looks from the sheep in the cubes near us for talking about evil guns and knives.